Car repair for Fords (deposits, design, damage)

[TexasRedneck]

Originally Posted by nismospec

plugs at 65K? most cars will run 100K without any problems. it's an escape, not a high performance sports car. plugs are a noticeable thing when they go bad, you'll feel the misfiring and hesitation. unless you feel that, or see significant drop in gas mileage, i'd say you should be ok. just an opinion though. nothing wrong with changing them out early, just don't see it absolutely necessary.

I'm sorry - but IMO you're just wrong. Most engine heads are made of aluminum now - and the plugs of steel. Two dissimular metals = corrosion - and if that plug seizes in the head, you ARE looking at a VERY expensive repair. I do mine at 60k miles - don't believe the hype that they'll go 100k unless you don't mind giving up fuel economy AND risk additional repairs. By the time you feel misfiring, you've already been giving up mileage!

[nismospec]

well, I suppose you're right, but my stock plugs were platinum tipped. they lasted me 80K and still looked ok when I replaced them. now i'm running iridium plugs that are/have been proven to go 100K, so I don't know much about the regular plugs.

[TexasRedneck]

I run premium plugs in my truck, and still change 'em at the 50k mark. It's either that, or remove 'em, recoat w/anti-sieze and reinstall. They aren't cheap, but by doin' 'em while they still perform well, I don't have a loss in performance and/or economy. FWIW, I HAVE run a set out to 75K, and while the engine still seemed to do fine, my mileage improved by 2 mpg after replacin' 'em. As to "proven"....well, be careful as to who provides the "proof". The *only* way to know for sure is to take the time (and have the equipment) to test them against their "new" operational parameters, equipment which isn't available to 99% of the average person. I'm a "better safe than sorry" type of person - because one siezed plug will negate any savings you'd ever realize over the life of several engines!

[laura11872]

I was thinking that some of these issues could have potentially been caused by a car accident I was in last year where I rear ended someone. There wasn't major damage but they did have to put in a new radiator and fix the hood which buckled. Do you think that could have caused the bolt to break?

[Hedgehog_Mom]

Probably. That's how the engine mounts and motor mount in our Taurus broke...someone T-boned the passenger side. The insurance fixed the body damage, but the garage said that there was no motor damage. A year and a half later the trans went out, at 69,000 miles and the mechanic said it was probably because the motor mount and engine mounts were broken. If I'd known they were broken, I would have had them fixed.

[DexterCat]

Originally Posted by TexasRedneck

I run premium plugs in my truck, and still change 'em at the 50k mark. It's either that, or remove 'em, recoat w/anti-sieze and reinstall. They aren't cheap, but by doin' 'em while they still perform well, I don't have a loss in performance and/or economy. FWIW, I HAVE run a set out to 75K, and while the engine still seemed to do fine, my mileage improved by 2 mpg after replacin' 'em. As to "proven"....well, be careful as to who provides the "proof". The *only* way to know for sure is to take the time (and have the equipment) to test them against their "new" operational parameters, equipment which isn't available to 99% of the average person. I'm a "better safe than sorry" type of person - because one siezed plug will negate any savings you'd ever realize over the life of several engines!

IMO premium plugs are a big waste. unless youre putting down serious power, there is no reason to deviate from the recommended OEM replacement. remember, no matter who the maker of the car, their RnD team did extensive testing on the OEM plugs they use to ensure great gas mileage, smooth idling, etc etc.

volvos are pretty picky about aftermarket parts. OEM parts are pretty cheap if you order them online.. for volvos that is. my engine mounts are going to run less than 100$ on my94, and on my 83 they were about 45$ for all the mounts.

[Pachuco2]

I own a Ford, and I find it hard to believe that you can't find a mechanic that will work on your Ford,...there are alot of small (shade-tree) mechanics that are really good,..just have to trust one,..I'll say stay away from the eye-pokers Goodyear, Firestone, Walmart, and oil changing places who say that you vehicle needs this and that and charges you an arm and a leg. They tend to use the scare-tactic, especially to ladies who bring in their vehicle for a simple oil change and come out with a bill from....well you know what I mean.

[kevcrawford]

Originally Posted by Pachuco2

I own a Ford, and I find it hard to believe that you can't find a mechanic that will work on your Ford,...there are alot of small (shade-tree) mechanics that are really good,..just have to trust one,..I'll say stay away from the eye-pokers Goodyear, Firestone, Walmart, and oil changing places who say that you vehicle needs this and that and charges you an arm and a leg. They tend to use the scare-tactic, especially to ladies who bring in their vehicle for a simple oil change and come out with a bill from....well you know what I mean.

You know, I caught a segment on the news a couple weeks back that did an undercover thing on these types of places. There were a few really honest places, but a few "not-so-honest" too. What struck me is that they had better results sending a woman in than a man. The man got more bogus things suggested to him and they tended to look after the woman a bit more.

With cars these days, there aren't a lot of guys that that know what's going on under the hood either. I know on my old 70's muscle car I was able to look under the hood, get a wrench and go to work. It was nothing to replace a carburetor, alternator, etc. Now I open my hood and it's more confusing and there's almost no room to do anything. I put a new throttle on the other day and had to move things just to get to it.

[TexasRedneck]

Originally Posted by DexterCat

IMO premium plugs are a big waste. unless youre putting down serious power, there is no reason to deviate from the recommended OEM replacement.

Sorry - but when I said "premium", I meant OEM type. Nothing fancy about 'em, same as what the truck came with. Thing is, a LOT of folks consider OEM-style to be "premium" nowadays and tend to go w/what's cheapest....which usually isn't in the long run.

[svg210]

I've always wondered on why some people choose the expensive spark plug over the OEM one, they both are going to deliver the spark in the long run arent they?....