Spark Plug Change

Today I did a spark plug change on my car at 16450 miles. I had to order the plugs (Motorcraft Iridium CFSY-12) at my dealer since I was the first mechanic to ask for them. All of the stock plugs read perfect with no signs of running lean or too rich. There is a slight oil film on the threads but electrodes and porcelin were light tan. Some pics of the removed plugs.



Easy job, Remove PCV hoses and coil covers, 8mm socket to remove coil hold down screw, 5/8" spark plug socket and 10" of extension. Unbolt coil, pull up a little release tab on harness and pull off wiring, remove coil and clean seals and blow out spark plug well. Remove plug (do with engine cool so you don't pull out aluminum threads) thread in new plug by hand until seated and torque 10 ft/lbs (124 in/lbs). Little dielectric grease in coil boot and push back into well, tighten coil hold down screw to 7 ft/lbs. Replace coil lead (make sure it clicks. Do 8 times and replace covers, and PCV hoses. Test drive and enjoy! Most of you won't be doing this for at least 40000 miles but I like to see what's going on with the engine.
Steve

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Got a spare set in the garage just waiting for spare time...

So I am clear--change the plugs when the engine is completely cold?

 

[cloud9]

Got a spare set in the garage just waiting for spare time...

So I am clear--change the plugs when the engine is completely cold?

Yepper, they all released very easily when backing out the old plugs. Took me about 2.5 hours but I took my time. I'm guessing I could do it in half the time next time.

 

[steveespo]

Gary
Good job, they look like you are running lean, isulators are very white. Do me a favor and take some close ups without flash, the should be tan to a little brown and light soot. With the headers, I don't know if the A/F ratio is quite right. You sir might need a custom or email tune.
Steve

 

[cloud9]

I do have a custom email tune from VMP. I'd think I'd get a lean bank 1 or 2 if I was running too lean? I'm planning to get it on they dyno as soon as I get the new DS. Here are a couple pics without flash. Let me know if you need a different angle.

 

[steveespo]

They look better in those pics, more tan than I thought. Good news is you are not burning any oil, they looke nice and dry. When they dyno ask for the AIr?Fuel curve, and if you can have them data log it with the Aeroforce gauge.
Steve

 

[cloud9]

They look better in those pics, more tan than I thought. Good news is you are not burning any oil, they looke nice and dry. When they dyno ask for the AIr?Fuel curve, and if you can have them data log it with the Aeroforce gauge.
Steve

Good thanks. Will do. He'll give me the datalog that I can send to Justin. Of course I could just datalog it now and send it to him but he didn't seem too worried about it based on what he changed.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Photos are with and without flash and numbers do not correspond to the cylinders. I forgot to ask the dealer to mark them by cylinder and of course they didn't do that. They did at least save them for me.

They all look pretty consistent with the exception of 7 which has a little bit of carbon on the electrode. Overall they look pretty good to me but if anyone has any comment on them please let me know. They have 19,600 miles on them and about 20 track days.

 

[2012-Boss]

Rick,

Those look the same as the ones Steve Esposito and I pulled from my engine last month. We noted that mine are a grayish color vs the tan on his plugs which is an indication that my motor runs leaner than his. I suspect that is related to what Shaun / AED has mentioned about the Track Key tune being to lean in their opinion and Steve's AED tune is a little richer (i.e. safe).

 

[steveespo]

I do worry about what I saw with Steve's (2012-Boss) plugs, very white with just a hint of tan ring. I feel that track key adds timing but not enough fuel for safety, relying on the knock sensors to protect the engines. I know Ford knows their engines better than me or most tuners, but they also have to worry about CARB, EPA, CAFE and the like. They don't want to deviate much on fuel trim because rich mixtures affect catalyst life. Anyway use good gas when at the track 25% 100 octane unleaded to 75% 93 Octane premium just as extra detonation protection. High RPM, high coolant and oil temps and high loads are the perfect conditions for engine damage due to detonation, and it will happen in milliseconds.
Steve

 

[VoodooBoss]

Thanks guys. Any concern on #7? BTW the only time I use TK is on track.

 

[2012-Boss]

Not really. Just keep running good fuel and consider inspecting that plug part way through next season just for your own piece of mind.

 

[blacksheep-1]

FWIW the dragster guys hit the kill switch at the top end at wide open throttle, then pull the plugs, this way you have a"clean" reading. I don't see any problems with those plugs, if it was a carb car, I'd say it was a tad lean but a modern fuelie I'd say they look normal. The best way to check this is on a dyno with a probe.

 

[VoodooBoss]

Thanks guys.

 

[F.D. Sako]

I wanted to confirm spark plug part numbers before placing an order.
A quick search revealed a couple of different spark plug numbers. This thread mentions Motorcraft CFSY-12 and another mentions SP-519. Will both work, is one better than the other?

I know I could check my owners manual, but it's in the car and I'm feeling a little lazy
Any info will be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance!

 

[2012-Boss]

It is the same plug. sP-519 is the Motorcraft part number and CFSY-12 is the number on the plug. Rock Auto has great prices for sets of 4.

 

[F.D. Sako]

It is the same plug. sP-519 is the Motorcraft part number and CFSY-12 is the number on the plug. Rock Auto has great prices for sets of 4.

Thanks for the tip Steve!
Did a quick search and couldn't find a better deal than RockAuto.

 

[cloud9]

Swapped mine yesterday and they looked just like Rick's on the tips without the carbon on the #7 electrode :-\

 

[drano38]

Took the Boss in today for the O-ring TSB. I'm just under 15,000 miles.
They called back and said it sounds like the #4 cylinder is misfiring a bit. I've never noticed that.
He pulled the #4 spark plug, and the service advisor called back and recomended replacing all plugs.
She said $472.
Really? Are the plugs gold plated or something?
I'm running out of time to do them myself (and they need to order the plugs) so won't be here until Monday.
Maybe I'll do a test remove and replace on a couple this weekend and see how it goes.

 

[ArizonaBOSS]

Took the Boss in today for the O-ring TSB. I'm just under 15,000 miles.
They called back and said it sounds like the #4 cylinder is misfiring a bit. I've never noticed that.
He pulled the #4 spark plug, and the service advisor called back and recomended replacing all plugs.
She said $472.
Really? Are the plugs gold plated or something?
I'm running out of time to do them myself (and they need to order the plugs) so won't be here until Monday.
Maybe I'll do a test remove and replace on a couple this weekend and see how it goes.

Uh you can replace all of them yourself for $45 in plugs from Tousley; probably need about an hour of your time.

 

[cloud9]

Took the Boss in today for the O-ring TSB. I'm just under 15,000 miles.
They called back and said it sounds like the #4 cylinder is misfiring a bit. I've never noticed that.
He pulled the #4 spark plug, and the service advisor called back and recomended replacing all plugs.
She said $472.
Really? Are the plugs gold plated or something?
I'm running out of time to do them myself (and they need to order the plugs) so won't be here until Monday.
Maybe I'll do a test remove and replace on a couple this weekend and see how it goes.

Mine's in right now as well. I was getting P0300s quite a bit at the track and then got them on the street so knew something was up. I also got a P0303. I had fresh plugs in so I knew it wasn't the plugs. They replaced the #3 coil and that cured the mifsires on 3 but started getting them on 4 and 5 too. They replaced both of those coils and fixed the misfires on those cylinders but were still getting a lot of interference on the crank sensor. It still kicked P0300 to the point of a CEL within seconds of startup along with a P0316 (random misfire at startup). Ford Hotline's immediate response was it needs a new crank sensor. I had to get one overnight and then overnight it to PRS to put the upgraded connector on it and overnighted back. It just came in and won't get it on until tomorrow but really hoping that's the end of it. Car runs fine other than the CEL so not surprised you didn't notice the misfires. Pretty hard to diagnose without their laptop though.

I do have to say hats off to PRS on their service though. I called up Clint and he said he could turn around one sensor in a day. He did and even let it sit until late afternoon for the epoxy to set up before taking it to UPS on his way home from work. First class operation.