would Ford put some massive jumble of heater hoses and T-fittings directly over the rear 2 spark plugs on the passenger side?? I mean, it's not that big of a deal since spark plugs aren't maintenance items... oh, wait... they are maintenance items.

As you may have guessed, I got to change the plugs on my GF's sister's '99 Expedition the other night; I swear to God, if it was up to me the engineers would have to perform some of the more common tasks in maintenance/upkeep, just to see the impact of their work. Buncha boneheads.

Grrrrr.

 

The most important factor when building an engine.... Cost.

 

my Dad was machinist with a couple of years mechanical engineering training:

his favorite engineer saying: " any ******* with a pencil can put anything down on paper- the real challenge is -CAN IT BE MADE" . his saying is as timely today as it was 45 years ago

 

no engine design has ever been 100% perfect.

 

Yup, fun job.

Adrianspeeder

 

just be glad you dont have to drop the engine to change them like some of the cars that are out there.

 

sorry, gotta bring up chevy but i love their engine bays. truck i work out of is an 01 silverado with the 5.3. ive popped the hood a few times and i love how open that engine bay is. why cant ford do something like that? the chevys arent that much wider than the fords.

 

ya ford isnt that fun to work on but thats the fun u dont work on them as much plus they are better ha. but my 91 gmc with a 350 i could put my case of beer under the hood and sit in there while working on it

 

One reason off the top of my head is that the Chevy truck motors aren't OHC, so they aren't as tall/wide as the modular Fords. I'd be willing to bet that if you pulled a 4.6L/5.4L out of a Ford and swapped in a 302/351, there'd be a LOT more space.

As for other crummy spark plug jobs I have done, I had an '01 Camaro, and we all know how challenging those were to swap plugs in... but the one that takes the cake is another of Uncle Henry's rides... the Thunderbird SC.

That really was a great car to drive, but an absolute maintenance nightmare...

 

chevy lol. i had a 94 z28 with 350lt1 what a nightmare. cap,rotor plugs and wires your talking at least 5 hours. putting a distributor behind the crank pulley and right under the water pump.brilliant idea lol