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how to change spark plugs?


veloci1

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has anyone done this? i can see how to do the 3 on the front, but, the ones in the back are questionable. should i remove the intake manifold for access? or is there a better way?

 

anyone's help will be greatluy appreciated.

 

Typically you do have to remove the intake manifold and sometimes other parts to get at the rear plugs. But you just said in another thread that you only have 20,000 miles - why do you want to replace the spark plugs?

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Typically you do have to remove the intake manifold and sometimes other parts to get at the rear plugs. But you just said in another thread that you only have 20,000 miles - why do you want to replace the spark plugs?

I am looking for the reasons why my MPG is so low. i am getting 15.5 to 16 at best. i just went up to mammoth (700 miles round trip) and my driving was 95% freeway at 65 mph and all i got was 16.3 mpg. this is low in my mind. i have changed air filter, fuel filter and oil with no improvement on MPG. i am assuming that the spark plugs are the next thing to check out.

 

My lightning gets over 18 mpg on the freeway. granted i only get 14 mpg on the street, but, this is a big heavy truck with a 5.4 supercharged in it.

 

regards,

Edited by veloci1
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I am looking for the reasons why my MPG is so low. i am getting 15.5 to 16 at best. i just went up to mammoth (700 miles round trip) and my driving was 95% freeway at 65 mph and all i got was 16.3 mpg. this is low in my mind. i have changed air filter, fuel filter and oil with no improvement on MPG. i am assuming that the spark plugs are the next thing to check out.

 

My lightning gets over 18 mpg on the freeway. granted i only get 14 mpg on the street, but, this is a big heavy truck with a 5.4 supercharged in it.

 

regards,

 

That is low - how are you measuring it?

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That is low - how are you measuring it?

I am re-setting the on dash computer everytime i fill up. i also look at the miles i drive and the gallons i put in. there is some differences between the manual method and the computer numbers , but, the numbers are very low. i am going to check my tire pressure also to see if that is the cause.

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I am re-setting the on dash computer everytime i fill up. i also look at the miles i drive and the gallons i put in. there is some differences between the manual method and the computer numbers , but, the numbers are very low. i am going to check my tire pressure also to see if that is the cause.

 

Check tire pressure and make sure the transmission is in 6th gear (check the RPM). Are you sure you replaced the air filter with the correct replacement and it's clean?

 

Are you using straight gasoline or an ethanol blend like E10/E30/E85?

 

If none of those appear to be the cause I think you need to have it checked by the dealer.

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  • 5 months later...
I am re-setting the on dash computer everytime i fill up. i also look at the miles i drive and the gallons i put in. there is some differences between the manual method and the computer numbers , but, the numbers are very low. i am going to check my tire pressure also to see if that is the cause.

 

Most of the times the lower gas mileage is due to the driving habits, rather than a car problem, unless you have driven other cars with better results, and is just a lemon...mine is not that good neither.

 

Try to run a couple of tanks of higher octane fuel, in winter I usually go up a grade or if cheap enough put premium on it, according to Ford is a waste, but according to BP is not, higher octane and cleaner gas, according to them, will benfit any car. Given that they teamed together now, not sure who is right or wrong, but just in case, I did my math, 87 is the minimum octane, mixed it with ALCOHOL, and with God knows what, out of the ordinary in any gas tank of the gas stations or any additive not in the right place, and you could lower the octane considerably, and trust me that is not so rare to get that nowdays...We wish to have inspections more often nowadays, but that is not the case...So I bet at least to be the right octane or higher, once in a while...

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higher octane and cleaner gas, according to them, will benfit any car.

 

That is marketing BS. Higher octane won't help a normal engine unless it was designed for higher octane. And they no longer put more detergents in premium - all grades have sufficient detergents and one is not "cleaner" than another. Don't believe everything you read or see on TV.

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That is marketing BS. Higher octane won't help a normal engine unless it was designed for higher octane. And they no longer put more detergents in premium - all grades have sufficient detergents and one is not "cleaner" than another. Don't believe everything you read or see on TV.

 

It is not a matter of putting more detergents, all the opposite, it is a matter of put less aditives and use just gass. Premium gas has indeed less aditives, not more, and it is a more refined gas and harder to obtain, though the higher price, it has another step in the refinement process (or more) just take two samples of gas, one 87 and one 91, put them in a glass recipient and see them on the light, 87 is yellowish, premium is clear like water, with less crap added, and more crap removed...Engines are desinged to work with the minimum and up gas octane, all that BS added to supposedly "clean the engine" is what indeed do not offer any benefits at all...

 

Buddy I'm a professional, I'm not the type of guy that let the market eat my brain at all. I have worked in God knows how many places, that inlcudes a mechanic shop/gas station...I feel that all my cars had worked better with higher octane gas, as opposed to regular gas, and I use it...period.

While it got really expensive, well I used what I could afford, but now there is no reason to fill my tank with regular to save just $2.00 on a tank, honestly.

Also think about this, gas deliveries are not free for the gas stations, what sense it make to offer gas that was only designed and used by high performance cars? How many Hi performance cars you have on the streets nowdays versus the ones that are supposed to work with regular? It won't be a lot wiser to fill all tanks with regular and minimize the number of deliveries a month instead? You are not required by law to offer all kinds of gas...

 

Try to climb a very inclined hill with 87, and later on with premium, and let me know if you feel no diference on the performance of the car, if you do, you car will be the first I know of.

Edited by Kanatronic
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It is not a matter of putting more detergents, all the opposite, it is a matter of put less aditives and use just gass. Premium gas has indeed less aditives, not more, and it is a more refined gas and harder to obtain, though the higher price, it has another step in the refinement process (or more) just take two samples of gas, one 87 and one 91, put them in a glass recipient and see them on the light, 87 is yellowish, premium is clear like water, with less crap added, and more crap removed...Engines are desinged to work with the minimum and up gas octane, all that BS added to supposedly "clean the engine" is what indeed do not offer any benefits at all...

 

Buddy I'm a professional, I'm not the type of guy that let the market eat my brain at all. I have worked in God knows how many places, that inlcudes a mechanic shop/gas station...I feel that all my cars had worked better with higher octane gas, as opposed to regular gas, and I use it...period.

While it got really expensive, well I used what I could afford, but now there is no reason to fill my tank with regular to save just $2.00 on a tank, honestly.

Also think about this, gas deliveries are not free for the gas stations, what sense it make to offer gas that was only designed and used by high performance cars? How many Hi performance cars you have on the streets nowdays versus the ones that are supposed to work with regular? It won't be a lot wiser to fill all tanks with regular and minimize the number of deliveries a month instead? You are not required by law to offer all kinds of gas...

 

Try to climb a very inclined hill with 87, and later on with premium, and let me know if you feel no diference on the performance of the car, if you do, you car will be the first I know of.

 

Premium has the same or more detergents as regular - that's always been the argument for using Premium over regular - it keeps you engine cleaner.

 

Even regular gas has plenty of detergents today - it's federally mandated. Therefore the only practical difference is octane rating. And using premium in an engine designed for regular will not gain you anything - period. It's a scientific fact. Using regular in an engine designed for Premium will cause the timing to be retarded which will reduce power and fuel economy. But since you're a "professional", buddy, I guess you already knew that.

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Premium has the same or more detergents as regular - that's always been the argument for using Premium over regular - it keeps you engine cleaner.

 

Even regular gas has plenty of detergents today - it's federally mandated. Therefore the only practical difference is octane rating. And using premium in an engine designed for regular will not gain you anything - period. It's a scientific fact. Using regular in an engine designed for Premium will cause the timing to be retarded which will reduce power and fuel economy. But since you're a "professional", buddy, I guess you already knew that.

 

http://www.bullyonline.org/

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Guys you can pump whatever you want in your cars, same as I will do with mine, I tried regular following the advice of the dealer for a whole month, and I never got any benefits out of it, same MPG I have now or worst, the car moved slower, and had less power than now, on hills was making funny noises, that as soon as I replace the gas went away....Premiun gas scientifically proved, burn slower, and completely, and at lower temperature, what keep the engine cooler, and creates less deposits, regular gas explode, and burn faster, incomplete, create carbon deposits, that need to be cleaned later on (that is why they use tons of detergents on it) Not saying the premium will make mine better, or I will get better MPG, but I feel my drive better using premium, and that will not change, unless someone prove me wrong, and till now nobody have been able to. The maintenance will change, just a matter of time, not that I care too much mine will be under warranty for 6 more years to come, but I will try to avoid my trips to the dealer...

 

As I stated before, just take two samples of two different gas stations, for both types of gas, regular and premium, you will see with your own eyes the difference, the regular gas has more oils on it, is simply darker, more yellowish, smells differently also, if you want to ignore those facts, that is up to you, if you want more evidence take it to a lab, and you will see the results.

In the gas station I used to work while I was a kid, an Amoco station by coincidence, one of the guys worked for Amoco, taking the gas samples that later on were sent to the lab, the results of the gas contaminants out of the samples taken from the regular tanks were always higher than the ones taken from Premium and Silver...A coincidence? Maybe...

 

BTW what facts those "specialists" online show? They only say what they believe, where are their measurements, their statistical data, they only say that, believe that, and period...Everybody has to bow at them... :rant:

 

Good luck guys with the "regular savings" and benefits...

Edited by Kanatronic
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Whatever. I guess you're right based on your anecdotal, unscientific opinions and all of the engineers in the world who use scientific tests and measurements are wrong.

 

If your engine knocks and doesn't perform well on regular gas then you've either got bad gas or there's something wrong with your engine.

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So, trying to get back to the original question....

How difficult is it to get at the back side plugs, and what needs to be done to make it accessible?

 

I only have 9,000kms on mine but will need to do it some day.

Anyone seen or done a sparkplug change on an Edge yet?

Edited by 08LTDEDGE
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  • 3 months later...

I just did this yesterday - I should've taken pictures and do a write-up about it - sorry guys - but here goes:

Background Info: I drive a 2007 Edge SE FWD at 51K miles - I do a lot of NY - AL - FL trips so I figured it was time to change the spark plugs and air filter -

 

Parts I bought - 6 NGK Platinum Spark Plugs Item # TR55GP Stock # 3403 Gap: .054"

 

First off, if you're attempting this, I'm assuming you're someone mechanically inclined or at least somewhat of a grease monkey - :)

NO NEED for me to tell you how to change the first THREE spark plugs that stare at you when you pop-up your hood - These should be child play for you... if not, take your car to a shop and stop reading... (no offense)... :)

 

The back ones are the fun ones to get to!

 

Keep in mind you will need to move a lot of the wire harnesses around - you may have to cut a few tie-down clips or zip-ties to help you out.

 

1 - Remove the Air Box - Remove Air Filter - No need to dismantle the whole Unit into pieces... Loosen up the clip clamp at the Throttle Body and pull out the whole Unit -

 

** Disconnect the Sensors, Disconnect the Front Rubber Hose and the little valve underneath **

 

2 - Loosen and remove the screws that hold down the manifold (6 total I think in the front) - There is a super long one all by itself in the middle - the others are at the edges

 

** Also, take your time to detach the Wire Harness/Hoses strapped to the Manifold (in the front) you can do this by removing the black electrical tape and replacing later when you're done ...

 

3 - There is one screw under the Throttle Body - remove it - it's kinda' hidden but you'll see it.

 

4 - There is another one on top of the manifold towards the back - it's hidden under the hood cowl

 

** Look on top of your engine towards the back - Locate two rubber hoses attached to the manifold - FYI - You will be working in a very TIGHT spot, but be patient and make sure you don't give up! **

 

5 - Loosen/Detach Rubber Hose on the Left (Pass Side) attached to the Manifold (PCV Valve?) - Make sure you don't drop it - it connects the manifold to the Engine - it's a small "L-shaped" hose

 

** There is a tiny connector right below that valve, you cannot see it but you can feel it, it's easy to remove, just unplug it - AGAIN, it's a tight spot, but not impossible to work with. **

 

6 - Loosen/Detach another Rubber Hose on the Right (Driver Side) and your manifold is ready to come off - Move it around, and pull it out... careful with the wire harnesses around and the other hoses that are sitting on top of the engine.

 

Make sure you Disconnect the Mass Air Flow Sensor and Air Temperature Sensors!!!

 

Once you pull out the Manifold - it is easy as cakes to replace your three other Spark Plugs -

 

Follow the steps backwards and VOILA! - It is a LOT easier to do then all this jargon I've written - I may try to get pictures for those brave enough to attempt this -

 

and in case you're wondering, my car feels a LOT better and smoother - granted... the Edge comes with Platinum Motorcraft Spark Plugs... I don't know about you, but I'll take NGKs over Motorcraft ANY day... :)

Edited by fraychild
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THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I WILL SAY TO YOU GUYS IS THIS: The Manifold is a BREEZE to take out - Seriously - don't let that complicated-engine-look fool you!! - THE MOST time you will spend is trying to get a good grip on those rubber hoses connected to the rear of the manifold - That's because they are located in rather awkward spots and since the cars are new - they require a little elbow grease on your part to pull them out - Everything else is guaranteed easy!!

 

Sorry - I didn't use a torque wrench - I've been working on cars for some time now - I'm not gonna pretend I'm some super-mechanic, but I know when not to overtighten a bolt - especially when the Manifold is made of hard plastic...

 

It's actually an Intake Manifold - it has a built-in a gasket (green) - There was no need for me to change that as it looked brand new and didn't even have a dot of oil on it....

 

At this point i really wish i had taken pictures... i know how important/informative/helpful those pictorial write-ups can be... I've used quite a few if them in the past...

Edited by fraychild
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