Ford 4.6 Oil Quesions...and engine tick

[ClearDark]

Art,

I went with the singles. China Mart had a sale, $1.99 for a 2 pack Autolite Platinum plugs.

I generally do not mess with platinum plugs, but since this one had it from the factory, I figured why not.

Another thing I noticed and you may want to look into, is the particular autolites I bought had a full length threading. I noticed some plugs for sale only had about half of the shank threaded; these ones were completely threaded. Not sure if it makes a difference or not, but the Motorcrafts were threaded the same way.

Hope this helps.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Well you can't beat that price. Nice deal. Yes, I recall reading something negative about the half threaded plugs in our cars. Thanks for the info.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Well you can't beat that price. Nice deal. Yes, I recall reading something negative about the half threaded plugs in our cars. Thanks for the info.



Art,
My Merc Grand Marq now has the Auto Lite Iridium plugs in and the 4.6 runs smoother than ever. They have been in for 25,000 miles and are doing fine. My 96 has 215,000 miles on it and it's been a great car.

 

[RWEST]

Quote:
the half threaded plugs

Yeah, aren't they the ones that blew out of the cylinder heads? Wait, or was it the cylinder head that didn't have enough threads? We had an E-250 van with a 5.4 that had one of the spark plugs blow out of the head. THAT was a shock!!

In any event, Ford never owned up to an issue, but they DID just happen to have a repair kit available for the "non-problem".

 

[Ben99GT]

Originally Posted By: ClearDark
Art,

I went with the singles. China Mart had a sale, $1.99 for a 2 pack Autolite Platinum plugs.

I generally do not mess with platinum plugs, but since this one had it from the factory, I figured why not.

Another thing I noticed and you may want to look into, is the particular autolites I bought had a full length threading. I noticed some plugs for sale only had about half of the shank threaded; these ones were completely threaded. Not sure if it makes a difference or not, but the Motorcrafts were threaded the same way.

Hope this helps.


Most aftermarket plugs have fully threaded bases.

Motorcraft AGSF (as in AGSF-32C) plugs are full thread and will work in both the 4 thread and the later 9 thread cylinder heads.

Motorcraft AWSF (as in AWSF-32PP) are half threaded and will work in only the 4 thread cylinder heads. These plugs are now obsolete.

These motors in my experience seem to like Motorcraft, NGK, and Autolite plugs. While Honeywell does make the Motorcraft plugs, they are not quite the same as the Autolite branded plugs.

These days I run nothing but Motorcraft coppers.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: tig1

Art,
My Merc Grand Marq now has the Auto Lite Iridium plugs in and the 4.6 runs smoother than ever. They have been in for 25,000 miles and are doing fine. My 96 has 215,000 miles on it and it's been a great car.


Tig1,

I'm in love with the 4.6. I've been thinking about the Iridiums lately. Do you feel they are worth the added cost? I might just splurge on them myself.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: Ben99GT
While Honeywell does make the Motorcraft plugs, they are not quite the same as the Autolite branded plugs.


What is different? Is it just physical appearance or might it be performance related? I'm shopping so I'd like to know.

 

[tig1]

Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Originally Posted By: tig1

Art,
My Merc Grand Marq now has the Auto Lite Iridium plugs in and the 4.6 runs smoother than ever. They have been in for 25,000 miles and are doing fine. My 96 has 215,000 miles on it and it's been a great car.


Tig1,

I'm in love with the 4.6. I've been thinking about the Iridiums lately. Do you feel they are worth the added cost? I might just splurge on them myself.



So far, yes. As I said Mine has about 25,000 miles and are very good. If they last 60-80,000 miles, no doubt I will use them again. Also my mileage has been good with them. Four weeks ago I went to Florida again, 18th time, and my MPG was 25.2 with the air on and 73 MPH. Not bad for a car with those kind of miles. 215,000 miles.

 

[Art_Vandelay]

Originally Posted By: tig1
Originally Posted By: Art_Vandelay
Originally Posted By: tig1

Art,
My Merc Grand Marq now has the Auto Lite Iridium plugs in and the 4.6 runs smoother than ever. They have been in for 25,000 miles and are doing fine. My 96 has 215,000 miles on it and it's been a great car.


Tig1,

I'm in love with the 4.6. I've been thinking about the Iridiums lately. Do you feel they are worth the added cost? I might just splurge on them myself.



So far, yes. As I said Mine has about 25,000 miles and are very good. If they last 60-80,000 miles, no doubt I will use them again. Also my mileage has been good with them. Four weeks ago I went to Florida again, 18th time, and my MPG was 25.2 with the air on and 73 MPH. Not bad for a car with those kind of miles. 215,000 miles.


Not bad at all!