Plugs...gah~

[Mark_88]

Ok...I have an 89 Mustang head on an 87 Ranger block and using the 2.0 wiring....

Ran for years on the Bosh +4 plugs that I thought were for an 89 Mustang, but tried using a copper core in two of the cylinders and had it stall, backfire, and would not start for about five minutes after running it at idle for a while...

I measured the plug tips and found that the ones that I'm supposed to be using are about 1/4" longer than the ones I had in it (I have two bosh +4 and two of the new ones currently)...

Gap is correct on the two new ones at .044...

Just wondering why, other than some other unrelated issue, it would suddenly just die and not start for about five minutes (of course, I was driving down the street when this happened)...

Might put the other +4 plugs back in and see if it persists...otherwise...anyone know how to tell if I have the proper plugs???

It is a 4 plug head from an 89 or so mustang...and I did notice that even the 4 plug heads have different plugs listed for them for different years (90 and earlier is what I was looking at)...

BTW...the truck did start again...and I did check that the plug wasn't damaged by hitting against the piston...I will check it again when I go out later, but if anyone knows how to tell the difference between the heads...and I will check the sticky again...just in case the info is buried in there...

Just another note: I tried changing the plugs because I thought there wasn't enough spark (orange spark, not blue...and sporadic) and the +4s are actually a bit beat up...wanted to put in some new ones to see if it would do better...

Perhaps someone could recommend a better solution (like new coil (which I've tried), or ignition box (which is fairly new)...)

 

[Mark_88]

Update...pulled the two new plugs and it seems to be almost normal...think I might have a plugged fuel filter or something else though...keeps juddering, but not all the time...

 

[BlackBII]

Here's the correct plugs. Those 4 prong'ers are a waste o' money.

http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/prt,48,AWSF44C

I would check the fuel filter. Maybe get a fuel pressure gauge and watch it to see if you have a pressure drop when it 'judders'

 

[Mark_88]

Here's the correct plugs. Those 4 prong'ers are a waste o' money.

http://www.rockauto.com/dbphp/prt,48,AWSF44C

I would check the fuel filter. Maybe get a fuel pressure gauge and watch it to see if you have a pressure drop when it 'judders'

Thanks for the link...doesn't look like the part number I tried...I asked the mechanic/parts person (who was a mechanic) and he didn't know where to begin...

I'm thinking the problem is partially that I used a Mustang head with the D ports and thought it was an 89...but it could have been 90, 91, or even 88...can't remember if I actually checked now that I think about it, but it was like 6 years ago that I bought the head...

I'm thinking about the fuel pressure too...it's a low pressure electric pump and at one time it seemed like it was not working...and the gauges went wonky...meaning I could have a short somewhere...

 

[Bryan22]

save yourself a lot of headaches by using autolite or motocraft plugs. I had nothing but horrible problems with bosch plugs in my truck.

 

[scotts90ranger]

autolite 764 are what you want!

 

[kimcrwbr1]

autolite AP104 gapped at .044 will probably work good also

 

[kimcrwbr1]

Put new plug wires in also if you havent recently.

 

[Bryan22]

+1 and not cheap ones! i had some autozone specials leaking spark right out of the box. only thing they were good for was a pretty blue light show at night.

 

[Mark_88]

Thanks for the info guys...I do have fairly new wires...they were on a mustang in the JY and I got them for $15...since I paid almost $100 for the last set new, I figured if it was wires I might just change them...but I was wondering about the coil...anyone know what reading I should get on that off the coil wire?

autolite AP104
autolite 764
AWSF44C Copper

I will also look into trying one of the three above...the other ones were only $6 for two, but the bosch +4 are now around $17 for two...

As I mentioned, the plugs for my 2.0 head seem to actually work better than the others...that's why I was wondering how to tell exactly what head I have on it...I was pretty sure it was an 89...but the difference between the heads (4 plug) seem to be significant and require different plugs...