new plugs & wires at 48,000 miles?

|2001 F150 SuperCrew, 5.4L | |My F150's at a local garage. The truck's been misfiring, mostly around 1500 |rpm. The mechanic (who I've always trusted in the past) says it needs new |spark plugs and wires. Is this a little early? I bought the truck used with |about 42,000 miles on it. The mechanic quoted me $250 to do the job, should |take about 4 hrs. Currently scheduled to do it Friday.

Are the wires dusty? If you live on a gravel road, or travel them frequently, or otherwise drive in a dusty evironment, the dust coating on the wires can become conductive. A good power washing usually clears this up.

|Also, is there any benefit to using high-performance/low resistence plug |wires? As long as he's replacing them, maybe spend a few extra bucks and get |the best? I use the truck for everyday driving (20 miles of highway) with |little or no load, and occasional misadventures in the Rockies.

Just get a brand-name, best quality. Motorcraft, Belden, Borg Warner Kool-Wires are what I'd recommend.

Rex in Fort Worth

On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 11:36:52 -0600, scott wrote: [...]

[...]

Interesting. I thought I was paying too much when I paid $280 for both diagnostic and replacement wires, cap and rotor. (1990 BroncoII) It also took almost 4 hours for the shop I went to do to it. That's because they had to get the wires, I think. I guess that's a fairly standard price, then, though the installation isn't that difficult.

Thanks, Rex. No the wires aren't very dusty at all. Does seem reasonable, though. Absent the dust, is 48K miles pretty typical for this?

I'll second that one if the Kool-Wires are the nickel-wire ones. :) Prob'ly the last ones you'll ever need for that vehicle.

$350? It might be tougher than any I've done(!) but either way it's mostly labor. If it takes you all day, is 200 tax-free-bucks good pay for you? ;) $350 minus top quality parts and tools (that you can use for the rest of your life and even hand down). Compare tool costs and value with food that you only make shit out of. ;)

Alvin in AZ

2 to 3 years old? Nope, to me, sounds like you're doing good. :)

Alvin in AZ

|On Tue, 30 Dec 2003 11:36:52 -0600, scott wrote: |[...] |> The mechanic (who I've always trusted in the past) says it needs new |> spark plugs and wires. |[...] |> The mechanic quoted me $250 to do the job, should take about 4 hrs. | |Interesting. I thought I was paying too much when I paid $280 for |both diagnostic and replacement wires, cap and rotor. (1990 BroncoII) |It also took almost 4 hours for the shop I went to do to it. That's |because they had to get the wires, I think. I guess that's a fairly |standard price, then, though the installation isn't that difficult. | |-- |Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own |understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your |paths straight. | Proverbs 3:5-6 | |www:

jabber: snipped-for-privacy@dman13.dyndns.org Rex in Fort Worth

Tell your mechanic to quit smoking crack. A 2001 5.4l engine does not have sparkplug wires, it has coil on plug ignition. The only wires are the ones from the computer to the coil packs and they don't need to be replaced. It also does not have a distributor, cap or rotor. Ford uses platinum plugs from the factory and they are theoretically good to

100k miles. Most change at around 75k and report that the plugs are worn but still useable. If you want to replace the plugs either go with Motorcraft double Platinums or Denso Iridium IT-16. All others get mixed reviews. For more stuff go to:

-- 'Fritz the Cat' Blackburn VP-94 Techrep NAS New Orleans

scott wrote:

Fritz has the correct answer. There are no conventional plug wires and I expect your problem is with coil packs. I'm going though the same problems with a 02 F150 with the 5.4 engine at

110K(kilometers) . Have replaced 2 coil packs to date , not including 3 others from blowing out spark plugs and having to replace two heads. When a plug blows out it also ruins a coil pack. In Canada the cost of 1 coil pack alone is about $80. plus labor.

Peter W.

Fritz, thanks for the response. Do I need any special tools to do this myself? Can I visually examine each sparkplug/coil to determine which is bad, then just replace the bad one(s)? Happy New Year, Scott

Cool! :)

To figure out the good from the bad, will a volt/ohm meter tell you?

Alvin in AZ

If you go to all the pain to pull the plugs, which is a 3 hour job minimum, then you might as well install new ones. For the coil packs, a misfire may or may not initiate a Check Engine light. Go to Autozone and have the computer read for codes. A misfire should show up. Otherwise there is no way I know of checking a coilpack at home. The most likely pack to break is the Pax side rear because it sits underneath the heaterhoses which can leak a little. If it comes up with some other weird code go to the f150online engine forum for help. Happy New Year

'Fritz the Cat' Blackburn VP-94 Techrep NAS New Orleans

scott wrote:

Since your 5.4 does not have plug wires, there should be no need to replace them which may reduce your cost a bit. Also, IIRC, the 5.4L has an occasional problem with one of it's coils - I do not reecall which cylinder is the usual culprit. There may even be a service bulletin out on it. A proper scan of your OBD II system by a knowledgeable tech may even identify which cylinder is the problem. Replacement of one iffy coil is much less abusive to your wallet than a $400 tuneup that it likely does not need. You may want to consult your local Ford dealer since a failed coil should be covered by your emissions warranty.

You can probably run a google search of some search in this group for article concerning which coil usually goes bad, why it goes bad and, how to correct.

I had exactly that problem with my '99 F150 at about 56k: The number 4 coil pack went bad. It sometimes, but not always threw a code, and the problem was intermittent at first. I don't know if it's at all typical, but when I replaced mine, I could see the crack in the plastic casing of the coil pack. So it's at least *possible* to identify it with a careful visual inspection. I figure it couldn't hurt to wipe off any grime on the top of each pack and look for any obvious signs of damage before you go to the trouble and expense of changing everything.

- Josh