They say platinum plugs last 90k miles

[mechtech2]

PB - You are sure Motorcraft is Autolite? Really... Prove it - I don't believe it.

 

[PandaBear]

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:K6P...lient=firefox-a

 Quote:

Motorcraft and Autolite spark plugs are both made by Honeywell......Honeywell is a division of Allied Signal

 

[PandaBear]

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_makes_motorcraft_spark_plugs

 Quote:

Ford doesn't actually make the Motorcraft spark plugs, Autolite(owned by Honeywell) makes them. So buying OEM style Autolites is the same as buying Motorcraft spark plugs. NKG of Japan made the OEM sparkplugs for the 2003 MY 3.9 Liter LS and Thunderbird. Replacement sparkplugs are indeed Autolite

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

 Originally Posted By: tig1

 Originally Posted By: Falcon_LS

 Originally Posted By: tig1

But Platinum plugs are only good for 50,000 miles which has been my experience.

Was this with your Grand Marquis? Anything other than Motorcraft plugs seems to be a hit or a miss with the Modular V8s.

Yes. I went 60,000 miles on the Motorcraft Platiums and they were shot. Gap opened up to .075. Engine still ran well but mileage took a hit.

I am kind of surprised at hearing all this..I kept the original platinum plugs in my 99 Grand Marquis for 190k miles till it was totaled in a hurricane in 05..The car was still running smooth and still getting good gas mileage. The Crown Vic I got now has almost 78K miles on it and still has the original platinum plugs in it. Florida for the past couple of years is putting 10% corn juice in their gas year round..Not sure how the ethanol is going to effect the plugs..It might kill then off quicker but so far I haven't heard anyone complaining just yet.

 

[wiswind]

The plugs in that Taurus are double platinum plugs....as pandabear mentioned.....the factory original have the platinum enhancement on the ground tab on one side of the motor....and the platinum enhancement on the center electrode on the other side of the motor..... This is due to the fact that the voltage to generate the spark is a postivie voltage on 1 side of the motor and a negative voltage on the other. So the wear will be on opposite terminals on opposite sides of the motor. The Replacement plug is a double platinum......with the platinum on BOTH terminals so that the plugs will wear longer......and more evenly than a single platinum plug. The only brands that I have seen with the Double Platinum are Motorcraft and Autolite. Not to be confused with the Bosch +2 or +4 plugs that some have had problems with in the FORD application.....best to seer clear of them for the Double Platinum Ford application.

 

[JustinH]

Plugs seem to be more of a time replacement thing than a mileage one. I replaced the plugs in my ecotec saturn with 40k miles on it, but the car was nearly 7 years old. My girlfriends ecotec pontiac has 40k miles on it right now, and it is 7 years old as well. Its too easy and too cheap not to do them. I should do them when the weather is warm, nothing is worse than having a car bucking down the road in the winter..

 

[StevieC]

In your case I would agree... For me in 7 years I would have 420K KM (262K Miles). No plug would be left! Also not all cars are easy to replace plugs on like 4-bangers... My engine you gotta take the plenum off and a bunch of other stuff to do it. You are looking at 2 hours easy, and a new gasket for the plenum/intake that you have to disconnect.

 

[PandaBear]

They should design a plug life monitor like the oil life monitor

 

[rpn453]

'99 Sunfire 2.4L. Gap: .050" At 50K miles: .050", .050", .050", .053" At 95k mils: .057", .059", .061", .061" They were due for replacement at 90k, but I don't think the 90k interval was excessive.

 

[demarpaint]

Are you guys saying that the Autolite Platinum Plugs I have in my 3.0L Aerostar with about 70,000 miles on them are still good? I thought they had more miles on them I just checked my records. Anyway if you guys think they can stay longer I'm all for it, they're a b-itch to change. The cap wires and rotor have 70K on them as well. It seems to be running fine, but a tune-up is on my to do list, but it can easily be removed.

 

[PandaBear]

Not sure about when to change in the Aerostar, it is the same Vulcan engine but mine (01 Taurus) has a waste spark system, so the plug life may be shorter. All 6 of the plugs wear about the same (platinum disc/tip completely gone), and if you have access to at least 3 of them, use that as a reference to see if the other 3 should be changed. Maybe the aftermarket double platinum will be better, mine was single platinum center and platinum ground, but if only one side is wearing, it really doesn't matter. You can probably use single platinum on one side and double platinum on the other.

 

[Patman]

When I first got my Corvette it had just over 30,000 miles on it and I took it to the dyno to see how much power it made. They noticed it was a little bit down on power and the scan tool was showing 7 degrees of spark retard. I changed all 8 plugs and found that all of the platinum "pucks" were missing already and that put the gap way too high as a result. With fresh plugs it picked up 10 rear wheel horsepower and the spark retard number went to zero. I'm now running NGK iridiums and they are fantastic plugs. I honestly noticed a smoother idle, a split second quicker cold start and slightly better throttle response when I switched to these plugs (from the NGK copper plugs that I was running after the OEMs)

 

[demarpaint]

Something is telling me to change the plugs, they're a real PIA to do, a job I seem to always find time to put off. About 5,000 miles ago I had the NYS State Inspection done, and the mechanic was amazed how well it ran with over 165,000 miles on it at the time. That was all the excuse I needed to leave it alone. Maybe I can pull one of the easier plugs and make a determination based on that.

 

[Kruse]

 Originally Posted By: demarpaint

Maybe I can pull one of the easier plugs and make a determination based on that.

If you are talking about your Aerostar, my advice is to bite the bullet and just change them. I've owned four Aerostars, each one making it to over 250K and I know what you are going through. Last week I changed plugs on my '94 with a 4.0. It's my opinion that you buy your replacements and just install them instead of pulling just one and looking at it. My wife commented on how much better it now runs and for her to notice that, it must have really made an improvement.

 

[oldmaninsc]

 Originally Posted By: Kruse

 Originally Posted By: demarpaint

Maybe I can pull one of the easier plugs and make a determination based on that.

If you are talking about your Aerostar, my advice is to bite the bullet and just change them. I've owned four Aerostars, each one making it to over 250K and I know what you are going through. Last week I changed plugs on my '94 with a 4.0. It's my opinion that you buy your replacements and just install them instead of pulling just one and looking at it. My wife commented on how much better it now runs and for her to notice that, it must have really made an improvement.

I agree. I have a 95 with the 4.0 and I had an 87 with the 3.0 Every time I've changed plugs on one of these vehicles I swear I'd love to have 5 minutes alone with the person that designed this vehicle! My 95 has just over 200K with the original engine and tranny. Still runs pretty good. Getting ready to change the original water pump though. Back on topic - my 05 Trailblazer came from the factory with double platinum plugs. GM states 100,000 miles. Well around 40 or 45K miles, I had a very noticeable lost in power and a slightly rough idle. Kids on mopeds were passing me from a stop sign or light! The plugs I took out LOOKED fine and the gap was right on. But the new plugs (Autolite Iridium) made a huge difference.

 

[demarpaint]

Any tips on changing the plugs on the 3.0 Areostar? It is a job I'm not looking forward to, trust me.

 

[Kruse]

 Originally Posted By: demarpaint

Any tips on changing the plugs on the 3.0 Areostar? It is a job I'm not looking forward to, trust me.

The left side is not so bad. I think you can come in from the front and through the side. (Jack up the vehicle, put on stands, take the front wheels off) On the right side, you can come in from the side for #1 and #2.. On plug #3, (right, back) come in from the bottom side. Get as many different sized extensions as you can get, including a wobble extension. Have both a spark plug socket and a deep 5/8 socket at your disposal. Your first plug change will be the worst. After that, you're an expert! P.S. Make sure you are not needing the van for awhile in case it goes slower than you expect. Also, your arms will look like you got in a fight with a wild cat.

 

[Kruse]

 Originally Posted By: demarpaint

Any tips on changing the plugs on the 3.0 Areostar? It is a job I'm not looking forward to, trust me.

One other thing. Get some small vacuum hose that's 4"-6" long to put over the spark plug and use that to get the spark plug threads started. When the threads are started, pull the hose off and tighten by ratchet and socket.

 

[demarpaint]

Thanks, that's a trick I've used before. I was wondering if anyone had any tricks at getting at them. The engineer who designed that engine bay must have hated mechanics.

 

[Kruse]

 Originally Posted By: demarpaint

The engineer who designed that engine bay must have hated mechanics.

The engine bay was designed for the 2.3 liter 4 cylinder engine. When this vehicle was engineered in the mid 80s, the engineers figured it would be the only engine that would ever be used in the Aerostar. (Remember early Aerostars had the four cylinder engine) The V6 motors were an afterthought.....and a maintenance headache.