changing the wires in my 92 sho

[Bryan]

whats the best way to change the wires? I gather removing the intake is the best. Can I reuse the intake gasket? Is it difficult to remove it?

 

[rubydist]

The only time I removed intake to change wires was when the old wires were install in such a way that I could not get them off with the intake in place. Otherwise, I would do it with the intake on.

The intake gaskets can be reused. You just need to make sure the paint is even and they are straight and not kinked. I would spray the copper gasket sealer stuff on them before reinstalling.

 

[Bryan]

Okay so I didn't need to totally remove the intake. Just unbolt it so I could lift it up enough to run the wires under it. Intake gasket looked fine and clean with no kinks. Though the car is pretty low miles for its age (only 100k) and believe this! The previous owner kept a maintenance log dating all the way back to 94 when he purchased it with 24k miles.

 

[sperold]

There are vacuum lines under the intake that you should be aware of, so that you do not snag them and maybe unhook them.

You will save yourself time in the long run if you change the wires, one wire at a time.

If you do all the wires at once, use the wiring diagram on Devin's website Shopowered.com. A lot of wiring diagrams in other publications are just plain wrong.

You may not need to do this replacement with your low mileage. As long as no one has been under the hood yanking on the existing wires. But that is something you can decide yourself.

If you change the plugs, use the Ford brand Motorcraft units as they are the least expensive and the best.

 

[luigisho]

If it's your first time I would take a long time and remove the intake and follow sperolds advice above. One wire at a time and learn how to remove and replace the intake as this is a key skill to other things that will likely need to be addressed at some point. When replacing the intake, loosen each rubber coupler so the intake can settle on the head surface flat then retighten the couplers. If you take it off as one solid piece and try and replace it that way, often it will not sit back exactly flat at the bottom where you need an air tight seal.

 

[Irish Pride]

When replacing the intake, loosen each rubber coupler so the intake can settle on the head surface flat then retighten the couplers. If you take it off as one solid piece and try and replace it that way, often it will not sit back exactly flat at the bottom where you need an air tight seal.

This is a must anytime you remove the intake. You risk stripping/cross threading an intake bolt if you do not loosen the couplers.

 

[Bryan]

There are vacuum lines under the intake that you should be aware of, so that you do not snag them and maybe unhook them.

You will save yourself time in the long run if you change the wires, one wire at a time.

If you do all the wires at once, use the wiring diagram on Devin's website Shopowered.com. A lot of wiring diagrams in other publications are just plain wrong.

You may not need to do this replacement with your low mileage. As long as no one has been under the hood yanking on the existing wires. But that is something you can decide yourself.

If you change the plugs, use the Ford brand Motorcraft units as they are the least expensive and the best.

The car did have low mileage, but the previous owner had hit a deer with it and then let it sit for almost a year. So when I had got it the front two spark plug wires had corroded and rusted out (no dielectric grease was even used). The car from my perspective had three maybe four owners. The first who had it for 24k miles, the second that had it for around 60ish (this is the one that kept all the detailed maintenance logs), and then the third who had it for around 20k ish miles and struck a deer then left it sit as he was unable to repair the damage. Then finally me. When I got it the car was in... well poor shape. The passenger rear brake rotor was so low and thin (my god it was almost paper thin!), that the brake pad had actually slipped out of the caliper and wedged itself between the caliper and rotor blowing out the caliper piston seal in the process.



The front driver side was smashed. Quarter panel, hood, bumper cover, headlight bracket and all the headlights on the driver side was destroyed. Even the radiator support frame was bent a little (tried my best to straighten it out). As for getting plug wires? Discontinued. I tried NAPA, Autozone and my local Ford dealer (New Holland Ford), thought I should have realized asking Ford was a stupid idea. I could have gotten some plugs, but all they were offering was some cheap China plugs like Duralast or some low quality brand from NAPA. I settled on SHO Source and a set of Taylor Thundervolt 8.2mm wires and some Autolite iridium plugs (they were the same price pretty much as what was offered at the parts stores anyways).

 

[Bryan]

This is a must anytime you remove the intake. You risk stripping/cross threading an intake bolt if you do not loosen the couplers.

I did loosen all the couplers and bolts and I disconnected the throttle cable, cruise control (even though it doesn't work anyway), plus all the connections like the DIS and TPS etc. I and pulled off the rubber sleeve for the throttle to the air box on the intake so I could VERY gently tilt it just enough to squeeze the wires under it. When reassembling the intake the bolts went in smooth and I only hand tightened them back down. Not overly tight. Do they need to be torqued? I made sure they were tight, but not too tight they felt like they may break or strip. I know the heads are aluminum so I too extra care.

 

[luigisho]

that is correct with those bolts and threads. Very soft metal. Much better than my first ham ****** go round. Sheared 2 bolts in the back where it's extra fun with no room to try and remove with drill bits and ez outs. Good job to you sir

 

[zak]

I remember looking into that car, probably still have the Carfax from it . . . anyhow, much more important to keep low mileage plugs in it then to have to change the wires. The only time I would change the wires is if the plug well seals had leaked over an extended period of time and coked the spark plug lead portion of the wires up.

 

[Bryan]

I remember looking into that car, probably still have the Carfax from it . . . anyhow, much more important to keep low mileage plugs in it then to have to change the wires. The only time I would change the wires is if the plug well seals had leaked over an extended period of time and coked the spark plug lead portion of the wires up.

The wired were rusted and corroded. Two of them in fact had corrosion build up and was causing all kinds of misfires and heasitation. And it fouled out all the plugs. All were carbon fouled. And you tonwere looking into this same car? Did you also see the craigslist add for it?