Spark plug wires

fr7 · Mar 8, 2018

My truck has been misfiring for about a month and it's getting worse. Coil pack been tested and it's good, so I suspect bad wires, one of them was zapping me when I touched it. Spark plugs are about 2 years old and look good for the most part.
Question is, have you guys used duralast from AutoZone or NGK? Are they decent? They're quite cheaper than other brands but still have lifetime warranty. I personally like to use Bosch but I can't spend too much on the ranger at this moment, I just need it to run good for a while, reason being I just replaced the transmission in my Chevy pickup, that was a good chunk of cash even me doing the work, and I still need to put tires on it, insure it, license it, etc. Then I have the windstar minivan, that one is insured and ready to go after I do brakes and exhaust work on it.
Right now I'm digging through my couches for pennies so I can get everything ready for spring, then I can start remodeling the house. I need to save as much as I can on vehicles.
Any suggestions about the plug wires is welcome..

85_Ranger4x4 · Mar 8, 2018

I would go cheap and hope by the time it goes bad things will have turned around and I could afford the better ones.

Put your old set up minus the bad one for spares.

adsm08 · Mar 8, 2018

I agree. Kick that can down the road with the cheap parts and hope things are better when they crap out.

Honestly the biggest issue I have ever had with the el cheapo wires is that the boots and clips tend to stay on the plug rather than with the wire after 6 months to a year.

hank857 · Mar 8, 2018

go to orielly if ya have one they had some motocraft/autocraft that were fairly cheap. I have used them and they last well. I have found duralast stuff to last a long time also. You did not say if 6 or 4 cyl

85_Ranger4x4 · Mar 8, 2018

adsm08 said:
Honestly the biggest issue I have ever had with the el cheapo wires is that the boots and clips tend to stay on the plug rather than with the wire after 6 months to a year.

Only problem I have ever had with plug wires is a mouse chewed a little of the insulation off of one of my new Ford Racing wires so when I went to adjust the timing the friggin ignition bit me. :annoyed:

fr7 · Mar 8, 2018

Sorry, it's a 6 cylinder 3.0.
AutoZone has a set of them for $28 something plus tax. I'm gonna go pick them up and replaced them right now.
My plans are to get the other 2 vehicles road ready and then park the ranger and slowly fix all the issues, so I need it to stay alive at least till winter is over, since it's the only 4wd I can drive right now.
I love the little thing but it's been a rebel lately, it's got barely any rust considering it's a 98 and has lived in Nebraska all of its life, so I don't want to see her go to the junk pile.
Thanks everyone, I'll post back with the results.

adsm08 · Mar 8, 2018

hank857 said:
go to orielly if ya have one they had some motocraft/autocraft that were fairly cheap. I have used them and they last well. I have found duralast stuff to last a long time also. You did not say if 6 or 4 cyl

How did an Orielly get Autocraft? Autocraft is Advance's house brand, and half their stuff, including plug wires is Carquest now anyway.

Autolite maybe?

adsm08 · Mar 8, 2018

85_Ranger4x4 said:
Only problem I have ever had with plug wires is a mouse chewed a little of the insulation off of one of my new Ford Racing wires so when I went to adjust the timing the friggin ignition bit me.

I had that problem too. After I put the first engine in the Ranger it was running like crap and I couldn't figure it out because it was too intermittent.

One day I reach in to adjust the PS return hose while it was running and I brushed a plug wire and got lit up like Vegas.

fr7 · Mar 8, 2018

Well I got them done.
Wires seem to be made decent, the only difference is the lengths don't match most of the old ones and the clips to hold them to the coil pack are different but nothing to worry about, they even come with a little thing of dielectric grease, maybe enough for 2 wires lol.
I took it for a drive and it runs and idles good, no more missing.
I still need to get some plastic ties and somehow get them away from touching hot surfaces, most of the holding clips are gone already. I found #6 was rubbing against the egr pipe, it was toasted, brittle and cracked as hell, so I assume that's where it was arcing, the rest of them looked good but old anyway.
Thanks everyone for the help, you guys are the best..

rusty ol ranger · Mar 8, 2018

Just for future reference, NAPA will make you an indivdual plug wire. I did that on my 77 F250, $5.13 out the door.

fr7 · Mar 9, 2018

I didn't know Napa does that, it's good to know.
Thanks for the info..
Is there a reason why the check engine light came on after I replaced the wires? I don't believe it's related but I'm gonna take it somewhere and have them read the codes.

rusty ol ranger · Mar 9, 2018

No, unless you crossed a wire and its misfireing.

det107 · Mar 9, 2018

fr7 said:
....but I'm gonna take it somewhere and have them read the codes.

any codes ?

fr7 · Mar 16, 2018

I tried to post a few days back but for some reason it didn't go through, I just found out.
Anyways, I had them plug the scanner to it, the guy said it read 2 cylinders misfiring and bank 1 too reach or something like that. I didn't ask for the codes, I just told him to erase them. The light never came back on but I'm still wondering what I did wrong to cause the check engine light to come on and have those codes, I know I have the wires right, I checked them a few times, the truck runs good and idles smooth..

Spark plug wires

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