Changing coils and plugs

[Titus]

2000 xlt 5.4 V8 motor

Couple questions here:

This morning after this wonderful rain storm we've had my motor was running like crap. Felt like I was driving a tank down the road. Anyway long story short

Bought a computer and it says Cylinders 5+8 are misfiring. I read here:

http://www.f150online.com/forums/v8-engines/429189-removing-cops-plugs-driver-side-2.html

How to do it and the argument about removing the fuel line. Should I?

The cylinders on the driver side starting at the front are 5,6,7,8 correct? 8 being in the back near the firewall correct?

Secondly, do I change the spark plugs and the COP? Or just the COP? I read that these are the best

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-...&fits=Make:Ford|Year:2000&hash=item5d2a06c27a

Is that all that I need or do I need some other part? I read somewhere that on that ebay link something shown didn't come with it. I hope that makes sense. I want to make sure I do this right the 1st time.

To take these out, these just pop right out or are they bolted in? Rookie question but I've never done this before. Any special tools needed? I don't have a torque wrench.

Thank you all for your help.

 

[Titus]

Well I figured out how to get them out and boy are they DIRTY! 7mm bolt holding them in, and they came right out. #8 was a little tricky, but with a 7mm small socket with extension and a ratchet I got it out. The insides look filthy. These are motorcraft products I removed.

Should I swap the sockets out without a torque wrench? I keep reading horror stories about sockets stripping or blowing out once someone attempts to replace them.

Thanks!

 

[huklebuk]

Number one, replace only with motorcraft plug.
Number two, if water got in the engine bay, Iwould bet money that your coil packs leaked and let water in and had something to do with the misfire.
I speak from personal experience on this. I had the same problems and I can tell you if you use the wrong plugs such as the bosch plus 4 platinums, you will eventually blow a plug out. Of course this happened on the good ole' number 8 cylinder. 750 dollars later it was fixed with a helocoil. Replace all 8 coil packs, Yes its a bit expensive but worth it.

 

[hale32984]

Sorry off topic a little bit. I am getting code P0305 stating that there is a mis-fire in my 5th cylinder. How hard is it to change the coil and that plug? i see that it is fairly easy to get to. i reaplced my fuel filter thinking that was the shaking i was getting until i threw it on the computer and got that code. im not to mechanically inclined to change all the plugs and coils, if i change the one that the computer is throwing at me to see if that fixes the problem will that hurt it? Also can i drive the vehicle until its fixed like this or will it stall or fail while driving. thanks in advance.

 

[huklebuk]

Its fairly easy to change. Unbolt the coil, disconnect it, pull it out and pull the plug. If you keep driving it you always run the risk of something catostrophic, such as early detonation or blowing the plug out or some other form of damage that will be way more expensive to replace. After you change the plug reset the code and check it again. It should clear it. Keep in mind that if one has gone bad, the rest will follow eventually. I would consider changing them all so you don't have to deal with it at a totally inconvenient time.

 

[seeker]

Been there

Yes 5 6 7 8 are on the drivers side. 8 is at the fire wall. From my experience 4 7 and 8 are the hardest to change out. The fuel rail can be loosened up by removing two mounting bolts. This has allowed me to change the coils on my expy. I use ngk plugs and anti seize. Never had a plug blow out. 115k on the speedo. No special tools needed. quarter inch drive is handy. Yes change the plug at the same time. If you find water under the coil use a shop vac to get the water out or compressed air. After that use some WD40. Take a good look at number one and you will get the idea of how the set up goes.

 

[huklebuk]

If you really want to speed up the process, invest in a set of wobble extensions. Harbor Freight has them pretty cheap. They make the job a whole lot easier.

 

[Titus]

Replaced my #5 today spark plug and all, wicked easy to do if you take your time and do it correctly. Anti-Seeze remember to use that when changing out your plugs.

 

[markanthony]

I made the mistake of washing the dust off the engine when I first bought it. I ran coils/plugs with water in a few of them. So I went and bought all new plugs/coils. I bought accel coil packs. They were cheaper then factory and cheaper then O.E.M stuff. I used mastercraft plugs from Ford.

It took me about hour and a half to replace them all. The hardest was #8. I unbolted the fuel line from the intake, BUT DID NOT UNPLUG FROM THE INJECTORS. I just moved to the side. On # 8, I tied the water hoses out of the way. Made it a bit easier.

I did not see a fuel mileage increase, but did see a power increase, over the old coil packs.

 

[Rook27]

Been having the same problem. Replaced #3 coil and plug after getting a #3 misfire code. Check engine light went out (probably due to battery being disconnected) and ran great for a few days, then light came back on with a #4 misfire. Pulled the coil and plug. Plug looked good so I just replaced the coil. Does anyone know if this is going to just keep going down the line, or am I finally going to be done replacing parts. I've also read that there are other things besides the coil and plug that can cause a misfire like a bad ecu, O2 sensor or bad catalytic converters. Any way to check these other potential problems (figured the O2 sensors would through a code). Any help or just general info on it would be great.