[boycer]

:blink: Concerning a 1998 Taurus' with Vulcan and Duratec engines, do they both use the same spark plug? Is the gap the same?

I was looking through the catalogued listings for the proper application of plugs in a book at the local parts store and as I went along the lines for 1998 Taurus' I noticed some things which caught my eye.

1. The NGK G-Power plug is not offered for a 1998 Vulcan but is offered for a 1998 Duratec.

2. Several Bosch plugs were offered for each engine and were the same number meaning that the engines take the same plug, however the Duratec plug was to be gapped a little wider.

3. A low quality Champion plug offered different plugs for each engine, thus not interchangeable.

4. As I quickly scanned the entire listings for different model years some plugs were interchangeable between engines and some were not.

The person at the desk could not help me out. I guess I will have to talk to the dealer.

Nothing is ever easy.
Signed Confused

 

[John in Charlotte]

boycer,

It's a pain trying to figure the spark plugs because they keep changing the numbers on them. Rockauto.com lists the Motorcraft (OEM) plugs for you car as being AGSF32FMF6 which is different from the Duratec's. (AGSF32WM).

Go to that site and fill in the info for your car (Serial # U). They list about a dozen different plugs for your car.

However, many think you should only use OEM plugs on any car unless some problem with the OEM's have been proven. I'd sure use the Motorcrafts. Just put them in my '00 Duretec a few weeks ago.

One other thing..... the Gap on your's is .44 whereas the gap on the Duratec is .56.

 

[spridget]

Nothing is ever easy.
Signed Confused

Ah yes... welcome to the wonderful world of auto maintenance and repair. :lol2:

Check out the spark plug thread above. Many have found problems with other plug brands. Even the Contour/Mystique owners have problems when using other brands. Motorcrafts have proven to work better more often than other brands for these cars. (not to say a set of Bosch +4's won't help a Datsun B210, but in Taurii many people had problems.) Autolites are essentially the same plug, only less exspensive.