another question / plugs and wires
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Member
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 67
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From: Kansas
another question / plugs and wires
First I want to thank everyone on this forum for being so friendly and helpful. I am not a mechanic. It is nice to get input from people that have some expeience and expertise. I have been treated very well here and I appreciate it greatly. On to my question / comment.
There is a dealer here in my town K.C. area, that has a service dept open 24/7. I called and talked to a service mgr a short time ago. I told him what was going on and he told me it was both the plugs and wires.
Apparently, according to him anyway, Motorcraft plugs and wires are designed to fit together. (ie) an aftermarket plug insulator is smaller than a MC therefore, the boots will be loose causing problems. This is supposed to be why it was a real pain in the a** to get the boots off the plugs when I changed the plugs. Now however, the boots pull right off the Bosch plugs.
He said aftermarket wires are a problem as well, that the boots are not tapered correctly to grasp the plug and they will foul in short order.
Just wondering what you guys would do. Pull the Bosch plugs and return the Borg Warner wires, go to another dealer and get Motorcraft, or just assume the guy works for Ford and is just spouting the company line. Your input would be valued and appreciated. Thank you...... R.K.
There is a dealer here in my town K.C. area, that has a service dept open 24/7. I called and talked to a service mgr a short time ago. I told him what was going on and he told me it was both the plugs and wires.
Apparently, according to him anyway, Motorcraft plugs and wires are designed to fit together. (ie) an aftermarket plug insulator is smaller than a MC therefore, the boots will be loose causing problems. This is supposed to be why it was a real pain in the a** to get the boots off the plugs when I changed the plugs. Now however, the boots pull right off the Bosch plugs.
He said aftermarket wires are a problem as well, that the boots are not tapered correctly to grasp the plug and they will foul in short order.
Just wondering what you guys would do. Pull the Bosch plugs and return the Borg Warner wires, go to another dealer and get Motorcraft, or just assume the guy works for Ford and is just spouting the company line. Your input would be valued and appreciated. Thank you...... R.K.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 333
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From: SW MO.
Tex may very well be right here. But I will say I do have confidence in oem parts. I am not saying your bosch or borg warner are trash, but if I had a choice, both were same price, I would take oem. Just my opinion though.
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 975
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From: W. Van., BC, Canada
Nope, OE Ford wires are JUNK! I know, I had the dealer replace one of them just out of warrantee, cost me $330cdn for computer analysis, 1 plug, 1 short wire. That was my last dealer visit.
Went to a Mustang 4.6L wire set from MSD for my truck. Reasonably priced and I have to say the boots are WAY better design than the OE junk. Trust me. No wonder the OE stuff misfires at the boots. The design is a joke.
The reason your new plug wires pull off easily is because they are new, the plugs are new and hopefully you've put some good silicone lube on them. The old ones came off so hard because Ford doesn't put lube on them and the rubber boot deteriorates over time and "cooks" to the plug insulator.
Do it yourself and don't use Bosch plugs. Nothing but trouble from what I've heard. These trucks seem to be finicky for the plugs they like, so far tried Autolite Platinum Pro's (double plat) and had misfires (could have been one dud plug
) and returned them for Champion Truck Plugs (copper core) which are pissing me off right now with pinging under half load. The Champion's were cheap and I was so pissed that I didn't care what brand at the time and they're copper core. So I'm going to take another gamble at the Autolite's or go with Motorcraft Platinum plugs but don't want to spend the cash at the dealer. Or Denso's?
Decisions, decisions.
Went to a Mustang 4.6L wire set from MSD for my truck. Reasonably priced and I have to say the boots are WAY better design than the OE junk. Trust me. No wonder the OE stuff misfires at the boots. The design is a joke.
The reason your new plug wires pull off easily is because they are new, the plugs are new and hopefully you've put some good silicone lube on them. The old ones came off so hard because Ford doesn't put lube on them and the rubber boot deteriorates over time and "cooks" to the plug insulator.
Do it yourself and don't use Bosch plugs. Nothing but trouble from what I've heard. These trucks seem to be finicky for the plugs they like, so far tried Autolite Platinum Pro's (double plat) and had misfires (could have been one dud plug
) and returned them for Champion Truck Plugs (copper core) which are pissing me off right now with pinging under half load. The Champion's were cheap and I was so pissed that I didn't care what brand at the time and they're copper core. So I'm going to take another gamble at the Autolite's or go with Motorcraft Platinum plugs but don't want to spend the cash at the dealer. Or Denso's?Decisions, decisions.
Last edited by p_ferlow; Feb 6, 2003 at 02:30 AM.