2000 expedition shaking

[northernexp]

Alright so here's the update... DEFINITELY had a vacuum leak... Found a FEW cracked hoses, bad couplings and replaced the pcv valve and gromet while I was at it. They were really loose and cheap so I figured why not. After all that my check engine light came back on, shaking persisted so I got it on a reader and found that cyl 8 was misfiring. Changed out the spark plug and all better now. I'm going to do the rest; coil packs look ok and I'm short on money so I'll leave those alone. One more question if anyone wants to weigh in: I bought motorcraft plugs, as that's what I was told was used in my vehicle and in fords commonly; but a "car-guy" friend suggested Bosch Platinum +2 plugs. I've found both for around the same cost... Any suggestions/pros/cons either way?? Thanks for all the help so far, you guys have gotten me a long ways

I honestly feel that spark plugs are a personal preference decision, I personally have never bought plugs for any of my vehicles that didn't t work, generally speaking the pricier plugs usually last longer than the cheaper ones I feel.

I work for a parts store an me their best brand is ngk iridium, I got 8 plugs for free so I decided to use them, they retail for 9$ each and they have been in for over a year and my truck runs beautifully, we have -40-45°c winters with the windchill and +30+35°c summers with the humidex, and I just finished driving 5000kms across the country plugs are still perfect, trucks runs so nice I can't even hear it running it's so smooth and quiet.

If OEM are available then buy them but if you're on a budget you should be OK with a cheaper plug, I'm sure it will be better than keeping your old plugs. I realize everyone is pro motorcraft for obvious reasons I just felt I'd give my perspective on it also. Best of luck

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[1955moose]

If you read any of the spark plug replacement stories, you will see time and time again when members try a different brand than motorcraft/ford. These SUVs don't seem to respond well to other brands. Save yourself the headache, put in the ford platinum plugs gap them .052 to .056. Use a torque wrench and torque 11 to 15 ft lbs, no more or your pull threads from head. Good luck .


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[northernexp]

If you read any of the spark plug replacement stories, you will see time and time again when members try a different brand than motorcraft/ford. These SUVs don't seem to respond well to other brands. Save yourself the headache, put in the ford platinum plugs gap them .052 to .056. Use a torque wrench and torque 11 to 15 ft lbs, no more or your pull threads from head. Good luck .


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Again, regular plugs work fine. I am speaking from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE not here say.

I've driven more than enough for my truck to "not respond well" to my ngk iridium plugs. 1.5 years, and 30,000 kms of hard driving.

Idk what kind of plugs people are buying to get negative results but I sure as hell haven't had any.

I used anti seize and and gapped and torqued to spec and I'm at 370,000 kms and running beautifully.

I must have the one and only 5.4 triton that responds to aftermarket plugs, if that's the case then I guess I'm lucky.

Again, I'm just speaking from my personal experience but I find it strange that I have had such good luck.

And if longevity is in question I'm not too worried my truck is an 01 and reaching 400,000 kms so it will be put to pasture before I ever worry about changing plugs again.






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[1955moose]

Glad to hear it worked for you. Well northernexp better put exactly what he did in your SUV. Just commenting on all the other readers that had problems with their change. That's the beauty of this country we live, we all can speak our opinion. It's possible all these other guys that swapped out plugs on their expy's are bone heads, and broke something else while doing the job. These trucks are not like changing plugs on a 50's straight eight flathead motor. Their tough to do!


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[northernexp]

Now that I think about it more, get oem plugs, if something bad happens I don't want to be the reason it does. Best of luck!

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[1955moose]

Ah be brave take a chance, just kidding. I can't tell you how many times I've had to redo my own jobs because I tried to cheat on price. Something's it works fine others it doesn't. A few years back I had a 84 Lincoln mark 7 that would go through alternators almost exactly every year, worse part was it didn't trigger the battery light in the cab of vehicle. After changing 3 alternators, this got old. My friends in San Francisco had a brand new one on the shelf they ordered for a taxi driver, never picked up. Long story short lasted 13 years till I turned in car to scrapper. Good thing about messing up on a job your doing, is your so quick doing it the second time!


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