I just had to share

[04fizzer]

I was having some hiccup/stumbling issues with my truck when it's cold, lately. I finally got around to changing out the plugs and wires. After 3 hours, I'm finally done.

Here's what I found:

Spec'd gap is .060-.068". These measured around .080". I'm surprised it still ran!
Cylinders 1, 2, and 3:

1, 2, and 3 by camper4lyfe, on Flickr

Cylinders 4, 5, and 6:

4, 5, and 6 by camper4lyfe, on Flickr

Now, I'm just waiting for the temps to drop back down into the teens to test it out. But right now, she certainly starts up better.

For reference, this is an 03 Ranger with the 4.0L V6.

 

[FZ1inNH]

That's a darned good reason why it ran like crap! Wow! Those look bad! I think you'll find your problem is solved! How many miles are on those used plugs? And what brand are they?

 

[Wolfman]

Lol! Lookalike you got more than your moneys worth with those plugs! Incredible that the truck still ran!

 

[04fizzer]

Those are the original Autolite Platinum plugs with a touch over 96,000 miles.

The last one, #6, makes me slightly concerned, though. Looks like some detonation. This could be due to the horrible gap, though. I'll be investigating in the near future.

 

[FZ1inNH]

That seems to be "just a tad longer" than the recommended use of plugs. Hope that is all that is wrong with it!

 

[04fizzer]

That seems to be "just a tad longer" than the recommended use of plugs. Hope that is all that is wrong with it!

Just a little. What a pain it is to change them, though! I had to pull the passenger side tire off and go through the wheel well to get half of them out.

 

[FZ1inNH]

It's not like the older vehicles where there's plenty of room! I remember my first truck, a Ford F150 with the straight six. You could literally climb in and sit beside the engine to work on it.

I wonder how hard it is on my '07 Taco V6? Hmmmm..... Could be an ugly day coming for me too!

 

[04fizzer]

It's not like the older vehicles where there's plenty of room! I remember my first truck, a Ford F150 with the straight six. You could literally climb in and sit beside the engine to work on it.

I wonder how hard it is on my '07 Taco V6? Hmmmm..... Could be an ugly day coming for me too!

I did the same thing with my first truck, and 82 Chevy C10 with a straight six. I have a picture of me floating around somewhere of me sitting in the engine compartment while changing the plugs (it's the only way I could actually reach the back one).

 

[DefyInertia]

Dumba$$!!! haha

Glad you got it sorted.

 

[krid80]

Glad my Hemi RAM is easy to access the plugs, too bad there are 16 of em!

 

[Yamma~Tiger]

Yeah plugs can be a pain in the a**. I have a 2005 Legacy GT. Its got the 2.5 flat-four turbo. The heads are pretty much right up against the wheel wells and to make matters worse, its got the set up where the coils are right on the plug wires right where the plug goes into the head.

 

[04fizzer]

Glad my Hemi RAM is easy to access the plugs, too bad there are 16 of em!

That'll break the bank just BUYING the plugs. Holy crap.

 

[Hellgate]

What does your air filter look like???

 

[04fizzer]

What does your air filter look like???

Air filter actually looks better than I expected it to. It's a white filter, and most of it is still clean.

 

[08fz6]

I'm gonna have to do that on my 08 xb pretty soon.... It has just under 85,000 miles on it. but prob 60,000 are interstate miles...

 

[krid80]

the plugs fire just as much on the interstate....

 

[revapi]

put them on ebay,bet somone buys em