Now I remember why I always hated Fords

jjklongisland

Registered User
Holy difficult batman :eek:

I changed my spark plugs today which took a solid 2 hours. Thank god for my buddy who has over $20,000 in snap on tools. There is no way I would have been able to get to some of those plugs without his specialty ratchets... Surprisingly the drivers side was much easier to do than the passenger. I went from underneath. The passenger side was a royal pain. Why the hell do they have that monster metal bracket holding the cooling lines in the darn way. It took my about a half hour to get my spark plug boot on.

Enough with all the complaining. The wires and plugs are done:D She now runs like a champ. Very smooth idle, no stuttering or sputtering in third or fourth gear in low rpms...

And another Ford gripe, why the hell would ford make it that you need to remove your lower radiator hose to change a damn belt...

Tomorrow I will be changing the thermostat, all the hoses, and belts and the tune up is finally complete.

Then I have to learn how to look for boost leaks. I am still only pulling about 9.5 pounds.
 
I remove the AC compressor as well....

Anti-sieze the bolts when you put the compressor back on....
 
I've never even thought to remove the AC compressor to change the plugs, but I could see how it might make things easier. That said, I'll struggle with my current process of using a 1/4" sized 3/8" ratchet and a 1" extension (where needed).
 
Doing plugs sucks on these cars, but I can't really blame them for that since all that stuff has to go somewhere for the car to be what it is. The belt though, I am right there with you on that! Especially when they could have easily routed it a little differently and avoided that problem completely!
 
A very smart thing to do is buy an extra belt and put the lower rad hose through it. Then just keep it rolled up and tied out of the way. That way if you break/lose your belt you have one that can simply be put on without removing the rad hose.
 
check your manifold to boost gauge hose, mine was spilt where it plugs onto the manifold nipple. I also was always showing low boost, till I fixed it.
 
Changing the plugs on a stock super coupe is a pain the first time. I always move the ac comp and I have an fmic so it takes me 30 to 45 min to change plugs
 
But which do you expect to replace or lose more often - belt or hose?

Either one, they are both wearable items that should be inspected at regular intervals.

Changing plugs on a SC isnt so bad after youve done it at least once.

Changing the belt that requires the lower hose to be removed, no big deal .. coolant should be replaced every 3 years or so anyways.

Same reason I hate working on Mercedes, because they are garbage. Every car has their own issues to deal with, they ALL break down over time.

Cars arent exactly built with future maintenance and part replacement in mind, they are designed to be manufactured on an assembly line at a low cost.



- Dan
 
Either one, they are both wearable items that should be inspected at regular intervals.

Changing plugs on a SC isnt so bad after youve done it at least once.

Changing the belt that requires the lower hose to be removed, no big deal .. coolant should be replaced every 3 years or so anyways.

- Dan

Agree all points :)

- Ken
 
Not that bad removing the lower rad hose. But if you are 500 miles from home and you throw a belt on an interstate... now removing the lower rad hose is a major pain!
 
Not that bad removing the lower rad hose. But if you are 500 miles from home and you throw a belt on an interstate... now removing the lower rad hose is a major pain!

If my car was throwing belts, I'd find out why and not take it far from home until it was reliable :)

Some people carry tons of spare parts, tools and lucky charms. Others don't know where the hood release is and only carry a AAA card. Others perform sensible maintenance and learn to trust their skills and cars.

If what works means wrapping an extra belt around the lower hose, that's fine. Whatever works for the individual car owner is what counts.
 
Wow, you guys never cease to amaze me. All I was doing was giving a little advice that might help someone sometime. Its just a trick many snowmobilers use. I don't even have an accessory belt on mine anyway!
 
Wow, you guys never cease to amaze me. All I was doing was giving a little advice that might help someone sometime. Its just a trick many snowmobilers use. I don't even have an accessory belt on mine anyway!

Got tired of throwing it and just left it off? Well, that fixes the 500 miles from home issue.

…man…I was looking forward to a photo of that tucked up belt next to the radiator on your car :)
 
Got tired of throwing it and just left it off? Well, that fixes the 500 miles from home issue.

…man…I was looking forward to a photo of that tucked up belt next to the radiator on your car :)

I guess you don't know my car then. I don't even have a belt for a water pump
 
I guess you don't know my car then.

Does it look suspiciously like a snowmobile with extra belts?

I heard of guy that tried that, and the spare belt got tangled in the motor 50 miles from home and he had to walk out in the dark, carrying his 'bile on his back. It was ok, tho, he had a pair of snowshoes tied around his neck just for such emergencies…guy knew his stuff :)
 
Back
Top