JAR1299 Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Just about to 60k miles on my '08 Limited.....wanting to change plugs. Fronts look easy...rears not so much. Anyone else do this and what's the easiest way to get to the rear plugs. Looked from underneath and doesn't look very possible. Hoping I don't have to pull upper intake to get to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Looks intimidating, really is not. There are great writeups on how to do this. And yes, you have to pull the upper intake manifold. Take it slow, and you'll be done before you know it! Good time to clean the throttle body & change air filter/PCV valve while in there. http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/8724-sparkplug-replacement-job-info-with-photos/ Put in Motorcraft SP411's. No need to go fancy. I'd advise checking, but not adjusting gap on the new ones if not too far off the middle of the range in the owner's guide (0.051-0.057 I believe). Too easy to damage the center electrode. If you have a spark plug gapping pliers, that would work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zazzy Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 I changed the plugs when I was finishing up a heater core replacement. It's not difficult. Removal of the PCV (or the hose) was a hassle but can be done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rgigowski Posted September 28, 2015 Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 Just about to 60k miles on my '08 Limited.....wanting to change plugs. Fronts look easy...rears not so much. Anyone else do this and what's the easiest way to get to the rear plugs. Looked from underneath and doesn't look very possible. Hoping I don't have to pull upper intake to get to them. Just follow the instructions in the link, print them off if needed, take pic's if needed. All in all, one of the easiest plug changes. In fact, if you do the plugs on my F-150 I'll do yours! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beston38st Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 My 08 Limited has 165,000 miles on it so I'll be changing them again soon. Best advice, as was said earlier is to take your time and take pictures. It is not hard, just can appear overwhelming initially. Make sure you replace the gaskets as well when reinstalling the upper manifold. They are not expensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbwt Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 This may be of assistance even though it is a 2011, the 3.5 was not changed much. Hope this helps and this video is the 1st part of three videos changing out the plugs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 My 08 Limited has 165,000 miles on it so I'll be changing them again soon. Best advice, as was said earlier is to take your time and take pictures. It is not hard, just can appear overwhelming initially. Make sure you replace the gaskets as well when reinstalling the upper manifold. They are not expensive. When my 09 turned 90k, I called local dealer and Asst service mgr told me that they "should" be changed at 100k. Later I talked with the service manager and he told me best to do it at 90k as they are titanium plugs and they will continue to fire ok well past they recommend change interval; but as they wear, the gap will widen and the coils will draw more current to fire them. This in turn will cause the coils to overheat and eventually fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enigma-2 Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 My 08 Limited has 165,000 miles on it so I'll be changing them again soon. Best advice, as was said earlier is to take your time and take pictures. It is not hard, just can appear overwhelming initially. Make sure you replace the gaskets as well when reinstalling the upper manifold. They are not expensive. When my 09 turned 90k, I called local dealer and Asst service mgr told me that they "should" be changed at 100k. Later I talked with the service manager and he told me best to do it at 90k as they are titanium plugs and they will continue to fire ok well past they recommend change interval; but as they wear, the gap will widen and the coils will draw more current to fire them. This in turn will cause the coils to overheat and eventually fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbwt Posted September 29, 2015 Report Share Posted September 29, 2015 The first time is always scary and full of apprehension (follow me, we are talking about spark plugs). LOL The next time it is always easier. I have Blueberry working on 90K but that may be another year or two with the wife driving it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgemaster Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 Well, just got around to doing it today and it was NOT a fun Sunday. For the life of me I could not get the plenum out. I removed all the stuff according to the description and the plenum moved about 1/4" up, which does not seem enough to move it forward. As a result, I could not remove the brake booster line at all so I closed everything down. The only thing I have accomplished was the change of the 3 front plugs and, for good measure, installed a new air filter. I'm not sure what I screwed up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted April 3, 2016 Report Share Posted April 3, 2016 (edited) When I was doing this, I got stuck until I realized there is indeed a bolt hidden away under the windshield cowling, securing the intake manifold in place. It's a bit of a pain to get to, but using an extension for your socket wrench should work fine. If you have an '07, you could be running into the electrically heated PCV valve issue, in which case the electrical connector needs to be disconnected first also. See pics in my post http://www.fordedgeforum.com/topic/8724-sparkplug-replacement-job-info-with-photos/page-3?do=findComment&comment=130235 HTH. Edited April 3, 2016 by WWWPerfA_ZN0W 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgemaster Posted April 4, 2016 Report Share Posted April 4, 2016 Well, yes, I found that bolt and removed it. I'll check your post first thing tomorrow morning. Thanks for the fast response. Ed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edgemaster Posted April 5, 2016 Report Share Posted April 5, 2016 Great post! I'll try my luck again next weekend. Thanks again, Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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