New Spark Plugs

[Mako825]

I’ve been pretty good about keeping up with my ‘03 Expedition‘s maintenance schedule. Now that I’m at 215,000 miles, it’s time to replace the plugs. The last time was about 100,000 miles ago. I’ll probably just have my mechanic do it as I don’t want to have to deal with old plugs that are reluctant to release.

Besides the plugs, is there anything else I should have them check while under the hood?

Mako

 

[whtbronco]

Typical maintenance/wear items.

The coil boots. If it's been 5 or more years the coolant, brake and power steering fluid should probably be flushed, at least that's my opinion. Maybe the belt, the belt idler and tensioner pulley bearings. Vacuum and coolant hose condition. Any leaks. Check for any codes. Clean the MAF, throttle body and intake manifold. Some things off the top of my head.

 

[Mako825]

Thanks whtbronco - I’ll be sure to get all that checked!

 

[ChuckEQY]

Of course you should. How else are you going to find the problem.

 

[Mako825]

There's no problem to find. Just regular maintenance.

 

[Mako825]

Made an appointment to drop my '03 Ford Expedition (with 217,000 miles on it) at the Ford Dealer to have them replace the plugs and coils. Just regular maintenance.

 

[ManUpOrShutUp]

Made an appointment to drop my '03 Ford Expedition (with 217,000 miles on it) at the Ford Dealer to have them replace the plugs and coils. Just regular maintenance.

I know there's a tendency here to replace COPs as if they're a maintenance item, but they're not a maintenance item. I've literally never replaced them on any vehicle with 208-350k+ on each vehicle (208k on my Expedition). If they work as they should and the rubber is still pliable as it should be, there's little reason to think they're bad but they can always be tested to be sure. No sense in just throwing money away on something that is fairly costly to replace.

 

[whtbronco]

Agreed at 275k miles I've not a single failed coil. I did have a couple of coil boots that needed replacement. I thought a coil had failed, turned out to be a small coolant leak from the heater valve.

 

[Mako825]

I know there's a tendency here to replace COPs as if they're a maintenance item, but they're not a maintenance item. I've literally never replaced them on any vehicle with 208-350k+ on each vehicle (208k on my Expedition). If they work as they should and the rubber is still pliable as it should be, there's little reason to think they're bad but they can always be tested to be sure. No sense in just throwing money away on something that is fairly costly to replace.

I had the Ford Dealer replace the plugs and they did a good job. They did not run into any problems (like breaking one off). Following your advice, I asked them to test / inspect the ignition coils and boots and replace only if needed (instead of just replacing them out-of-hand). They said that all were still in good shape. So, your sound advice saved me some $$. Thank You!