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Joined: Sep 2004
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woh, you guys are being a little harsh on a GIRL there aren't you?  i mean i agree with everything that's been said but think it could've been worded more "gentlemanly" 
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Joined: Sep 2000
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Hard-core CEG'er
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Originally posted by ronin45:
woh, you guys are being a little harsh on a GIRL there aren't you? i mean i agree with everything that's been said but think it could've been worded more "gentlemanly"
Sorry about that. I didn't realize that we were talking to a lady. My apologies for my ungentlemanly comments.
Still, your best bank for the buck on spark plugs on this engine is Autolite double platinum APP764. If you fust do the single plats, you may as well put in the non platinums, as one half of the engine will have the plugs wear as fast as if there were no platinum tips at all.
Jim Johnson
98 SVT
03 Escape Limited
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Quote:
You are full of it. Several CEGr's have posted lab test results on Mobil 1 going over 10,000 miles with life to spare. The ONLY way to accurately estimate how long of a drain interval to use is with an oil analysis. Too dark??
I only know what I have directly experienced with oil. My family's short trip driving tends to make the oil dirty fast. The oil drained out at 6000 miles usually almost resembles driveway sealer, consistent with several cars (Mystiques,Dodge Lancer,Mercury Sable). My father's Avalon could go longer, easier driving and tighter engine (low miles on it). Maybe I could get oil analysis the next drain of dark smelly oil, I wonder if it would pass? Who's a good lab for that? The Mobil 1 does seem to keep my wrenches away from the inside of the engines, so I am happy with its performance. I even use it in small (mower, snowblower) engines, easier to start and they run a bit cooler, use less oil.
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Joined: Jul 2005
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Originally posted by bigMoneyRacing:
Originally posted by FavoriteMystaque:
6000 is about the limit on a Mobil 1 oil change, unless you have ideal conditions (no stop go, steady speeds, light right foot  . I base oil change on does it look a bit too dark and have I used the quart added already?
You are full of it. Several CEGr's have posted lab test results on Mobil 1 going over 10,000 miles with life to spare. The ONLY way to accurately estimate how long of a drain interval to use is with an oil analysis. Too dark?? 
Except for the crude presentation, I agree with BigMoney on this one, as well as the sparkplug thing.
I just got done changing my Mobil 1 out after putting 8K of HARD driving on it. I used three filters during that time and it ran almost as well at the end of cycle as it did in the beginning. I can't get enough of that Mobil 1. WELL worth the price, but truly unneccessary for those who aren't utterly obsessed with reducing engine wear. A good synthetic blend will do fine for most people's driving habits, and can be changed a bit later than normal oil. A good filter is also key here. I always buy a PureOne Purolator oil filter. To me, an extra dollar for the one of the best off-the-shelf oil filters is a dollar well spent. Don't buy that FRAM crap. The build quality on those is disgustingly crude.
As for the sparkplugs, just buy the double platinums. I know darn well it seems like wasted money, but it really can save you a headache or two in the future. Autolite Double plats are VERY affordable, offer great OEM-quality(they're built in the same factory as motorcrafts...), and last a LONG time. I myself bought $10 apiece NGK Laser Platinums. I'll never have to change those out for as long as I own the car, and they offer fantastic performance, if only a little bit better than the Autolites. That, however, is a testament to just how good of a bargain the Autolite double plats are....
Happy to opinionate...
J.T.
2002 Chevrolet Silverado 294ci V8. Custom CAI, headers on the way...
1997 Mercury Mystique Zetec ATX
Deceased February 2006
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I noticed you are in Texas, your car probably doesn't run "cold" as much as it does here in the frozen North. I think the cold running rich causes the oil to smell bad and get dark early. The oil interval I figure what's right is what works for the conditions  . I can see the camshaft(V6 at the oil fill hole) in the Mystique basically does not wear, using Mobil 1, even after 100,000 miles.
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Originally posted by FavoriteMystaque:
I noticed you are in Texas, your car probably doesn't run "cold" as much as it does here in the frozen North. I think the cold running rich causes the oil to smell bad and get dark early. The oil interval I figure what's right is what works for the conditions . I can see the camshaft(V6 at the oil fill hole) in the Mystique basically does not wear, using Mobil 1, even after 100,000 miles.
You're right, I completely forgot about the temperatures. For a while there, we had a mini-winter(about two weeks...) where it got REALLY cold. Now I don't know how unusual this is in other states, but in Texas, it is considered really poor weather when you get out and your antenna has literally turned into a popsicle. No joke, I had a sheet of ice covering my car. Other than that, My car almost always runs in the "AL" range on the coolant temp gauge. Sadly, my oil is tortured beyond normal circumstances on a daily basis, between my brick-like right foot and my fans malfunctioning(low-speed fan comes on when Hi-speed should, not when it should normally) my oil sees some PUNISHMENT. Mobil 1 withstood it for 8K without any signs of failure. I call that a winner.
However, I cannot attest to knowing about COLD weather performance. Of that I know very little. Maybe someone can look into it? 
J.T.
2002 Chevrolet Silverado 294ci V8. Custom CAI, headers on the way...
1997 Mercury Mystique Zetec ATX
Deceased February 2006
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She asked about lifters ticking.
You can do something about that, if its not just needing an oil change, its called auto-rx. Its an engine oil desludging tool. You basically pour it in near the end of an oil cycle's life with a new filter. Run it a while, change the oil, use dyno oil (buy some good stuff, valvoline, castrol, something low sulfur) run it short, change it to whatever you want.
You'll probably get some folks who say you can't do that, that it will remove sludge which is actually sealing leaks in the seals of your engine. That is true, it did happen a lot on older cars if you switched to a detergent based oil. If you're already running mobil 1, you're probably ok, as mobil 1 is pretty viscous and seeps out of leaking seals well. I did auto-rx on three cars over 100k miles and had no leaks from any of them. Switched two of them to mobil 1 afterwards and they're fine at 25k+ miles later.
Also, you might try a top end cleaner like seafoam or berrymans. You run it into a vaccum line to decarbon the top of the motor. There are probably instructions here somewhere, but the basic idea is to get the car hot, then using a funnel arrangement, suck about half a can of cleaner into a running motor - you might need a helper, the motor will want to die as it injests the fluid. Kill the engine and let it sit. After about 15 min fire it up and go for a drive. It will belch smoke, this is normal. Run till the smoke clears up. Repeat with the other half of the can.
both of those, in addition to the filter & tire suggestions here should help fuel mileage.
Another thought. I don't now how hard the plugs are on a zetec, but a copper plug which acutally produce a better spark becuase copper is a better conductor of electricty than platinum. Platinum didn't come about to improve performance, rather to enhance life. I didn't read about copper here, haven't researched copper on the zetec/duratec, so there might be something in the ignition system which prevents it, but on the modular cars, which also use an app764 plug (I think, it sounds very familar) , the awsf-32c motorcraft is the best bang for the buck performance wise. Natuarally it has a much shorter life (24k miles vs 100k).
Finally, on Mobil 1, you really should extend your change interval. If you're worried about it, use blackstone or similar to do an oil analysis. On the truck I tow with I can get about 6k miles. On my Lincoln with a DOHC I can get 7500 (I change at 5K cause I'm paranoid). 3k would be pretty low unless you were a taxi in the city doing a lot of idling and short tripping or something.
I agree, Mobil1 is not that much more expensive than conventional when you extend the change interval.
Scott
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OP
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Originally posted by projectSHO89:
Do yourself and your car a favor. Use either Autolite double-platinum or the new Motorcraft finewire plug. Skip the conventional single platinum plug as it won't last very long. The finewire is a new style that makes the double platinum electrodes unneeded.
You can look up the correct Motorcraft replacement part at www.motorcraft.com AutoZone sells them for about $4.60 each.
Changing Mobil 1 at 3K miles is like throwing away 1/2 of every bottle of Jack Daniel's. You're wasting up to at least half of it's useful life (depending on your driving patterns).
Steve
Thanks Steve. I am going with the Motorcraft FineWire.
AZFS32FE
In addition, zgendron stated:
"Also, you may want to research Spark Plugs in the Zetec Mainintance forum. It appears as if the 4 cylinder (Zetec) comes with 2 Double Plats and 2 Regular Plats from the factory. I would absolutely recommend sticking with service manual recommendations. If it came from the factory that way, there's probably a reason for it."
What's the deal with that?
Thanks
Mary
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When manufactured, both the Zetec and the Duratec were assembled with single-plat plugs on one side. The double plats were needed on the other side of the coil's polarity used doubles (or fine-wires) due to the opposite polarity of the spark in the waste fire system. Using the single plats where they were sufficient to operate correctly saved a little money on every car that Ford built. Over the entire production run, the cost savings were significant. Ford used this same strategy for most of their engines with waste-fire systems.
Replacements are done with either double plats or finewires, eliminating the need to stock and to install two different plugs when changing them. At the retail level, the cost per job is not significant.
I asked for Motorcrafts last week at my local AZ store for the wife's car. They didn't have enough on hand so I ended up with APP764s which were on hand. The old ones were still running great at about 50K miles but I have emissions tests this month that required a new O2 sensor. Since I was already under the coil pack, it was simple to change the rear bank at the same time. Wife's new job is now an 80 mile daily round trip, so, hopefully, the new plugs and O2 sensor will keep fuel economy on the upper end.
I even put sythetic oil in it so I don't have to change as frequently.
Steve
98 Contour SE Sport 2.5 Duratec ATX The wifey's car
89 Taurus SHO - 246K miles
94 SHO ATX - 190K
1997 F-150 5.4L ATX - The Workhorse 150K.
ANY THREAD WITH "OMG" or "WTF" ETC IN THE TITLE WILL BE IGNORED!
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CEG\'er
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OP
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Originally posted by projectSHO89:
When manufactured, both the Zetec and the Duratec were assembled with single-plat plugs on one side. The double plats were needed on the other side of the coil's polarity used doubles (or fine-wires) due to the opposite polarity of the spark in the waste fire system. Using the single plats where they were sufficient to operate correctly saved a little money on every car that Ford built. Over the entire production run, the cost savings were significant. Ford used this same strategy for most of their engines with waste-fire systems.
Replacements are done with either double plats or finewires, eliminating the need to stock and to install two different plugs when changing them. At the retail level, the cost per job is not significant.
I asked for Motorcrafts last week at my local AZ store for the wife's car. They didn't have enough on hand so I ended up with APP764s which were on hand. The old ones were still running great at about 50K miles but I have emissions tests this month that required a new O2 sensor. Since I was already under the coil pack, it was simple to change the rear bank at the same time. Wife's new job is now an 80 mile daily round trip, so, hopefully, the new plugs and O2 sensor will keep fuel economy on the upper end.
I even put sythetic oil in it so I don't have to change as frequently.
Steve
So, using the finewire wouuld be as good as using Autolite?
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