Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Has anyone ever changed the plugs themselves

It is not hard. Just remember if someting is in your way remove it. Too many people try to make things hard by not removing items. It takes me 45 minutes taking my time. Do one plug and or wire at a time and you should not have any problems.

I did it today!!!!! It was not hard at all. It took about an hour. They were easy to get to...thansk all for the tips. I spent $30.00 on parts vs. the $500 the dealer wanted.

Good to hear! Congratulations!

I replaced my plugs last summer (twice actually, bosch +4, and two weeks later, autolites) and removed the hood to get to the backs. Was anyone else this stupid, besides me!? However, I did create a little extra work for myself, it made it alot easier getting those 3 out. It was the "Oh Sh*t, careful, don't scratch the hood" feeling when I was putting it all back together.

Never surrender your cars soul to a fancy lookin' plug.
*cough, bosch, cough*

WHat is wrong with bosh plugs? Everyone hammers it so badly....

you say that the bosch plugs are crap.....while i am not arguing i am wondering if you know of or have any information concerning why specifically this is the case. 6 months ago (july 03) my mechanic buddy replaced my plugs with bosch +4's and so far i have not had any problems.

p.s. while removing the coil pack may make life somewhat easier it is in fact not necessary. you will however need the following: swivel joint, socket w/ extension or flex shaft, a cool engine, and several choice words.

99 svt, flowmaster, stoptech crossdrilled front rotors, goodridge braided steel lines, dot 5 brake fluid, mobil 1 10w30

The +4s are great for most automotive applications, however they are not well suited to the Duratec & here is why:

Despite having "4 times more platinum than the Bosch Platinum plugs", the outer electrodes of the Bosch +4 plugs are not platinum or platinum capped.

Bosch +4 desc

Most ignition systems operate in one direction only. As I understand it, the waste fire ignition system on the Contiques fires twice for each burn cycle. Once from one electorde on the "fire" stroke and once on the "exhaust" stroke in the reverse direction. It is a VERY good ignition system & I am not aware of any upgrades that are able to outperform it in any meaningful way.

The outer electrode of the single plat OEM plugs had a tendency to "scallop" because of the reverse direction of the waste fire cycle. This causes misfire contidions as wear widens the plug gap. This happened to me & many other CEGers. My spark plug outer electrodes looked little spoons.

The Bosch +4 outer electrodes will gradually wear away in a similar manner. This will cause mis-fire conditions in short order, & require replacement of the plugs in much shorter intervals compared to double platinum Autolite plugs.

Additionally, I would suspect that the configuration of 4 outer electrodes surrounding the center electrode to have a tendency to cause considerable quenching in the combustion chamber of a high compression engine like the Duratec, which would result in a less efficient ignition of the air/fuel mixture. Again, more prone to mis-firing under less than ideal conditions. As soon as a plug wire even begins to degrade, your +4s will let you know about it. That is my own theory.

Jim R

without having read the entire thread i will chime in with "changing the plugs on the duratec is cake"...and im an automotive dope pretty much

many say you dont even have to remove the coil pack to get to the rear bank of plugs but i did have to remove it....however, first time it took me an hour to do it and since then its like a pitstop...goes really quickly

only plugs i'd use would be motorcraft and yeh i paid 10 bucks a pop from the mis-dealer too

sorry to say I placed the bosh platinums in this ride...I guess I will be experienced the next go around. My cel is still on and I have a 0420 and 0430 code that still registers.