houtex

*Learned. That needs fixin'.

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Previously, on The Mustang Source...

Then, slightly less previously, but still previously, on The Mustang Source...

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With those out of the way...

Awesome has hit 160K miles, and was doing the "I want spark plugs now" hesitation thing like last time. Well... ok, honey. I guess 70K on plugs isn't so bad...

So today I went to work. It was *much faster* this time. The nickel anti seize did it's job, all plugs came *right* out like buttah, no squealing, no complaints, no trickery, no chemicals. Just fired up the air compressor to blow out the holes, wipe them out with a paper shop towel just in case, remove plugs, swab with nickel and install new plugs, torque to 20, button it back up, done!

Entire swap took no more than an hour... and could have been faster, but I was dawdling taking my time to do it as right as possible ('cause I don't wanna drop anything in them cylinders of course.) Two hours total with the cabin filter (That's a real pain in the buttocks with that cover design... ugh), air filter, new belt and clean the throttle body and MAF sensor. Cleaned up, went on the training cruise, and she was just purrin' along like a contented kitten.

So there ya go. I had my reservations regarding the plugs coming out this time, even with the nickel applied, but it works, people. Use the champs or whatever if you want, but I'mma stick with the OEM 'cause she likes 'em fine, and now I know it shouldn't be a problem from here on out.

Hope that helps some people!

wanted33

Good deal my friend. You're braver than me as I took mine to the dealer for a plug change after reading all the horror stories about what could happen. My '06 has a tad over 96K miles now, and seeing you have 170K I'm hoping mine will go that also. We were out in mine today, and the wife mentioned that she still likes the little car. Of course I do to. It's just fun to drive.

m05fastbackGT

So do you still follow the same extraction procedure under the Ford TSB that requires using carb cleaner along with backing the plugs 1/8 turn in a back and forth motion or is that no longer necessary if the plugs already have nickel anti-seize applied to them?

houtex

Well, for me, it appears that the nickel anti-seize, properly applied in enough quantity, makes the TSB procedure no longer necessary (with the exception of applying the nickel, of course.) 8 plugs all removed as if they were in an ol' 289 or 5.0. Just pull 'em. I'll admit I had one that gave me the goosebumps when the thing was just a little more resistant than the rest, but it came out not a problem!

That's why I wanted to post this, so all y'all who have the black COPs heads on this 4.6L motor can rest easy... provided the previous spark plug replacements were done with the nickel applied, of course.

I'll say this: Each one I initially turned just 1/8 to see if it broke loose 'normal.' And then I turned another 1/8 or so to see what happened as they all broke loose no issue. Then I kept on turnin' them out one at a time, replacing one at a time. So definitely do the check, don't assume, but... it was *really nice* to just do a spark plug change without any drama!

m05fastbackGT

I happen to be one of them'all who are very thankful you posted this, as it'll save a lot of time and drama when the time comes to change the plugs once again.

Luckily none of my plugs broke the first time around, as I changed them when my 4.6 3v had just 12,500 miles on them. I followed the Ford TSB spark plug extraction procedure to the letter and all 8 came out with no problem.

Before installing the new plugs, I made certain to apply a thin coat of Motorcraft high-temp nickel anti-seize only on the ground electrode shield just as the Ford TSB recommends. At any rate, it's been nearly 2 years and approx 11k miles since then and the Autolite HT0 plugs have been working flawlessly. In the meantime, thank you once again for providing some very valuable and helpful info and I'll also make certain to back each one out at 1/8 turn in order to make sure they're loose enough before proceeding with the removal

07 Boss

I'm an old fart but when I do routine car maintenance I've always pulled and cleaned the plugs at least once a year. It's the way I was taught and if you know what you are looking for you can read them and see how things are running. With today's computers and such it is not as vital as it used to be but I've done it from day one with this car and never used anti-seize on the electrodes barrel. I use a 1 piece plug anyways. My point being is that if you do this bit of routine maintenance regularly there should never be enough carbon build up on there to get them stuck. I've never had any squeaking or unusual resistance removing my plugs.

houtex

Well, that's good info, and truth, i suspect do what you say, but I'mma be honest... yearly plug pulls are just not in the cards for most people, me included.

Your car is also set up with a whipple and if I'm not mistaken colder one piece plugs, so I also suspect that your experience is going to be quite a bit different than us stockers will get.

But thanks for the input!

area5179

I was going to replace my plugs myself but I looked hard in the mirror, sighed, and said......F NO! I took it to a mechanic I trust and had them do it. Knowing my luck I would have snapped one off in the head and I would have been screwed. It wasn't cheap ($800) but now I have 1 piece plugs and a happy engine!