Changing Plugs

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5spdLS

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So my gas mileage has gone down the drain and I haven't replaced the spark plugs on the LS in a long, long time. The shop wants 10 bucks a plug... I can get them online for 3 dollars a plug. Is going with a Bosch Platnum plug the right thing to do? I think I am just going to buy them... bring them in and then pay them the 200 in labor they want to change the plugs.

Also, would replacing the PCV valve now be the best thing? Is it in the same area? I know there is a lot of work replacing the PCV valve on the LS.

And how much has everyone paid to get their fuel filter replaced? They want 100 bucks.. I think 30 of that is for the part, which I can get from team ford for 10 bucks. Do shops really hate it when you bring in your own part?
 
NGK Iridium Plugs
If you have a V8, there is no PCV
Fuel filter is super easy, go get a high quality one from the dealer or wherever and pull the left front wheel and you will see it. Very easy job.
 
I have the V6... so there is a PCV valve, and I heard that should be replaced at the 100k or so service. It's not 145k.

I wonder since the fuel filter is so easy why they charge 1 hour? Next time I get to a garage I'll see about doing that on my own.

And are those plugs really that much better? I am not seeing them for the LS anywhere.
 
5spdLS said:
I have the V6... so there is a PCV valve, and I heard that should be replaced at the 100k or so service. It's not 145k.

I wonder since the fuel filter is so easy why they charge 1 hour? Next time I get to a garage I'll see about doing that on my own.

And are those plugs really that much better? I am not seeing them for the LS anywhere.
Click to expand...

The dealer will have a minimum one hour labor for anything I would think, even for stuff that won't take them 15 minutes.

I have the NGK's in every vehicle I have and love them, pretty sure they will work with the V6. I'm looking now.
 
Sweet. I'll look into getting those. Thanks for finding them!

The only thing that worries me is I read (somewhere on here, I believe) to stick to the OEM as others have had troubles with other brands/types. Anyone have any problems replacing their plugs with something other than OEM (platinum)?
 
PLEASE just buy motorcraft. They are DESIGNed to work with the car. Your only going to do it once so just spend the extra money and do it. That shop is charging you too much it seems.
 
camthman said:
PLEASE just buy motorcraft. They are DESIGNed to work with the car. Your only going to do it once so just spend the extra money and do it. That shop is charging you too much it seems.
Click to expand...

+1
 
camthman said:
PLEASE just buy motorcraft. They are DESIGNed to work with the car. Your only going to do it once so just spend the extra money and do it. That shop is charging you too much it seems.
Click to expand...

+1

Do a search on Bosch, not the best for LS.
 
Alright- I'll go with Motorcraft as that seems to be the preferred brand, and OEM. Anyone have a link to a store? I didn't see them at team ford... I know I was looking at a link earlier that had them... I just need the motorcraft platiunum ones, right?
 
camthman said:
Motorcraft is OEM. That is the ford brand
Click to expand...

Yeah, but which one do they use? Does anyone know what "suppressor" plugs are?

The one on Amazon is sold from a Ford dealer. I wonder how much more the plugs would cost from my local ford dealer... I'm a college kid so I try to save money where I can. And if I can get them 5 bucks cheaper 5x6 = 30.. that's a night out!
 
Husker Z said:
NGK Iridium Plugs
If you have a V8, there is no PCV
Fuel filter is super easy, go get a high quality one from the dealer or wherever and pull the left front wheel and you will see it. Very easy job.
Click to expand...
The filter is behind the splash shield (In the wheel well) about where your left foot sets. Easy Job.
KenS from Ben's Place
 
Buy the rubber elbow that connects the PCV to the pipe to the air intake system. Have that installed with the PCV. Something causes that hose to kind of do a melt down and it closes off air flow, or could potentially melt open. You only want to get under that intake and injector assembly once every 100K. There is no way to change that hose otherwise.

Also, make sure the garage is qualified for this job. Having done it twice myself, I can see where there is opportunity for people who don't specialize in this car to make some mistakes, mistakes which you will not be able to notice until they affect your drive-ability. Having the manual is definitely advised. They may also want to change your intake gaskets while under there. Both times I did this job, the gaskets were still good, due to their nature of construction, but they require a very good cleaning. I would estimate that I cleaned my last set of gaskets for 2 hours and used a couple of cans of throttle body and intake cleaner from CRC. There are 8 surfaces to clean in one set of V6 intake gaskets. Changing the gaskets would eliminate that task of cleaning them, but I expect that these gaskets would cost you a pretty penny.

You can also save a mess and some money on coolant by having two 3/8" bolts at least 3" long ready to go when the throttle body pre-heater cooling lines get removed. Have the pressure bled off the degas tank and have the bolts thrown into the hoses upon their removal and then the step that says to drain the cooling system can be eliminated.
 
I replace my plugs with NGK G-Power, couldn't be happier.
Starts like a charm, and I think there is better performance, but that could be because it replaced old plugs, which were not performing to par.
 
Uncle Vinnie said:
I replace my plugs with NGK G-Power, couldn't be happier.
Starts like a charm, and I think there is better performance, but that could be because it replaced old plugs, which were not performing to par.
Click to expand...

I doubt you saw performance unless your plugs were REALLY bad which could have been causing a miss or somthing....
 
I have the V8 (2002). When I had my VCG's replaced, I already had the parts. (planned to do the job myself, that drivers side got the best of me, took it in). I had already purchased the Bosch Platinums. Tech at the Ford dealership told me "we'll use them, but in general, Ford's don't really like Bosch".

whatever THAt meant.

Knowing better, I told them to please use the Bosch platinums I provided. That was about 2 years and 25k miles ago. Still running and firing as smooth as ever.
 
lseguy said:
I have the V8 (2002). When I had my VCG's replaced, I already had the parts. (planned to do the job myself, that drivers side got the best of me, took it in). I had already purchased the Bosch Platinums. Tech at the Ford dealership told me "we'll use them, but in general, Ford's don't really like Bosch".

whatever THAt meant.

Knowing better, I told them to please use the Bosch platinums I provided. That was about 2 years and 25k miles ago. Still running and firing as smooth as ever.
Click to expand...

I think he was referring to what many on this forum refer to. I've seen several times on here to use the OEM ones... I am sure Bosch is just fine, however. Not sure how different spark plugs can be.
 
I just did this to my v6. I replaced my pcv valve tube and thought while i was there i would replace the plugs as well. Put in the Bosch platinums and had problems from the start. Do yourself a favor and put in motorcraft. also change all the gaskets that go out on our cars while your there. you'll need the intake manifold gaskets and valve cover gaskets as well. i think all the parts cost me about 150 at the dealer.

I had to take my car apart several times looking for the problem and fixing the problem. Once i got it fixed the car has been running better then it has in a year. Just do yourself a favor and do the job all at once. If your not very knowledgeble about cars this forum offers the info needed to do the job.
 
When replacing the gaskets, do i need to order multiple gaskets from team ford? How many do I order? heck, better yet, which ones do I order? there are a ton to choose from when I do a search for "gasket"...
 
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