100000 mi check-up? how much?

[mr fun]

i have a 97 f 150 that just clicked over 100k. getting the notices from my "favorite" ford dealer warning of costly repairs i may be causing by not bending over and saying HERE 75k the check engine light came on and i took it to them, o2 sensors and 750.00 i was out the door no light now but noticing a bit less zip. should i be lookin at plugs wires cap n rotor (if it has them, seem to remember someone telling me it didn't) what am i risking by not going to a dealer? (at the 75k deal the guy in front of me at the casher had his bill for 1500.00 after his 100k check, kinda stuck in my mind) thanks, fun out

[Jay R.]

Sounds a bit expensive to me. look in your manual, see what it consists of and either do the whole thing your self or find a place you trust to do it. and you probably have coild on top of the plugs, seems what most have these days. probably a good time to change the plugs anyway!

[mr fun]

but at first look i didn't even see the plugs. thanks J fun out

[Rickracer]

....check to see if your truck has a cabin air filter. Do yourself a favor and use the factory recommended double platinum Autolite plugs, they will go 100K, anything less won't do it, anything more is a waste of money. I would assume it's a 4.6 or 5.4, and depending on the year, it may or may not have plug wires, it may be coil on plug. Those are really fun to do spark plugs in, you have to take an 8mm (or 5/16") screw out of each coil to access the plugs. If you need plug wires, I can strongly recommend Bosch plug wires, they are considerably better than the Motorcraft wires, and they are about $70 at Autozone. Don't fall for any of that "Double Silicone" crap they sell, they are pure garbage. That should pretty well cover it. You may be due for a tranny service about now too, but your fluid should tell you that, by the color and the smell. Packing wheel bearings (if they aren't the junk sealed bearings many Ford trucks came with), and checking brakes is a good idea too. Let me know if I can help ya out,

[The Big Al]

Ok, what you need to do.

First if it's a 4.6 it has plug wires. Change them.

If it has a 5.4 it has plug over coil. The plug over coil at over 100k will start having a bad skip. They always change the coil for that cyc.
99% of the time is not the coil it's the coil boot. The coil snaps on the sparkplug, it has a protective boot to keep it from arking in the sparkplug hole.

Get a set of boots and plugs, these engine's are a pain in the a** to change. The factory plugs are platinum, just put back what it came with. They lasted 100k, so why change.
Change all the filters and have the fuel injection system cleaned.

Service the transmission.

Rock and role!

[Rickracer]

The factory plugs are platinum, just put back what it came with. They lasted 100k, so why change.

The factory plugs ARE double platinum, and Autolites are not very expensive compared to some of the alternatives. If the truck isn't missing yet, I wouldn't bother with the boots, very few places stock them, and they don't break down like carbon core wires do. What happens is that the wider the plug gap gets, the higher the voltage goes, by 100K, the gap is wide enough that there is less resistance to jump through the boot than to jump the plug gap, electricity follows the path of least resistance. Unless there's already a hole burned into the boot, lower the resistance with some fresh new plugs, and the boots will be just fine. .

[The Big Al]

The factory plugs ARE double platinum, and Autolites are not very expensive compared to some of the alternatives. If the truck isn't missing yet, I wouldn't bother with the boots, very few places stock them, and they don't break down like carbon core wires do. What happens is that the wider the plug gap gets, the higher the voltage goes, by 100K, the gap is wide enough that there is less resistance to jump through the boot than to jump the plug gap, electricity follows the path of least resistance. Unless there's already a hole burned into the boot, lower the resistance, much less chance of jumping off the path, .

The boots decay, and is for the reason to replace them. Any NAPA store has them. It's stupid to replace plugs and not the boots. The Boot failure is the most common problem, and is diagnosed as coil failure.

Changing the plugs and not the boots is like changing the oil and not the filter.

[The Big Al]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=440 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffcc00><TD colSpan=6>Spark Plug Boot (Coil to Plug)</TD></TR><TR id=ucHTMLContent__ctl0_trDiscount><TD id=ucHTMLContent__ctl0_tdDiscount vAlign=center align=right colSpan=6></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR height=120><TD align=middle>

</TD></TR><TR><TD>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><SCRIPT language=javascript> function ViewImage() { var imgSrc = (document.getElementById('PartImage')).src; var newWindow = openWin(imgSrc, 'popup_win', 'width=450, height=450,toolbar=0, location=0,directories=0,status=0,menuBar=0,scrollBars=0,resizable=1'); newWindow.focus(); } function SetImage(obj) { var imgUrl = obj.options[obj.selectedIndex].value; var imgTag = document.getElementById('PartImage'); imgTag.src = imgUrl; } </SCRIPT><TD></TD><TD class=body>Item#: BEL727417


Available at NAPA stores.



</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[Rickracer]

Your opinion, my opinion, his choice. He's got two knowledgeable opinions to work from. It's all good. Last time I bought boots from NAPA, they were almost as much as a set of good wires.

[mr fun]

it's a 4.6, did the tranny n brakes a while back, gotta go see if i got boots! i ask about the rear, said it was a sealed unit (hunh?) that it could not be checked, what about changing the rear gear oil. i don't think i want to go back to the dealer, they stole my paperwork for my tire warranty after i told them i had it at sams club and i'll just get a screw pulled and patched there kinda pissed me off. thanks again fun out

[The Big Al]

No boots, you have plug wires.

Price shop them.

Bel-din wires are factory but very very high dollar!

Price them at your NAPA store, cheep wires at the Advance and Auto-zone are not the answer.

You might even price the dealer, sometimes they can be competitive, but I don't think they will be.

AL

[The Big Al]

<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=440 border=0><TBODY><TR vAlign=top bgColor=#ffcc00><TD colSpan=6>Spark Plug Wire Set - Premium</TD></TR><TR id=ucHTMLContent__ctl0_trDiscount><TD id=ucHTMLContent__ctl0_tdDiscount vAlign=center align=right colSpan=6></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD></TD></TR><TR vAlign=top><TD vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR height=120><TD align=middle>
</TD></TR><TR><TD>Click on image to see enlarged view
<INPUT type=hidden value=28589088 name=prrfnbr>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD><SCRIPT language=javascript> function ViewImage() { var imgSrc = (document.getElementById('PartImage')).src; var newWindow = openWin(imgSrc, 'popup_win', 'width=450, height=450,toolbar=0, location=0,directories=0,status=0,menuBar=0,scrollBars=0,resizable=1'); newWindow.focus(); } function SetImage(obj) { var imgUrl = obj.options[obj.selectedIndex].value; var imgTag = document.getElementById('PartImage'); imgTag.src = imgUrl; } </SCRIPT><TD></TD><TD class=body>Item#: BEL700944

Price: $82.99
tax and shipping not included

Disclaimer: The stated price may vary from the in store price and may change at anytime.



Attributes:
Features & Benefits:NAPA Belden MAX Wire Sets Are Specifically Engineered to Ensure Protection & Power in the Form of a Proprietary Coating Bonded to the Wire's Silicone Jacketing Material. Outperforms in Terms of Voltage Conductivity.
Wire Diameter:8mm

lifetime warranty
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

[mr fun]

i'm not touchin um, my experince is i'd probably replace something thats in the way wrong and cause more prob. this tow is cherry, nicest ride i've ever had, don't wanne mess it up. thanks fun out

[Jay R.]

Do the plug wires, better choice in the long run. do them one at a time and you can't mess them up!

[mr fun]

the block sits about halfway behind a bunch of black boxes and i can only see about half the plugs, not my cup of Decalf fun out