scfd524

Okay I have a question about spark plugs. This is my first time changing them in my mustang, or in any COP application, and it's turning out to be a little more of a challenge than I thought. I'm at a point where I am going to start running out of time. Is it okay to run with some of the plugs changed and the others still with old plugs or should I backout and put the old plugs that I've taken out, back in. Thanks.

contentsunderpressur

It's ok. It won't hurt anything. Why are you having such a hard time with them?

MJH78

It's fine. The two towards the firewall on the passenger side are really the only difficult ones. you'll have to disconnect the air intake going into the throttle body to get to those.

scfd524

lol...well it's kinda been one of those things where nothing is going right. I couldn't find my plug socket, which i think a neighbor borrowed and never brought back, plus I didn't have the right extension, again thanx to the neighbor, so I had to put 2 3" extensions together one 3/8 and one 1/2 with adapters then my socket is really tough to get on the plugs because the rubber is so new. But I got one plug out and I wasa little nervous after I started reading how many people are blowing plugs out of the heads so I torqued it down to 15lbs and now I can't get the socket off. So it's just been a series of things not all necesserely related to the actual work of changing the plugs.

scfd524

What a pain in my A$$! So i ended up taking the new plug I had put in back out and it took me 15 min to get that plug out of the socket. I had to pry with a screw driver on a lip pulling it up out of the socket. Then put a small screw driver in the backside of the socket pushing it out and then using pliers to help pry it out and it finally came out. So I took my drill and bored out the rubber in there a little bit. There's no way I was going getting that socket off of the plug with it installed. But 1 plug down and it runs fine so the rest should be a piece of cake...yea right.

1fstblckgt

Good luck. I dont let neighbors borrow anything anymore for that exact reason.

MJH78

never heard of blowing a plug out of the head until I read it on this forum. how the hell does that happen? I don't see how that can be a very common occurence. ive always just torqued them down based on feel and never had a problem.

OzzDOA

Before Ford revised the design of the head there were onlyfive or sothreads for the plugs. If you cross-threaded the plugs, torqued em too much or stripped a thread or two the plug would only be held in by a few threads. After a while the threads would give out from the combustion forces an just fly out.

POISND U

Behold my psychic powers.....

I see a helicoiled head in your future....

MJH78

haha your psychic powers. You better be wrong. I think I can tell if I crossthread a sparkplug. It's not too difficult to torque them down properly by feel vs. a torque wrench.