plugs and wires - recommendations?

[MaDDaDDaM]

I've heard the standard Motorcraft plugs are certainly good, but are there any that are better and worth using instead? And what about wires?

Also, I've heard not to get oil in the cylinders while trying to get it out of the plug wells. But if I pull the plugs to see if oil is around them, won't any residual oil in the wells then drip into the cylinder?

 

[K-Dawg]

Taylor wires and Motorcraft plugs do pretty good for me. Might try the Magnecore wires next...

Just pull the plug wires and look at the boots to see if there's oil on them. You can look in the wells with a flashlight, too.

 

[MaDDaDDaM]

To temporarily solve my problem, can I simply clean the oil out of the plug wells so that I can drive the car to my friend's house to replace the seals?

And, where can I get the seals/gasket kit?

 

[NotSoSlowSHO]

You might as well leave the oil in there, until you have the chance to do the entire job.

Most of the time, removing a lot of oil from a plug well, without replacing plug/wires INCREASES misfiring. And with new plugs/wires, I wouldnt install them until the plug well seals have been replaced.

I say leave it be, until you can pull the covers and do it right.

 

[Blue-By-U]

You can use the sprayer assembly from a Windex bottle to get the oil out of the plug wells. With the intake and valve covers off, insert the plastic tube around the edges of the spark plug and spray the oil into a rag. Keep doing this until the well is dry.

You can purchase the valve cover gasket set at AZ: Felpro VS50378R $71.99

 

[AutoSHO]

Magnecore wires suck.

I've used Magnecore, Taylor, OEM, and AC Delco. All but the Magnecores were great and worked well. Never had good luck with the magnecores, either in terms of performance or sealing the plug wells.

 

[autobahnsho]

Most of the time, removing a lot of oil from a plug well, without replacing plug/wires INCREASES misfiring. And with new plugs/wires, I wouldnt install them until the plug well seals have been replaced.

I say leave it be, until you can pull the covers and do it right.

Yup. When I pulled the oil out and put new plugs (but not new wires) the car lost 2-3 cylinders until I got new wires on.

Yet it drove fine for 9+ months with oil all the way up to the top.. :ruhroh:

 

[shobikes]

My two cents:

I used to poo-poo the SHOForum longtimers when they said "Just get the Motorcraft wires." I thought, "What difference could it make, as long as they're a name brand."

I bought NAPA/Echlin - they looked so crappy I never even installed them.
I bought Borg/Warner - they were actually arcing so bad I could SEE it.
I finally got the Motorcraft wires - don't bother with anything else.
I would like to try the Taylors one day (in about 60K!)

I have had no problems with my Autolite Double Platinum plugs, though they are slightly taller, by about a millimeter.

Don't bother with new wires (assuming yours are still working OK) until you fix the valve cover seals. Waste of $$

 

[MaDDaDDaM]

Ok...I thought my engine seemed to be choking somehow and possibly lacking something. So I checked airflow, it seems fine. I checked the fuel pump AND replaced the filter. And yes, I checked out my spark plug wells, there are dry as can be, no oil inside, and my plugs and wires are new. So...doesn't that just leave the computer? Oh...and I can drive in reverse perfectly fine, all the way thru my powerband and the engine runs fine. I can rev, and it also sounds fine, I hear no misfiring.

So, if it is the computer, can I just fix it? What about a new computer? What are some possible upgrades? Please let me know. Thanks, Addam
__________________

 

[Ferendon]

To get the oil out of the plug wells, go to the grocery store and get a turkey injector. It's a big needle like a doctor uses, but the needles like 6 inches long, so you can just suck the oil out with that, rather than pumping forever, and spraying oil everywhere...

 

[91 Plus]

The easiest way i found to get oil out of the plug wells is this..
Get the hose on air compressor and get the adapter that shoots air.Cut a hole in a rag and spray down in the hole.All the oil sprays on the rag and its a done deal

 

[Ferendon]

Motorcraft AGSP32PPs
and Taylor Wires (P/N TAY-74268 on summitracing.com, Taylor P/N 74268)

 

[Chris Benvie]

Ok since he has said its not plugs and wires lets move on shall we?


Have you ever actually cleaned your MAF?


How about a 60k on your car? I would serioulsy look into it if you havn't yet, 1st thing that anyone should do to thier SHO before they do anything else is rod bearings and a 60k.

I am willing to bet money if you clean/replace your MAF, check and see if maybe your CATS are clogged, and give your car a 60k (of some sort) your car will run better and most likely correctly.


Why are you so set on it being your ECU?

 

[MaDDaDDaM]

Thank you Chris. Yeah, I was kinda wondering how the topic on the thread didn't change. I've got new plugs and wires and no oil. I don't know about the cleaning of the MAF. Is it hard? I don't know much about it. Most areas of tune-up in the 60K have been done at one time or another. Obviously some parts don't need replaced every 60K miles. And I wouldn't think rod bearings are giving me the symptoms I have. The car isn't running bad, it is undriveable. The engine seems perfectly functionable. It will go in gear fine, but once a significant amount of peddle pressure is applied the car spasms. BUT...it will drive fine in reverse! If the engine will operate perfectly fine in reverse, it can't be a problem in the normal process of the engine and there are no trany or clutch problems. So doesn't it HAVE to be electronic?

 

[shobikes]

Have you run the codes? Check sdpatt's sig or SHOTimes.com for further info on how to do that. Could be any number of things - the whole reverse thing is weird - how'd you figure that one out? (More importantly, how'd you keep it in a straight line when the secondaries opened???)

Run the codes, and tell us what you find.

 

[Ferendon]

That's same problem I have, but I haven't replaced my wires yet...