Plug and Wire Change

[Howard98]

Well I bought my 98 ranger from my grandpa about 6 months ago. He bought it new, and it now has 130,000 miles on it. He told me today that the plugs and wires have never been changed. I went to Auto Zone and bought new plugs and wires. Can someone tell me how hard it is to change them and if the plugs are a pain to reach?

 

[FL_forlife33]

it's not that bad, just kind of annoying. make sure you DO ONE AT A TIME. your arms will get all scratched up and be careful of that exhaust manifold if your engine is still hot, it will burn the sh*t out of you.

like all the guys say on here, make sure you got autolite plugs, nothing else. the only plugs that should go into a truck is the brand that the factory put into it in the first place.

 

[rurouni20xx]

the old part number (apparently they superceded to a new number but i find the old part number at walmart all the time) is ap764, autolite platinum, plug gap is .044 inches. welcome to trs and hope you enjoy your truck as much as we have enjoyed ours.

 

[Howard98]

thanks for your help, and yes I did buy autolite plugs

 

[snomaker321]

i always seemed to have trouble getting to #4, not enough room to get my hand down there. if you know what youre doing it shouldnt be too bad, just make sure you do the wires one at a time so you run them in the right places and dont mess up the firing order (i wouldnt know or anything) Also it would be good to make sure you have a big block of free time to do it so if you do run into trouble you can get on here and ask some questions. good luck!

 

[rurouni20xx]

5/8 spark plug socket with a 3/4 socket on the top and a ratchet. the socket acts like a 1 inch extension. really handy, basically break it loose with the ratchet and twist with fingers out. if it falls it just goes straight to the ground no biggy. forgot to mention antisieze on the threads of the plug to help lubricate the threads and easier removal in the future.

 

[Howard98]

alright. Sounds like it shouldn't be real hard, even though I've never changed the plugs and wires on a vehicle before. And I bought duralast wires. I have heard they're pretty good and they have a lifetime warranty

 

[rurouni20xx]

ive had no problems out of them, just make sure you reuse the wire clamps (the plastic things holding the plug wires) so you dont melt one in half of the exhaust mani. a little supervision goes a long way as well if your not comfortable doing so.