Dreman
Well-Known Member
I have to admit that at 320,000 miles, I've only changed the plugs once, at 129,000 miles. At about 240,000 miles I bought another set, but after losing one job, finding another that was rather high stress (long late night phone conferences?), losing that one, then finding another and finding instant personality conflicts, I never did get around to changing them again. I did keep up with oil changes and such, and my Trac just kept on running so well! When I finally did get into a job that was a good fit, it was about 280,000 miles, or 150,000 miles or so from the last change. And then I got curious about just how long these things would last.
Well, my Trac stumbled Wednesday morning just before I got to work, and ran poorly the rest of the way to the office. I went out at lunch and checked the codes, and it said "misfire on cylinder 4", so I knew my research was at an end at 328,000 miles, or 199,000 miles into these plugs. I carefully drove it 27 miles home that evening and finally changed the plugs. Most of the plugs looked ok, oddly enough, but one was missing the center electrode. I assumed that it was the one that was causing the miss.
I'd like to say the Trac ran fine after changing the plugs, but that wasn't the case. Late that night the last two plugs wires pulled apart, so I had to hurry and buy new plug wires the next morning, and only replaced the two bad ones before leaving for work. It ran just as badly, but it would maintain 60mph without too much trouble, so I continued on to work and put the rest of the wires in at lunch. Then I pulled the battery cable and let it sit without power until evening to reset the computer. Now it runs great again! Thank God. I was worried all the way to work.
As I changed them I was reminded of several things:
1) Most of the plugs are not that hard to get to, but the back two on the passenger side are a real pain for people with large hands.
2) The plugs aren't the only worry with that many miles. Even with boot grease at the last change, the back two on the passenger side were stuck fast, and pulled apart before releasing.
3) Even though most of the plugs still looked reasonable, it only takes one with a missing center electrode to make it run bad.
4) Just because you've neglected something for so long that it finally wears out, that doesn't mean it's actually the problem!
5) If you're going to do research like this, don't do it on your daily driver!
6) Don't neglect regular maintenance, no matter what is going on in your life. I'm just glad it didn't happen when I was 150 miles from home like I was 3 weeks earlier!
6) A new puppy that is large enough to carry off tools dropped to the concrete can be annoying!
Well, my Trac stumbled Wednesday morning just before I got to work, and ran poorly the rest of the way to the office. I went out at lunch and checked the codes, and it said "misfire on cylinder 4", so I knew my research was at an end at 328,000 miles, or 199,000 miles into these plugs. I carefully drove it 27 miles home that evening and finally changed the plugs. Most of the plugs looked ok, oddly enough, but one was missing the center electrode. I assumed that it was the one that was causing the miss.
I'd like to say the Trac ran fine after changing the plugs, but that wasn't the case. Late that night the last two plugs wires pulled apart, so I had to hurry and buy new plug wires the next morning, and only replaced the two bad ones before leaving for work. It ran just as badly, but it would maintain 60mph without too much trouble, so I continued on to work and put the rest of the wires in at lunch. Then I pulled the battery cable and let it sit without power until evening to reset the computer. Now it runs great again! Thank God. I was worried all the way to work.
As I changed them I was reminded of several things:
1) Most of the plugs are not that hard to get to, but the back two on the passenger side are a real pain for people with large hands.
2) The plugs aren't the only worry with that many miles. Even with boot grease at the last change, the back two on the passenger side were stuck fast, and pulled apart before releasing.
3) Even though most of the plugs still looked reasonable, it only takes one with a missing center electrode to make it run bad.
4) Just because you've neglected something for so long that it finally wears out, that doesn't mean it's actually the problem!
5) If you're going to do research like this, don't do it on your daily driver!
6) Don't neglect regular maintenance, no matter what is going on in your life. I'm just glad it didn't happen when I was 150 miles from home like I was 3 weeks earlier!
6) A new puppy that is large enough to carry off tools dropped to the concrete can be annoying!
