Vehicle - 2000 Taurus, 3.0L OHC (2V) V6
It looks like the plugs on the back of the engine are impossible to reach from up top without removing the upper intake manifold. Am I missing something? Is there a better way? Can they be reached from underneath?
I'd appreciate any suggestions.
Ed
I *think* I can do it but you need the right tools, small hands, and a lot of patience.
change them One at a Time, so as to eliminate the possibility of getting the wires mixed up.
Nick
If it's anything like the Escape 3.0L, the upper manifold does need to be removed. It's a number of screws, and the throttle and cruise control cables need to be removed. Took me about 3 hours to do all six plugs, but was worth the effort. It's not a LOT of work, but it is time-consuming.
SC Tom
I see the same situation for the rear three plugs on my 08 fusion with the 3.0 engine.Stuff is in the way. You would think Ford would have one of their better ideas and make it easier. Even what used to be a simple thing as replacing the headlight or taillight bulbs is a task on this car. Hopefully I won't have to do these things too often. I wonder if consumers reports tests cars for ease of maintenance?
Fred
They're accessible. You just have to have the right extension length for the socket. A flex-head ratchet can also be useful. Do the work by feel, with the engine stone-cold.
But that WAS one of Ford's better ideas... from the standpoint of their shareholders anyway. Need new bulbs? Take it to the dealer. New wiper blades? Take it to the dealer. Ashtray needs cleaning? Take it to the dealer.
I wouldn't trust them, but usually asking an independant mechanic before buying a car is a good idea. Or flip through the Haynes manual... if there's a 20-page section showing all the belts you have to take off to get to the oil filter, just stay away.
--scott
If it's like my V6 Contour, the rear plugs are a different number than the front plugs. Something about the platinum tip. One set is reverse polarity.
Al
True for the OE plugs, but when you buy replacements, you get double platinum plugs and you don't need to care anymore.
Ed
Some of the plugs are reverse polarity? I never heard of that before. cuhulin
This is the case for engines employing the "coil-pack" or waste spark ignition systems. In it the coil fires two spark plugs at once; one on the compression stroke and the other on a cylinder 360 deg out of phase (on its exhaust stroke). The current flow (conceptually) goes from the high-tension lead to the center electrode on one cylinder, across the gap, to the ground strap through the engine structure to the ground strap on the cylinder 360 away, across that gap, and finally returns to the coil pack. Because the current flow is always in one direction, the platinum only needs to be on the plug electrode that erodes the most. By arranging the coil wiring appropriately one bank can have platinum on the center electrode while the other bank has platinum on the ground strap side. This saves a lot of money in the cost of platinum. One might think that having to jump two gaps will significantly sacrifice ignition energy. It doesn't because the properties of the burnt gases in the waste spark cylinder are very easy to ionize with very low energy losses.
In the field, to avoid confusion on which bank should have the platinum electrode, aftermarket plugs simply have platinum on both electrodes. These are commonly call double-platinum plugs.
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