Changing out Spark Plugs

[ScubaDive]

This weekend I would like to get a little work done on the truck. One of the things I need to do is change out the spark plugs. The last time this was done I had a garage do it for me as I had way to much on my list at the time. I can recall the garage mech. telling that the front 4 spark plugs are not an issue just the back two, closest to the firewall are a pain in the a*s.
Are there any tips or tricks that any one can share that can make this job go smooth and easy??
I have never changed out the wires for the spark plugs either is there any point to doing that at the same time?

Ranger
2008
3.0L V6
Sport
~210K

 

[adsm08]

I would say the mechanic embellished the difficulty a bit. The #6 plug isn't that hard to get at either. #3 will be tight because of the AC/heater box. A swivel and a long extension will be helpful.

I never do plugs without doing wires. In my mind it's just like doing brakes without turning the rotors. Will it kill someone, no. Is it the best way to do the job, also no.

 

[ScubaDive]

Thanks for the input... My dad used to put a little never seize on the spark plug thread before putting in the new ones... is this a good idea?
Is there a big difference in the manufacturer of the spark plug.... there seems to be a rang in prices.

 

[Curious Hound]

I just did plugs, wires, cap and rotor on my '93 3.0L a couple weeks ago. I used Iridium plugs - ordered everything from Rock Auto - plug prices were cheaper than what your picture shows.

#3 was the only one that was hard to reach. It was more of a "difficult to see" issue than hard to reach. But I am tall with long arms. Whole job was easier than the '88 F150 I had years ago.

The never-seize idea sounds OK. I've never done that and never had any trouble with stuck plugs. That's just my experience.

 

[ScubaDive]

I found this for those who need a good little read.

http://www.carid.com/articles/types-of-spark-plugs.html

 

[stmitch]

Anti-sieze won't hurt anything, but it's really only necessary when the plugs are installed in aluminum cylinder heads. Since the 3.0 has iron heads, and the spark plug threads are steel, you shouldn't have to worry about dissimilar metals fusing together.

Also, as far as plugs go, save your money and skip the fancy double platinum or iridium plugs. Most guys have equal or better performance from the cheap copper Autolites in the 3.0. Just make sure they're the proper heat range and gapped correctly.

 

[ScubaDive]

so I did the job yesterday, had the day to do it.
I found the job went fine, the biggest pain was dealing with the plastic clips and routing the wires to the drivers side. I also mixed up cylinder 5 & 6 but I hooked up the scanner and trouble shoot that easily. The one thing I noticed was ,all the spark plugs I was removing (the old ones) where gaped at 0.072 up to 0.077 (I am assuming that would be from ware and tare???) the haynes auto manual told me to gape the new ones at 0.052 to 0.057 so I put the new ones in at 0.055. I also put in the NGK G-Power Platinum plugs as I hit up auto stores and that's all that I could find. Over-all the job took about 3hours and that's not rushing at all, I took my time. So thanks for all the input from everyone.