Help! 2017 plug change

[plumcolr]

Decided to change plugs on my '17 with 93K miles. No problems until #3. The separate coil-end boot will not come off the plug. Tried a hook, tried long needle nose pliers, awkward because of the heater lines. Cannot get it to come off the plug.

Checking out the old plugs (original factory) I have already removed, they look in real good shape, gap at .026. Fortunately extraction efforts did not seem to damage anything, no misfires even under boost.

Any suggestions? Leave that one alone? Ideas for getting it off the plug?

 

[JasonH]

You had better luck than me. My boots all disintegrated. I tore them out piece by piece and blew out the wells with an air gun. Took a picture with the phone to make sure they were clear, then removed the plugs.

 

[adamsdaddy]

My 2016 has about 93,000 and I was thinking of replacing the plugs. Y’all are not really selling it to me.

Replacing the GPS antenna was easier than replacing the oil filter. Maintenance items are kinda of a pain in the Expy.

 

[plumcolr]

AD, the other 5 went fine.

 

[JasonH]

My 2016 has about 93,000 and I was thinking of replacing the plugs. Y’all are not really selling it to me.

Replacing the GPS antenna was easier than replacing the oil filter. Maintenance items are kinda of a pain in the Expy.

I think it's more a matter of knowing the common pitfalls and having the right tools on hand. There's a tool for getting the boots off the plugs without destroying them. But I didn't know the boots would fall apart. I regapped my new plugs after 30,000 miles because of a persistent misfire under heavy acceleration (I didnt check gaps when they were installed). With the fresh boots, they came out without a hitch.

I've also done brake rotors, rear struts, blower resistor, rear camera, and the throttle body. Most repairs were relatively straightforward, apart from the bushing I had to burn off the strut. I think the Expedition just has beefier parts and more things that can break compared to my other vehicles.