[StoneColdStang]

Some dumb ass put Autolites 765 in the 3.8 which is not the correct plugs for this car. Good thing I changed them. My goodness

So I replace my sparks finally for the first time since I bought my car. Used NGK V power copper. Autozone guy was trying to get me to buy platinum but I already know plats dont run good in our car, then he said the car comes with plat plugs and the manufacturer recommends it. I told him no thank you.

But 2 rear plugs on the driver and passenger side was dark, wet, smelled highly of gas and it had deposits on it. They say that can be from oil leakage or fuel quality but I think once I switched to synthetic you will get some oil leakage but after 2nd oil change it will return to normal. That is what the makers and a few other people stated but who knows.

It seemed like the rear plugs was not burning the gas or the sparks was just old and needed changing. I asked the person when the last time he changed the plugs and he stated what spark plugs? LOL So I'm thinking he probably never changed it since he had the car.






[IMG]hhttp://img6.imageshack.us/img6/3975/img0208aa.jpg[/IMG]

Album of more pics of the 2 spark plugs different angles ImageShack Album - 7 images

[6ER THEN I 8ER!]

pic fail?

[StoneColdStang]

pics uploaded

[mcqueen]

If they've never been changed then pop some new ones in, run them until your next oil change, then pop them out and have a look. I'm guessing you're over 100k miles and if the plugs have never been changed then they're bound to look terrible. Also, Motorcraft or Autolite coppers are probably the 2 best plugs in our cars. I had a set of NGKs in my old V6 and it ran pretty shitty with them in (granted they were iridiums, not coppers).

[StoneColdStang]

^^ What do you mean when you say run shitty?

Car runs better now. I can rev my car up now above 4k rpm without it sputtering and misfiring, sounding like I'm popping popcorn when it revs down ..lol

[Reaper_88]

Stuttering, bogging, sometimes bad plugs will cause misfires and pinging

[Reaper_88]

Originally Posted by mcqueen If they've never been changed then pop some new ones in, run them until your next oil change, then pop them out and have a look. I'm guessing you're over 100k miles and if the plugs have never been changed then they're bound to look terrible. Also, Motorcraft or Autolite coppers are probably the 2 best plugs in our cars. I had a set of NGKs in my old V6 and it ran pretty shitty with them in (granted they were iridiums, not coppers).

The iridiums and platnums always run like crap. I run ngk coppers and personally they are awesome (tho I agree that you can't ever go wrong with motorcraft and autolites)

[Tang Stang]

Originally Posted by StoneColdStang Some dumb ass put Autolites 765 in the 3.8 which is not the correct plugs for this car. Good thing I changed them. My goodness

765's have the same specs as the 605's (605's being the copper plug that your local auto parts store's computer will likely recommend), the only difference being the thread length. Both work fine in this application.

[dgt_mustang]

wait, why do you have two threads about the same thing, in the same section, on the same day? your the one that needs to buy that chip of ebay.

[SALEEN961]

Originally Posted by Reaper_88 The iridiums and platnums always run like crap. I run ngk coppers and personally they are awesome (tho I agree that you can't ever go wrong with motorcraft and autolites)

The factory plugs in our cars were platinum and my engine has always ran great with NGK IX Iridium plugs so I really don't understand where people get this from, especially on the platinum plugs since they were the factory plugs for our cars.

[Reaper_88]

Originally Posted by SALEEN961 The factory plugs in our cars were platinum and my engine has always ran great with NGK IX Iridium plugs so I really don't understand where people get this from, especially on the platinum plugs since they were the factory plugs for our cars.

its not a factor of wether they came with our cars stock (cant say cuz im not the original owner of my car) its a reliability factor. I run a custom tune, with platinum and iridium id get a large amount of detonation (aka pinging). Switched to coppers and now the car runs like a champ. Also our cars came with motorcraft plugs from factory which are copper

[SALEEN961]

Originally Posted by Reaper_88 its not a factor of wether they came with our cars stock (cant say cuz im not the original owner of my car) its a reliability factor. I run a custom tune, with platinum and iridium id get a large amount of detonation (aka pinging). Switched to coppers and now the car runs like a champ. Also our cars came with motorcraft plugs from factory which are copper

The fine point on platinum and iridium plugs does make them more prone to pinging but when using the correct heat range plug it shouldn't be an issue (the correct heat isn't necessarily the factory heat range when the car isn't stock). The stock Motorcraft plugs were platinum (AWSF-42E on the left bank, and AWSF-42EG on the right bank).

[Tang Stang]

Originally Posted by Reaper_88 Also our cars came with motorcraft plugs from factory which are copper

Originally Posted by SALEEN961 The stock Motorcraft plugs were platinum (AWSF-42E on the left bank, and AWSF-42EG on the right bank).

[Reaper_88]

Ah i knew i should of researched that before saying they were copper. Thanks SALEEN and Tang haha, my apologies. And SALEEN your right there isnt anything wrong with the platinum and iridium plugs however there isnt any upsides either that are worth the dramatic increase in price over copper. (now this is just simply my opinion)

[Tang Stang]

The only real upside to iridium or platinum on a stock NA 3.8L is going to be longevity. However, there are scenarios, especially when dealing with forced induction, that the fine electrode of a platinum or iridium plug will perform where a copper plug won't.

[Reaper_88]

Originally Posted by Tang Stang The only real upside to iridium or platinum on a stock NA 3.8L is going to be longevity. However, there are scenarios, especially when dealing with forced induction, that the fine electrode of a platinum or iridium plug will perform where a copper plug won't.

Now thats true

[stephen]

Originally Posted by StoneColdStang [B][COLOR="Red"]. But 2 rear plugs on the driver and passenger side was dark, wet, smelled highly of gas and it had deposits on it. They say that can be from oil leakage or fuel quality but I think once I switched to synthetic you will get some oil leakage but after 2nd oil change it will return to normal. That is what the makers and a few other people stated but who knows. It seemed like the rear plugs was not burning the gas or the sparks was just old and needed changing. I asked the person when the last time he changed the plugs and he stated what spark plugs? LOL So I'm thinking he probably never changed it since he had the car.

Depending on the year of the engine, the rear plugs in each bank are likely to
have more carbon on them since the PCV sends a lot of oil to the rear cylinders. 99-2000 cars were especially prone to this. It can also lead to pinging if too much carbon builds up.

[walt1120]

plugs honestly look fine to me but it depends on how long they were in there. If they were in there for 50k miles and look like this than that is normal but if they have only been in the for 5k miles and look like this then you got an issue

Just run the NGK coppers from americanmuscle and call it a day

[StoneColdStang]

Originally Posted by Reaper_88 its not a factor of wether they came with our cars stock (cant say cuz im not the original owner of my car) its a reliability factor. I run a custom tune, with platinum and iridium id get a large amount of detonation (aka pinging). Switched to coppers and now the car runs like a champ. Also our cars came with motorcraft plugs from factory which are copper

SALEEN961 is right, our cars came with platinum plugs with copper core and that is a fact. But I would never pay $7 per plug for those iridium anyway

[StoneColdStang]

Originally Posted by walt1120 plugs honestly look fine to me but it depends on how long they were in there. If they were in there for 50k miles and look like this than that is normal but if they have only been in the for 5k miles and look like this then you got an issue Just run the NGK coppers from americanmuscle and call it a day

Yes that is what I bought. The NGK coppers V power from Autozone.

How do I know if my spark plugs wires are bad?