i am planning on having my spark plugs changed this weekend by a guy i know who has been a ford tech for 15 years or so. i have 100k on the truck and have been having the miss going up a hill at low throttle. well last night i was driving and it started running like crap all the sudden right as i was about to get where i was going. im wondering a couple things

1, should i go ahead with the plugs now?

2, motorcraft plugs? current part number?

3, should i wait til it acts up again and sets a code in case of a cop issue?

4, is there a better cop i could go with?

 

It would be nice to know what year, engine, model, trim level, ect, ect ?????? In other words, FILL OUT YOUR SIGNATURE.

 

I did at one time. Its an 08 f150,4wd with a 5.4.

 

You have to admit....it's hard to advise without any info. That aside, Motorcraft parts without question and definitely plugs and at least new cop boots at the minimum. The problem is, being an 08, you could have the older two piece plug or the newer one piece. The 08 changed head design mid year. If you have black COP boots (old style); if you have brown boots then you have the new one piece style. I say Motorcraft because the 5.4L likes OEM ignition parts the best. A little more info, Ford now recommends 60K plug changes for the two piece plug (04-early 08)

 

If you have the means I would do all the plugs and all the coils. Both motorcraft. My buddy had been chasing a misfire for months. A coil and plug and a coil and plug there. He eventually did all of them and finally fixed it. The problem was it never threw a code to tell him which cylinders were misfiring so he was shade tree diagnosing.

 

That's my biggest worry right there. I've heard people talk about setting a whole set of coils for 100 bucks before but can't find any threads now. Rockauto has them for 38? Each I think. There isn't an aftermarket/performance option? Or are they not as reliable as the stockers?

 

The coils will last a long time and really don't need changing unless they are going bad. The miss you are describing sounds like plugs. I would change the plugs and boots using Motorcraft plugs and ebay boots. If you do the coils, I would get the set from Uneek or Global on ebay. Saves a lot of money and they work just fine.

 

Rock Auto has several brands of COP boots.

Black boots = 2 piece plugs = SP515
Brown boots = 1 piece plugs = SP509

Have your buddy do the plugs and boots and go from there.

 

I did all my plugs and COP's this past weekend.

My truck runs better than I ever remember, why didn't I do this sooner? I picked up 1.5MPG, real world, not imaginary.

Used the motorcraft plugs and bought the cheap COP's off of Amazon.

All this time I thought I had a little vibration here and there from the drivetrain/tires, no - it was the engine stumbling and I didnt realize it.

I will say it again, why didn't I do this sooner?

took me 7 hours and I broke 6 plugs, but worth it.

 

Well my wife thinks we should do it all now so we don't do a bunch of stuff and have it act up later.
What about granatelli cops? I've heard of them, never anything bad. Accell? I've heard mixed reviews about them. I really don't want to fork out 500 for motorcrafts. Thoughts?

 

When they first came out, Granatelli and Accel both were junk. They may have corrected it by now, but I would get COPs from RockAuto, AutoAnything or off ebay. COPs are like a switch, they either work or don't. A set off ebay costs about $100 off ebay and takes about 30 minutes to change out. I just don't believe in changing something that is working well. A new one is just as likely to fail as one already on there.

But, don't listen to us, if she says change them, change them. I know how those "I told you!s" from the wife sound. I sold my beloved 2005 and bought a 2011 for that very reason. Still don't like the looks of the 2011, but do love the 5.0 and the extra room.

 

Performance coils are still junk.....not unless one likes to change them every 10k-20k.....

 

I thought I read somewhere that the Accel ones were pretty decent.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002PH0E1Q/ref=redir_mdp_mobile?redirect=true&ref_=oh_details _o01_s00_i00

I just installed these off of Amazon and they work great. Truck purring like a kitten. I am pretty sure these are from the eBay seller uneek that everybody says is good to go.

Do not buy the accel or the gms coils. People have problems with them. Either get ford or get the Amazon or eBay coils which work great.

 

What was the part numer of your plugs. Sp509 or sp515?