Changing Spark Plugs

Sorry to revisit this subject because I believe I recall reading earlier
posts about the difficulty in doing such a mundane thing.

Now it is time for me to do this to my 1999 SOHC 4.0 XLT (2WD). When I
looked under the hood, I could see that it wasn't going to be straight
forward. Are there any special tools or access methods required?

BTW, I have already replaced the brake pads on all four wheels myself so I
am not afraid of do-it-yourself at least to that extent.

I'll be driving down to Florida from Virginia next month so I would like to
change the plugs and do some other preventive maintenance. My XLT has 72K
miles and I've owned it since new (It came with the killer tires). Here's a
few other questions.

- Transmission fluid replacement. I seen AAMCO's ads for "complete" fluid
replacement for $100. What's the difference between this style of
replacement and the conventional method. Is the price reasonable?

- Battery. The battery I have is the original and it never skipped a beat.
But now it's six years old. Should I think about replacing it before my
trip? If so, are there any recommendations for a replacement? I'd be very
happy to get a battery that lasts like my original.

- Radiator flush. What's a reasonable price for this? Are there any special
considerations?

Thank you for any insights on my questions.

- Steve

Changing the plugs is not too bad until you get to that last one on the
pass. side rear. Thats a bi*ch! Your gonna cuss and break skin but you can
do it. As far as the battery I just recently replaced my OE with a Sears
Diehard SUV battery, seems great thus far. I also just last week flushed the
radiator, I have a compressor and a mityvac, which made the job much easier.
What I did was to "suck" out whats in the res. and radiator then refilled
with clear water ran the engine til warm and "sucked" it out again and kept
doing this until all clear water came out.This may be overkill but anyway!
Then, I replaced with a 50/50 mix. I changed the belt and am thinking about
changing the tensioner soon. The brakes I changed to ceramic pads which by
the way are incredible! The stopping power of these pads are amazing! The
tranny, well I haven't tackled that yet, but I think I will this summer.

Searcher1
97 XLT

About "> Then, I replaced with a 50/50 mix". I have learned the hard way to
always add anti corrosion additives. My well water eats up heater cores and
radiators. Last radiator replaced under warranty came with free advice "put
in good additive" or no more radiators!

"Searcher1" > wrote in message
news:A%Q8e.16860$jd6.2991@trnddc07...
> Changing the plugs is not too bad until you get to that last one on the
> pass. side rear. Thats a bi*ch! Your gonna cuss and break skin but you can
> do it. As far as the battery I just recently replaced my OE with a Sears
> Diehard SUV battery, seems great thus far. I also just last week flushed
> the radiator, I have a compressor and a mityvac, which made the job much
> easier. What I did was to "suck" out whats in the res. and radiator then
> refilled with clear water ran the engine til warm and "sucked" it out
> again and kept doing this until all clear water came out.This may be
> overkill but anyway! Then, I replaced with a 50/50 mix. I changed the belt
> and am thinking about changing the tensioner soon. The brakes I changed to
> ceramic pads which by the way are incredible! The stopping power of these
> pads are amazing! The tranny, well I haven't tackled that yet, but I think
> I will this summer.
>
> Searcher1
> 97 XLT
>

For what it costs and how much is needed, I just buy a gallon of distilled
water to mix with the coolant. True, if the water you are flushing the
system with is bad this only helps a little. And since I can never get all
the water out of the system after flushing until it runs clear, when
refilling I add the required amount* of straight coolant first, then top off
with straight water. If you premix to 50/50 and then add that to the
system, the water still remaining in the system will dilute your 50/50 mix
even further, and you'll end up with less than a 50/50 mix. After adding
the required amount of coolant I've rarely seen a vehicle where you can fit
the same amount of straight water in after that - you usually end up with
extra water, which means there was still some water left in the system (or
the wrong capacity listed in the manual). Don't know if this is how the
"real" shops do it, but it's worked well for me all these years. We keep our
vehicles to well over 100k miles and with regular changes in coolant I've
never had a problem with boilover, freezing, plugged tubes, or scale
buildup. YMMV.

Steve

* To figure required amount of straight coolant, look up system capacity in
your owner's manual. Multiply by .5 to get amount of straight coolant to add
for a 50/50 mix. Multiply by .6 if you want to use a 60/40 mix (60% coolant
increases resistance to both boilover and freezing). Most coolants recommend
not exceeding a 70/30 mix.


"Gerald Riggs" > wrote in message
...
> About "> Then, I replaced with a 50/50 mix". I have learned the hard way
to
> always add anti corrosion additives. My well water eats up heater cores
and
> radiators. Last radiator replaced under warranty came with free advice
"put
> in good additive" or no more radiators!

the last plug isn't all to bad.
What I do is install the plug socket, then get a 3/4" wrench and use the
wrench to loosen the plug then spin the socket/plug out. Installing it the
say way. One time I got a ratchet in there, before I realized.. I could use
a 3/4" wrench and do the same thing. Works great and is just as easy as the
other plugs.


"Searcher1" > wrote in message
news:A%Q8e.16860$jd6.2991@trnddc07...
> Changing the plugs is not too bad until you get to that last one on the
> pass. side rear. Thats a bi*ch! Your gonna cuss and break skin but you can
> do it. As far as the battery I just recently replaced my OE with a Sears
> Diehard SUV battery, seems great thus far. I also just last week flushed
the
> radiator, I have a compressor and a mityvac, which made the job much
easier.
> What I did was to "suck" out whats in the res. and radiator then refilled
> with clear water ran the engine til warm and "sucked" it out again and
kept
> doing this until all clear water came out.This may be overkill but anyway!
> Then, I replaced with a 50/50 mix. I changed the belt and am thinking
about
> changing the tensioner soon. The brakes I changed to ceramic pads which by
> the way are incredible! The stopping power of these pads are amazing! The
> tranny, well I haven't tackled that yet, but I think I will this summer.
>
> Searcher1
> 97 XLT
>
>

thanks for the tip


searcher1

On Wed, 27 Apr 2005 06:13:42 GMT, "Eric F" >
wrote:

>the last plug isn't all to bad.
>What I do is install the plug socket, then get a 3/4" wrench and use the
>wrench to loosen the plug then spin the socket/plug out. Installing it the
>say way. One time I got a ratchet in there, before I realized.. I could use
>a 3/4" wrench and do the same thing. Works great and is just as easy as the
>other plugs.

Sorry to beat a dead horse...I'm getting ready to do mine. It looks
like I can get fairly close to that last plug if I remove the radiator
overflow tank and the washer fluid tank. But then the ac condensor is
crammed right in next to the plug. Do you have ac? I'm about ready
to pay a mechanic to change plugs...but I really hate to do that cuz I
luv doing my own work.

>"Searcher1" > wrote in message
>news:A%Q8e.16860$jd6.2991@trnddc07...
>> Changing the plugs is not too bad until you get to that last one on the
>> pass. side rear. Thats a bi*ch! Your gonna cuss and break skin but you can
>> do it. As far as the battery I just recently replaced my OE with a Sears
>> Diehard SUV battery, seems great thus far. I also just last week flushed
>the
>> radiator, I have a compressor and a mityvac, which made the job much
>easier.
>> What I did was to "suck" out whats in the res. and radiator then refilled
>> with clear water ran the engine til warm and "sucked" it out again and
>kept
>> doing this until all clear water came out.This may be overkill but anyway!
>> Then, I replaced with a 50/50 mix. I changed the belt and am thinking
>about
>> changing the tensioner soon. The brakes I changed to ceramic pads which by
>> the way are incredible! The stopping power of these pads are amazing! The
>> tranny, well I haven't tackled that yet, but I think I will this summer.
>>
>> Searcher1
>> 97 XLT
>>
>>
>