I need to do mine the car has 104k on the clock.

 

So what brand are the factory plugs?

 

Is the Autolite APP103 the correct plug to use? After some searching and reading some of the write ups another member indicated to use the APP605.

 

I want to change mine but will have to wait til I have some more money which is going to be a while... Probably will go with the NGK Iridium Lasers. What is a good source for the gaskets? I remember someone on here said they found them for $10 a set at autopartswarehouse or somewhere.

 

Autozone has them for $12.99. Part number is MS96494

 

Thank you. $12.99, that's not bad... Is that the only set I would have to change or is it recommended to change the lower gaskets too?

 

I believe only the upper set should be replaced when changing the plugs.

 

please delete

 

We took the Wife's '03 X-Type to her sisters for the Holidays. Holy Crap this thing runs like crap! :-)


I fired it up and backed out of the garage with HARD BRAKES, ROUGH IDLE, NO POWER, CRAPPY PERFORMANCE. Of course she says "it's been like this for a long time". Really?


OK, the only thing I've done on it since we've owned it is brakes, new coolant tank (yeah, the little return nipple cracked, $51-ebay) and the tuning gaskets. I guess I'm in for plugs and gaskets. I got the gaskets at the dealer last time time I was there getting the PVC hose replacement. He talked me into it. :-) So at least I have the gaskets for the intake manifold. Yep, I have both upper and lower. (ouch). anyways, thanks for this write up. I'm now ready to tackle this! I've printed out all the pics and write-ups and as soon as I find the weelend to do it, It will be done! :-) anyone in cincinnati OH want to come over and cheer me on? I'm buying beer and wings for those that help! (ok, shameless attempt, but... anyone?) :-)

 

I'm going to try out the Bosch IR Fusions. They are on sale on Amazon with a rebate right now. They are similar to the +4 platinums but with an iridium core, so they should be good. Will post my results. Also got a new fuel filter so I'll be replacing that as well soon.

 

I skimped out on the gaskets though. Part of me wanted to get them but I'm hoping they are in good enough condition they can be reused, otherwise I will have to order them later and take off the intake plenum again. I probably could have waited a while to change the plugs but my car has 80k miles and I'm betting the stock plugs are about due for a change. Performance feels a little sluggish (just got the car though so can't say but I think it will benefit from having new plugs), and plus they're supposed to be an improvement over oem so I'm hoping they will squeeze out some extra gas mileage.

 

What's the benefit of replacing the pcv hose? Is it possible to do this without removing the manifold? Sounds like my PCV valve/hose is due for a change... one site recommends changing it at 80k miles. Forgot about this part when I was shopping for plugs.

 

Spark plug change went okay. Used the Bosch IR Fusions. Had trouble getting the intake box out at first, then had trouble getting the clamp off the intake air tube, but got some tips on here then I got it. Had to squeeze clamp together to open it. Took off the intake plenum, but it seemed like a lot of work to remove the throttle body so what I did was tilt the intake plenum up using the air filter box, which gave me just enough room to access the rear spark plugs. Then I wiped out some of the oily gunk, bolted it back together and changed out the front three. Also sprayed out the pcv valve with some brake cleaner, it was all oily and gunky. One thing I forgot to do was anti-seize the bolts as I was putting everything back together doh! I anti-seized the spark plugs but I should've put some on the coil bolts and intake bolts. Well anyways, I fired it up and it started right up. Took it for a short test drive and it seems to be idling smoother and has a little more pick-up when I press the pedal. Not a major difference but the car does feel like it's running better. The old plugs were shot... All corroded and burnt. They were definitely due for a change.

 

Disclaimer: I'm no mechanic so take anything I write below with a huge grain of salt and ask others on here with more experience. That being said. . .
Do you have a check engine light? If so, you should read the codes it's throwing off. Given what you've said I'd venture that there's a misfire but the things that can cause a misfire are numerous. You may have a vacuum hose leak and therefore running a lean condition, bad coil (which in these cars means a bad ignition wire), a grounding ignition wire, a bad fuel injector, a fuel pump issue, etc. Without codes it would be hard to say which issue is causing it. Computer codes would nail down whether its running lean, which cylinder is misfiring, or if there's a random misfire on different cylinders (which would tend to indicate a fuel pump or fuel filter issue).

Good luck with your issue. Most of the issues listed are a pretty easy repair and relatively inexpensive. However, you don't want to let a misfire condition persist too long as it may shunt unburnt fuel into the catalytic converter, where it will burn and melt that rather expensive part. So if you haven't already taken care of it, do it ASAP.

 

When is the recommended spark plug change due? (mileage)

 

Tackled mine last week. Not near as difficult as I thought it would be. Did plugs, IMT and upper intake gaskets. I had a random, non code setting, misfire before the service. None now. Runs great. Took about 2 hours from set up to clean up.

 

Pulling one of the connectors off the back of the intake manifold, the wires snapped. Of course, they snapped off right at the connector, so wire splices aren't an option. Does someone have a part number available for this connector?

 

I think your best bet is going to try to match one from the Motorcraft catalogue:

http://www.fordtechservice.dealercon...torcatalog.pdf

 

Thank you, that's a huge help. Well, sort of. There are almost a dozen connectors that look nearly identical, and I can't figure out which is a match for the one I have, and I can't read the part number on the one I have, so...

 

If engine runs fine, don't change spark plugs.