Spark Plugs- two last questions

[Desert Sage]

My Ranger has 71,000 miles, and now it's time to change the spark plugs. I've read over & over again on what to do, but I have two lingering questions-
If I remove the lower fuel line to ease the removal of #4 ignition coil & plug, I need to disconnect the battery.- So....

1) Once done with the plugs, do I need to reset the BMS when I reconnect the battery?
2) Is it better to do one plug at a time, or just do all four together?

Thanks in advance....

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[Frenchy]

First off why are you having to disconnect the battery? I would leave it be. As long as you are not trying to start the vehicle I don't see any issues.

Next why would you only replace one spark plug instead of all four?

 

[GitRDone]

Just curious.. what were the first two questions?

 

[VESH]

My Ranger has 71,000 miles, and now it's time to change the spark plugs. I've read over & over again on what to do, but I have two lingering questions-
If I remove the lower fuel line to ease the removal of #4 ignition coil & plug, I need to disconnect the battery.- So....

1) Once done with the plugs, do I need to reset the BMS when I reconnect the battery?
2) Is it better to do one plug at a time, or just do all four together?

Thanks in advance....

Don’t remove the fuel line. It can be done with it on, just takes some extra time making sure #4 boot/coil is seated correctly.

It doesn’t matter whether you do all four at once, or one by one. I did one by one so that I knew the coil pack was going back on the same cylinder it came off.

 

[21rangerCactus]

No reason to take anything off other then the coil pack and spark plug. It's not a complicated process at all but do take your time. Don't be rough with the sparkplugs, the tiniest crack in the porcelain can cause issues. Don't bear down on them when installing and make sure the threads are catching. I don't use a ratchet when starting the threads. I do it by hand with the socket and extension.

Don’t remove the fuel line. It can be done with it on, just takes some extra time making sure #4 boot/coil is seated correctly.

It doesn’t matter whether you do all four at once, or one by one. I did one by one so that I knew the coil pack was going back on the same cylinder it came off.

You would have to rip the coil off the wire harness wrap to get them mixed up. Though good reason to do one by one is so you don't accidentally drop anything inside the cylinder. That's my fear and that's why I do it one by one.

 

[Desert Sage]

First off why are you having to disconnect the battery? I would leave it be. As long as you are not trying to start the vehicle I don't see any issues.

Next why would you only replace one spark plug instead of all four?

After reading some of the frustrations with #4 ignition coil removal/replacement, I noticed that a few members recommend removing the lower fuel line for easier access, and under 303-07 Engine Ignition it says : "Disconnect battery terminals. Refer to: Battery Disconnect and Connect (414-01 Battery, Mounting and Cables, General Procedures)." With so many sensors under the hood, I thought maybe to do what Ford says.
As far as replacing one plug- my question was probably ambiguous- I only meant do one plug at a time or do them all at the same step all at the same time.
In any event- I appreciate your help- thx

 

[airline tech]

After reading some of the frustrations with #4 ignition coil removal/replacement, I noticed that a few members recommend removing the lower fuel line for easier access, and under 303-07 Engine Ignition it says : "Disconnect battery terminals. Refer to: Battery Disconnect and Connect (414-01 Battery, Mounting and Cables, General Procedures)." With so many sensors under the hood, I thought maybe to do what Ford says.
As far as replacing one plug- my question was probably ambiguous- I only meant do one plug at a time or do them all at the same step all at the same time.
In any event- I appreciate your help- thx

Not sure what version of the manuals you are reading- but the manuals have been updated and for Plugs & Coils it is not required to disconnect the battery or fuel line.
#4 Coil can be removed and installed without disconnecting the fuel line, but I recommend doing it last - so you have a reference feel for when its clicks in place on the plug, you can feel it snap and if you listen very closely (turn off the shop / garage radio) you can also hear it.

 

[RangerBill]

I would put a light coating of silicone dielectric grease on the coil boots to make it easier to re-insert them, especially #4 since you have to put it on on a slight angle to clear the fuel line.

 

[Msfitoy]

My Ranger has 71,000 miles, and now it's time to change the spark plugs. I've read over & over again on what to do, but I have two lingering questions-
If I remove the lower fuel line to ease the removal of #4 ignition coil & plug, I need to disconnect the battery.- So....

1) Once done with the plugs, do I need to reset the BMS when I reconnect the battery?
2) Is it better to do one plug at a time, or just do all four together?

Thanks in advance....

There's no need to remove any fuel line...I can't see what this is all about...the #4 plug at the back requires manipulation of the ignition coils so it can be rotated out of the way...the rest of the plugs do not have any hinderance...I change all the plugs at the same time...the trick is to make sure after torquing the plug down, make sure the coils boot seats securely with a solid "click"...if not, you'll have misfires and know it right away...

Leave the battery alone...you're better off to spend time rotating your tires than doing unnecessary work...

 

[djesusjay]

I would put a light coating of silicone dielectric grease on the coil boots to make it easier to re-insert them, especially #4 since you have to put it on on a slight angle to clear the fuel line.

Hello all, first time doing my spark plug replacement after reading this thread since I now have 40k on it and yes, I don't drive it much, I have another vehicle. The first spark plug looked really rough but already read here that it seems to be normal.
My main issue is that now after changing all 4 spark plugs, I now have a check engine light coming on. The Ford pass app advises of an engine misfire. It fires up great but seems to have hesitation when I push throttle and it's idling rough. Could that #4 coil boot be the issue? I took all 4 spark plugs out again to inspect them and to see if the ceramics where cracked but didn't see anything weird. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[RangerBill]

Hello all, first time doing my spark plug replacement after reading this thread since I now have 40k on it and yes, I don't drive it much, I have another vehicle. The first spark plug looked really rough but already read here that it seems to be normal.
My main issue is that now after changing all 4 spark plugs, I now have a check engine light coming on. The Ford pass app advises of an engine misfire. It fires up great but seems to have hesitation when I push throttle and it's idling rough. Could that #4 coil boot be the issue? I took all 4 spark plugs out again to inspect them and to see if the ceramics where cracked but didn't see anything weird. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.

Yes, it is likely plug #4 coil boot (closest to the firewall) is not making contact with the plug. Did you put silicon dielectric grease on the outside and inside of the boot to make it easier to push down onto the plug? Because of fuel lines being in the way on #4, that is the one that is probably not installed correctly onto the plug.

 

[Msfitoy]

1) Once done with the plugs, do I need to reset the BMS when I reconnect the battery?
2) Is it better to do one plug at a time, or just do all four together?

1- no need to mess with BMS
2- if you have four pairs of hands, then I'd do all four at the same time...four times as fast!

 

[djesusjay]

Yes, it is likely plug #4 coil boot (closest to the firewall) is not making contact with the plug. Did you put silicon dielectric grease on the outside and inside of the boot to make it easier to push down onto the plug? Because of fuel lines being in the way on #4, that is the one that is probably not installed correctly onto the plug.

Thank you so much Rangerbill for the suggestion, that worked! A little lubricant did the job. Now I just need to figure out how to get the check engine light to disappear, lol. Thanks again

 

[RangerBill]

Thank you so much Rangerbill for the suggestion, that worked! A little lubricant did the job. Now I just need to figure out how to get the check engine light to disappear, lol. Thanks again

If you have a code reader or use Forscan on a computer with an adaptor, you can reset the DTC for the misfire. If not, it should go away by itself after so many drive cycles without a misfire being present.

 

[JohnnyO]

My Ranger has 71,000 miles, and now it's time to change the spark plugs. I've read over & over again on what to do, but I have two lingering questions-
If I remove the lower fuel line to ease the removal of #4 ignition coil & plug, I need to disconnect the battery.- So....

1) Once done with the plugs, do I need to reset the BMS when I reconnect the battery?
2) Is it better to do one plug at a time, or just do all four together?

Thanks in advance....

I didn't have to remove the fuel line. It wasn't hard to work around it.
I didn't disconnect the battery.
I did one at a time, mostly out of habit because I'm old and have changed plugs on old-school V8's where it's easy to mix up the plug wires if you take them all off at once. Ask me how I know.
Put a dab of dielectric grease on the insulator and top electrode so it's easier to remove the boot next time.
If you put anti-seize on the threads just use a teeny tiny bit. Too much and the plugs won't ground properly.

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