I F**king hate plug wires!

[Twizzler09]

Went to do a compression check on my Ranger today.....started to pull the wire off of #5 (my problematic cylinder) only to find the damn thing was faulty!

That thin little metal connector that resides in the boot had come completely disconnected from the wire, so when I pulled the wire, the connector was left hanging onto the plug!

Talk about aggravating

I'm warranty'ing the damned thing out tomorrow morning, thank god for lifetime warranties. Hopefully this fixes my whole friggin problem!

 

[cr_the_machinist]

Yeah.... I had the same damn problem. The origanal owner of my truck put those horrible AutoZone wire on my truck, It missed just enough to make the cab vibrate slightly when you were stopped at a light and they interfiored with the radio. I when to the local parts store tore that trash out and put MotorCraft wires and plugs and now she runs like a top!

 

[snake]

Those factory parts are expensive at first, but cheaper in the long run...

 

[Twizzler09]

I'm starting to agree. Genuine Motorcraft seems to be the way to go.

If this seriously fixes that tiny miss I've been trying to figure out for sooooo long..... I'm going to be so pissed at myself. haha

 

[LearjetMinako]

Had the same problem before also. The wire for cylinder 1 tore out and left the boot still attached to the plug. At the time, I was cheap, so I took the boot apart and reclamped it. After a few months later on that, I replaced all the wire with Bosch parts. Never had a problem with them 3 years later.

 

[Mark_88]

Ran into a similar problem when I finally got the Ranger 2.3 back together...the silly boots...the metal clip was pulled so far up the boot that it wasn't touching on two plugs...but that wasn't the main problem...

The wire set that I have on now were Motorcraft (the ones with the long boots) and have been great...but because the boot is so long it gets stuck on the plug due to heat or suction and then the clip slides up the boot when you pull the wire...just have to be careful to inspect it and make sure you hear that 'click' when you snap the boot on the plug...

Edit: Yes, I have learned to pull on the boot itself...

 

[almostclueless]

Motorcraft plug wires for a 3.0 from rockauto.com for 45 bucks including shipping. What's so difficult about this?

 

[Twizzler09]

Well, I got the new set of wires on today. Thanks for that awesome warranty, O'Reilly.

Runs sooo much better, but still not 100%. So out of curiosity I checked the fuel pressure at the rail. 35psi when I turn the key to "on" and 28psi when the truck is running. Whats it supposed to be at? That seems slightly low to me.

 

[JohnnyO]

I always break a few plug wires changing plugs. Fortunately plug wires have gotten cheaper over the past few years.

 

[Will]

You change plugs? Seems like an unneccessary risk. Look at all the wires you break. I've been running this 4.0 since 2001 and it still has the same plugs and wires that came in it. I have no idea what it looks like but it runs great and can sit for a month without me even knowing where the truck is and I need it--it fires right up and purrs like a kitten.

You know how annoying 12V bulbs are in an RV? They never work. There's not enough volts to break through the resistances that cheap sockets always have. You spend your time popping caps and twisting bulbs to make a contact when you want lights. Same thing on cars. The old point ignitions with low coil saturation times required top shape plugs because the spark wasn't that hot. These modern engines can shoot a spark several inches. There's nothing to be gained by fooling with the plugs except the risk of dropping grit into the cylinder or stripping aluminum plug holes--and breaking innocent wires.

 

[Twizzler09]

Anyway, I no longer have a spark issue. Which is good.

But I still cant find any definitive info on fuel pressure....right now its got 35psi w/key "on" and 28psi w/engine running.

I *think* its supposed to be 40/30? That couple pounds wouldn't make a difference would it?