Both options for sorting the wires are good - either label them, or move one at a time to the new cap. Just make sure you orient the cap so it sits in the right spot with the wires where they belong.

By the time this is over with, you'll have a pretty good 'feel' for how tight the plugs should be. No gorilla grip necessary, but they have to seal.

You can buy wire loom at the auto parts store. It comes in one long piece, and you just cut it to fit. Probably easier than trying to reuse the old stuff.

If you find several plugs with a lot of carbon build-up, maybe run a can of sea foam or injector cleaner through the fuel tank. If you want to do the quick and easy, run the tank down to about 1-2 gallons of fuel, add the treatment, and run it until it's almost empty. Then fill the tank and you're ready to go.

Then again, you might find "the bad plug" on the last two that is just obviously nasty. Then we can start exploring the reasons if that's the case.

The crazy thing is, once you have the plugs/wires and cap/rotor changed, it just might run like a new truck! With the wire loom still taped and intact on the plug wires, I have to wonder if those are the factory wires (maybe even the plugs, cap, and rotor).

 

The compressor drain plug doesn't matter how well it matches up, as long as the threads are the same. Don't install it with Loctite or you will have a hell of a time changing it again later because if you have the compressor for a long time you will have to change it again. It seals when you tighten it with a rubber gasket type thing that wears over time. Wrap it with teflon tape and put it in.

1/4 turn past bottom sounded a bit much to me. 1/8 sounds closer to what I do it. The plugs do get smooth and rough as you thread them in sometimes. I hold the ratchet by the head as I screw them in to make it easier to see when they bottom.

I orient the cap to match the old one and change the wires over, then remove the old cap and transfer the new one on. If you mark and pull them all there is a better chance of starting at the wrong spot and putting them all on wrong.

A little info for you, on my truck with the I6 I changed the plugs a little while back. Some of the plugs were in less than finger tight. It was the rear two. After changing them I checked them a little while later and they were once again less than finger tight. I've since changed the head and haven't had that problem, so maybe my threads were damaged. Just be careful back there because I'm guessing because they are more of a pain to reach maybe the previous owner did some damage. The #1 wire has that sheath on it because there is a problem with misfiring because of the close proximity of all the metal brackets. Even with the sheath I had to carefully route my wire so it wouldn't misfire.

Oh yea, I stand on a 5 gallon bucket.

 

A buddy of mine crawls in there with his 4.9. Not me I would break my ***

 

Sean, Aliens,

Thanks. I'll see what I can find for a replacement. If nothing else, I have rediscovered my small compressor - it's quiet and a LOT easier to handle when doing something like this. For an air ratchet, the big one is the choice though.


I think I know what you mean, and I ended doing exactly that at times.


Sounds good. I might label them too, just to be safe


I did not find them too bad to reach. The second to the last came out with a straight extension, and the last was partially blocked by vacuum/solenoid gizmos that I'll have to identify some day. I put a small ratchet handle directly on the socket (eliminating an adapter) to avoid them. Both of those plugs hit bottom and did not want to turn very far after that. I am fairly certain they were not "faking it" and really did seat, though I would have liked to feel a bit more motion. I took both of them up and down just a bit, and decided to let them bottom and then tug on the wrench some more vs. stripping the threads. It would not hurt to check them after some driving.

To avoid breaking things when the rear wires came off the plugs, I removed a few electrical connections and one vacuum hose - they would have been in pieces if I had left them in place for the yanking.

The last wire was VERY hard to remove, and its connector broke away from the wire instead of the plug. Give it to me straight: did I screw up? Anyway, I used pliers to get the connector off the plug, and then just changed the wires as the next step. About the age of the wires: Motorcraft 1996

This one was interesting. I found that I had plenty of room to take the new wire on top of the bracket and back to the distributor. Any concerns? It would not hurt to get some loom and protect it regardless, because there is a lot of metal nearby.

There were no ultra ugly plugs. Mostly gray deposits and some carbon on a few of them. So far the weirdest thing I saw was the wire from the ignition coil[*] to the distributor. When I pulled it from the coil, there was a lot of powdery residue, and I suspect the coil connector has seen better days. Sounds like it's a $18 part, so I am thinking of replacing it to avoid hassles with the wire popping lose and the engine conking out at a bad time.
[*] I _think_ that's what it is. There is apparently a thing of that name in the same general area, and it looks like a transformer that could do the job.


Maybe I am kidding myself, but the truck seems to run very nicely at this point. The distributor cap and rotor are next - hopefully tomorrow if not in the next couple hours. I still am not very trusting of the rear pump, but I will get new gas caps and watch it for a while instead of just replacing it on unconfirmed suspicion.

Thanks!!

Bill

 

The broken wire is no big deal - they get pretty tight over the years (especially over 12 years!) You had new ones to replace them with, so no harm done.

Good looking plugs all the way back - that's a great sign of nothing scary going on inside.

It seems like the new wires are always longer than stock - that's ok too. You can get some guides at the parts store and clean things up a bit if you decide that you want to.

A new coil couldn't hurt, but might not be necessary. Mine was the same way, but I haven't replaced it yet. It's on my shopping list though!

The new cap/rotor will help a lot too - be sure to coat all of the contacts with dielectric grease before you put it together. The plug wires probably had some in the connectors, but the cap won't.

It sounds like you're well on your way to bringing your truck back to life! I understand that you're not trusting the fuel pump yet, but I'd give it a good drive (long enough to get it good and warmed up, maybe 15-20 minutes, even if you run circles around the block for that long) to make sure it still runs good after getting up to temp.

 

After replacing the cap and rotor, I went for a drive around the subdivision. It ran fairly well. No stalls, and nothing close to it. I still sense a slight roughness at times, but I doubt I would notice if I were not looking for problems. I have not replaced the fuel filter yet, so that might help.

Understood about the coil, but I already had trouble getting the wire to stay in place, and there is a pretty noticeable chunk missing from the post. If the price I heard is accurate, it seems like a good thing to replace, if only to avoid unexpected loss of power in traffic - not fun (and not all that safe depending on circumstances).

Funny you mention temperature. I saw a small spot under the truck, not far away from where a heater core/hose leak might show up. Sure enough, there was a small amount of coolant on the back of the front right wheel well. I do not see or smell signs of a heater core leak, but there might be a small wet area near the end of one of the hoses. It might be just a loose clamp.

It would not be the first time. I replaced the core about a year ago, and a couple of months later noticed a pretty good coolant leak as I was backing out of the driveway.

For a long time, I thought that a leaking connection would always leak, but that one would leak only if the hose was in the right (wrong??) position. Tightening the clamp took care of it. I had a choice between clamps that were too small, and little too big, so it is difficult/impossible to see when the rubber just starts to poke through the slits, because the "extra" metal overlaps it and blocks the view. Hopefully it is simply time for another twist on it. I might use snips to cut away that extra metal to improve my view.

The only other oddity is that just after shutting off the engine (at least when its hot) I hear what sounds like a dripping shower head or something. I do not see anything though. Any ideas? I am probably just being overly observant since I have been doing things to it.

About the fuel pump, I _think_ it is starting to show a little increase in the amount of gas in the rear tank. There are no signs of gas leaks, so I'm willing to drive it, and will do so some more. Once I am convinced it is cross-filling, the pump goes on the shopping list.

I was going to drive it to Autozone to get some advice on the coil, but the coolant has me going just a little. I can pressure test it, or just tweak the clamp. If it is one of those flapping hose type of leaks, it might not show on a test unless I mess with the hoses - which I can do, of course. What would you do?

Thanks,

Bill

 

What would I do?

At this point, considering the work that's been done (along with the abundance of deep thought), I would pull up a lawn chair in the driveway, crack open a beer, and just take in the beauty of my truck while telling myself how great of a job I've done.

Seriously, you should probably find the source of the leak (or at least make sure it's coming from where you think it is). Replace the clamp, hose, etc. - whatever it needs.

The price sounds about right on the coil. You can pay double that for a performance brand with all sorts of specs, but I'm not sure if it would make a difference. I'm going to the parts store tomorrow anyway, and I think I'll pick one up too while I'm there.

That sound... mine makes what I'll bet is the exact same sound while driving. Sounds like water dripping. It's been driving me nuts, but I can't find any consistency. Mine seems to come from the passenger side under the dash or in front of there, but I can't figure out why or what it is exactly.

If you figure out what it is, please let me know - and I'll do the same!

 

Great job, huh? I guess I can live with that Not that I'm counting, but this is the second time those connections have leaked on me. However, it hit me this morning that this kind of thing does happen to experienced mechanics. My car did something very similar, and at a very confusing time. They had converted the AC and were (under warranty) chasing down a leak that turned out to be caused by a bad o-ring. It was not their best effort (I go there because they are very good and very honest), but it was complicated by the similarity of the green coolant and the green dye in the AC system. In the middle of the AC hassles, the top radiator hose started dripping - maybe they had taken it off for access and didn't get it tight. Anyway, coolant was dripping on the AC which had "blown up" just a few days before, so it was easy to jump to the wrong conclusion.

You raise a good point. I will cut the excess off of the clamp so I can see the rubber, tighten it some, and have that beer later. A friend of mine suggested the sound could be caused by the leak. I'm not sure I buy it in this case, but he said he has seen very small drips fall on something like a wheel well and make a lot of noise. It that turns out to be it, I'll take it. Since your sound seems to be coming from the general area (unless your core is not behind the glove box??) a heater hose leak or a pinhole in the core would be suspects. I have never seen an actual core leak in the act. I replaced mine "because I was there" fixing what turned out to be a shoddy repair when it was replaced the previous time; they left screws out of the plenum. When the hose leaks at the core, the coolant always seems to run down over the wheel well and shows up on a little flat piece at the back of it.

Good hunting, and thanks!!!

Bill

 

The coil is installed and working. I even noticed the plastic border on the old one and transferred it before installing the new one - maybe I'll give myself a second beer for that. The hardest part was getting the input connector off of the old coil. Prying at the tab while pulling up on the thing that sticks out through a slot did it. Not sure if it was critical, but I gave it a few gentle whacks with a screwdriver handle. The post was worse off than I thought: I could only see one of the corrosion pits, but it had a friend on the other side. Well worth the $18 for a replacement; the ignition wire even stays on now.

There definitely at least was a coolant leak, apparently from one of the heater hoses. My snips were worthless against the clamps, so I bent the thing up a little and tightened it some more. I have a pressure tester on it now, and it seems to be holding, but I will keep an eye on it. If it gives me any more trouble, I will replace the clamp and the hose too, if I don't like the looks of it.

Bill

 

Probably 3rd or 4th beer at this point...

Thanks to you, I ordered a new coil last night. Should be here this week. I put it off when doing the rest of the tune-up, and just keep putting it off. So there's another beer for getting me off my lazy butt.

I don't go for the leak causing the sound you're hearing either, but if the core was leaking, I think you'd have some water/coolant inside the cab. I'm thinking there's something up in my blower motor fan... Every once in awhile, it sounds like it's rubbing on the shroud. When it's not doing that, it sounds like water is running. My hope is that I have a piece of candy bar wrapper or something stuck in the fan - if it drives me nuts long enough, I'll open it up and see!