3/25/05 UPDATE - DONE! - New Plugs and Wires NGK

[BumperBob]

Friday Update: DONE!
[?]

Howdy Ya'll!

I just got finished puttin in the NGK Iridium IX's (gapped at .045) and High Performance wires. Easy going, following the advice found on this site. Disconnected negative for a couple minutes, and fired it up...... Suuuhhhmmmmooooooothhhhh! Purrs so softly you can't feel it throught the steering wheel. Took her out for a spin, and once it was warmed up sufficiently, I tromped on it. [8)] Hehehehehehe!!!!! Now that's sweet! Much improved. It was nice before, but I can definately tell a difference, better response and acceleration fer sure! Just in time for a short trip to Illinois for Easter!

Well, the saga of the sputterin' PT is over, and easier than I thought possible. I took my time. (first time with a torque wrench) Thanks all for support and encouragement!

Later Dudes (and Dudettes) [8)]

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Update: Thursday 24th, '05....

Hi Ya'll,

I called sparkplugs.com to check on my order yesterday, and they told me the NGK kit I ordered was on backorder, and... oops, they forgot to send me an email to let me know that too. Well, since I had a choice of kits, one with red wires, which is what I ordered, and one with blue, I decided to ask if they had a blue set on hand. Lo and behold, they did! I said that blue would be fine, send 'em out right away, 2nd day air. Got confirmation today that they'll be delivered to me on Friday. wheeeeew, finally!

Today I decided to get a head start on changing them out, so I took my trusty instruction pages, complete with pics, out to the garage and I got to it. Much easier than it looks. Got the intake loose and hung, and I started taking out the plugs starting at #4 working to my left, no problem till I got to #1. It wasn't coming out. (!@#&*#!!!!) I thought for sure it was stripped or something, so I got a light and peered deep into the hole, and it looked a little funny, couldn't see any points on the nut. On a hunch I took a short piece of wire, bent a hook on it and fished down to the plug, and sure enough, there was a rubber plug insulator protector, out of a spark plug socket, stuck on the plug, it was keeping the socket from connecting to the nut. Once I got that off, everything worked slicker'n snot on a door knob! I had put the wires and boots back on as I went, to cover the holes to keep em clean, and now I'm all set for tomorrow night.

All the plugs showed normal wear, no fouling, or carbon buildup, and no evidence of a detonation. So it was probably a wire that was the culprit. I'll know that for sure when I fire it up!

Dat's all fer now folks! [?]




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Hi ya'll,

I had a little trouble last Saturday, 2003 PT Ltd Ed automatic had a hissy fit, acted like it was flooded. I had just shut it off, it hadn't really had a chance to warm up yet, and I started it up again within a few seconds. No go. So, I just held down the key till it did start and smoothed out. Thought everything was OK, but it started missing a bit this week, specially when in idle. I still had smooth acceleration, and it didn't seem to miss while cruising along. It got worse today (Thursday), so I got a lil' bottle of injector cleaner put in to see if that would smooth her out a bit. But of course, right after that, the service engine light came on, checked the code (P0303) and it indicates it missfired on # 3 cylinder.

So today I searched for some good plugs and wires. I found nothing in town of course, so online I went, and I found this set that I'm gonna give a try: http://www.ngk.com/more_info.asp?AAIA=1410534&pid=17454 just over $70, $81 and change with UPS shipping.

I found them at www.sparkplugs.com, and same price at www.ngk.com. 9mm high performance wires, and iridium plugs, they say you don't need special tools for these anymore. Anybody else tried 'em yet? I checked again at the local parts stores, and they don't even show them as available yet, must be too new. So I ordered them onl

[SuGamer]

What did you gap the plugs at? If it for a n/a PT, gap them at .045. If it's for a turbo, then gap them at .040. Did you change the wires? The majority of the time it the wires. If you didn't, get a set of Crane Firewires or Magnacors. I have the Cranes, and it's hard to beat 25ohms of resistance per foot! I don't think a clogged fuel filter will set off that particular code. It's definately the plugs and wires.

[BumperBob]

Haven't got the set yet, NGK plugs and wires, just ordered them. I should get them early next week if they ship them tomorrow. .

Hadn't decided what to gap them yet, probably .045. Seems to be what the concensus is around here.

[SuGamer]

quote:Originally posted by BumperBob

Haven't got the set yet, NGK plugs and wires, just ordered them. I should get them early next week if they ship them tomorrow. .

Hadn't decided what to gap them yet, probably .045. Seems to be what the concensus is around here.

DC has a TSB out for the n/a PT's. It states that the techs should gap the plugs for n/a PT's at .045. For turbos, from experience, it's better to gap them at .040. Just be very careful if the NGK's are iridium plugs. The center electrode is very delicate and can break if you aren't extremely careful gapping them.

[BumperBob]

I think they come gapped at .050, and I WILL be very careful, too 'spensive to not be! LOL[:0]

[AZ_IceMan]

I have those plugs, love em but they're my second set, I broke the electrode pin off of 2 of em. Be really careful, they don't exactly come gapped correctly and they are hard as h*ll to gap down. Like literally, they don't bend easy like copper. Cause they're not as soft. But you'll love them once they're in. [8)]

[ptsurge]

[^]what's up dudes?
I'm having the same problem as Bumper Bob. Will try to re-gap the spark plugs at .045. My next step is to replace the wires...
Thanx for all the info!

[quicksilverdon]

quote:Originally posted by ptsurge

[^]what's up dudes?
I'm having the same problem as Bumper Bob. Will try to re-gap the spark plugs at .045. My next step is to replace the wires...
Thanx for all the info!

Agree completely w/SuGamer. Only problem I had in 85,000 + miles was missing - twice. Same symptoms BumperBob described, except never a check engine light. First occurence, I change plugs w/Champion double platinums - still had miss. Put in Crane wires - no miss. About 50,000 miles later, slight miss again, put in new Champion platinums, no miss.

[SuGamer]

quote:Originally posted by quicksilverdon

Agree completely w/SuGamer. Only problem I had in 85,000 + miles was missing - twice. Same symptoms BumperBob described, except never a check engine light. First occurence, I change plugs w/Champion double platinums - still had miss. Put in Crane wires - no miss. About 50,000 miles later, slight miss again, put in new Champion platinums, no miss.

Now if you can't trust an expert like Don, Who can you trust??!!
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[nhrapt]

I don't think the fuel filter can be replaced, I think its in the gas tank?[:I]