So I have felt the last few months to year my truck just hasn't felt as strong, she is getting up there now at 176K and I don't drive it all the time but it just didn't seem to have the same mid range power to it. Couldn't remember the last time I did plugs so I got some NGK V-Power ZFR5F-11 to replace the ZFR6F-11's I had in it. Only thing different is the 5's are a step cooler plug which with towing and my Superchips I read was the way to go. The old plugs were very rounded and the notches weren't to apparent anymore from the old V Powers. Also the gaps were anywhere from .5-.52 so way over what they should be. Long story short I got the new ones in and it runs great again, possibly a little bit mental but I really feel it is running a lot better and has the mid range grunt it had before. Now my concern was the fact that my coil packs looked almost burnt and rusty for about 5/8 of them around where the rubber bushing is to keep out water and dirt. Here is a pic, anyone see this before?? I cleaned and put them back in without the rubbers since I didn't have any to replace the dry rotted old ones.

 

Does anyone know the size or where to get the O-ring for the coil pack? The only place I can find them is for $3 a piece and hell if I am paying that for a O-ring.

 

Thing is, it's not just an o-ring... it's what it is made of. The new coil packs also come with a guard near the mid-upper to prevent stuff from getting down to the o-ring.

Don't know the size or material. Some guys leave it off to make it easier to pull out when checking plugs.

 

A bigger gap requires more current to "jump." Maybe the coils were getting hot from that.

Try your hardware store. Many have bins of o-rings. You might find some to fit.

 

I guess the V8 plugs are not easy to replace and thats why so few change them out very often.

I change my plugs every three years sometimes more often it depends on how the engine feels to me they are cheap so why not.

That coil looks roached I guess individual coils have their drawbacks I prefer one coil.

 

Im betting lowes,home depot maybe even tractor supply would carry o-rings.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98DAKAZ

I guess the V8 plugs are not easy to replace and thats why so few change them out very often.

Actually, they are VERY easy to change. There's almost nothing in the way, no exhaust manifolds to reach around, you just loosen the hard heater hoses and swap plugs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98DAKAZ

I change my plugs every three years sometimes more often it depends on how the engine feels to me they are cheap so why not.

Ditto. I know that 30k is pushing it in my truck.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 98DAKAZ

That coil looks roached I guess individual coils have their drawbacks I prefer one coil.

They have advantages too. No cap, rotor, or wires to deal with. That coil looks like it got hot though.

 

Thanks guys, yeah I usually keep up with this stuff, guess I left them go a little long. Anyone see any negative side effects with not replacing the o rings? I don't see to much moisture getting up around that area but I guess it could. As far as I can tell no ill side effects with the new plugs in, it runs a lot better. The coil getting hot makes sense and was probably from the .1 extra gap from wear as well as working it pretty hard on some of the steep river hills around here with my boat on the back. Pulling the plugs every year is now added to my check list.

 

Clean them up a bit and put some spark plug boot grease on them. It'll make them easier to remove next time and will help seal things up.

 

The boot grease is a must, for many years I didn’t believe in using that stuff till one time I had a boot glue to a sparkplug PITA is putting it mildly

Have you looked inside the coil to see if its burned up or dirty at the sparkplug contact point.. I suggest replacing that coil in your pic.

Live and learn