Misfire/ poor running Eddie Bauer

[toms89]

With the lack of threads in the head should i be very worried as i put the new plugs in?
Also with the blown plug how will i be able to tell? Will it simply look like a stripped block?

If you blew a plug you would know. If it got to the point to ejecting it you would have heard it followed by many other symptoms.

If you have a loose plug ready to blow many times you will hear what sounds like and exhaust tic but generally it runs fine.

 

[toms89]

With the lack of threads in the head should i be very worried as i put the new plugs in?
Also with the blown plug how will i be able to tell? Will it simply look like a stripped block?

I would be concerned but no sense in worrying.
Torque them too tightly and you can damage the threads. Too loose and they can loosen up over time and damage the threads.

Factory spark plug torque specs are 15 lb-ft (As printed in the 2000 expy ford shop manual)
NGK also recommends against the use of anti-seize as the plugs come with a zinc coating that resist corrosion and the use of it will skew the torque readings causing you to over torque the plugs. I believe motorcraft plugs are similar in design.

You will hear many theorys and opinions on the net on the proper way to install them though. I won't argue one way or the other...

 

[1997SCEBFEX]

our other tell-tale indicator was an occasional smell of gas that no one could diagnose....if i had only known.

PanHandler.

 

[Jeff532003]

Like panhandler said you'd know if it blew a plug out because it would just be sitting there not screwed in. I don't think they all blow as spectacularly as his did but you should be able to notice. As far as stripping the cylinder head it's always a possibility with aluminum heads. I recommend blowing out the hole with compressed air then shooting a little PB blaster down there to lubricate it and loosen it up. Don't squirt to much or you'll have to crank the engine with the plugs out. If to much liquid gets in to the cylinder then you reinstall a plug it can cause hydrolock. Not a good thing. A squirt or two will be fine though. Go slow when removing them. If they're stuck don't jam your ratchet, apply slow steady pressure to try and break it free. When reinstalling coat the threads with never seize so that next time they'll come right out.
One more thing. To tell if they stripped as you pulled them out, look at the threads of the old plug. You'll see the aluminum in between the threads of the plug if you did in fact strip the hole.

 

[Jeff532003]

NGK also recommends against the use of anti-seize as the plugs come with a zinc coating that resist corrosion and the use of it will skew the torque readings causing you to over torque the plugs. I believe motorcraft plugs are similar in design.

You will hear many theorys and opinions on the net on the proper way to install them though. I won't argue one way or the other...

This is actually good information to know. I didn't realize some manufacturers where coating them in zinc now. About time they realized steel and aluminum don't play well together.

 

[nick8102]

So I finalky did a code read out and the code I pulled was P0352 and I was told that the rear apark plugs have never been changed probably a coil in one of the back two cylinders?.