This seems like a stupid question to most...But I have never changed the plugs in anything newer than a 77 Nova. I was just looking for any tips or advice before I start tearing **** apart! Thanks in advance for your input.

 

Taking the plastic part of the intake that attaches to the throttle body off is a must. These trucks use coil-packs so you'll have to unplug the coil pack and undo the nut holding it down for each plug. As eric said you will want a couple extensions and possibly even a universal joint for the ratchet, that back plug on the passenger side can be a real pain. I'd plan on spending about an hour.

 

you should be fine dude..i changed spark plugs for the first time last week and got it done in under an hour about 40-45 min..ok i guess an hour lol

but like they said...get a long extension for your socket wrench....the driver side is really the hardest because some of the A/C lines get in your way you just ogtta move em, and you can unclip them from thier holders too...

other than that just prepare to lean all the way in...i ended up just standing on the frame lol...

boy was i proud when i turned on that engine lol

 

Make sure you blast out the pockets with compressed air, in case there is any dirt down there. Also put some hi-temp anti-sieze on the threads so that it will be easier to take out next time.

 

yeah like AltaiRich said, that back one is tough
but i just loosened them up as best i could then took the ratchet off and unscrewed it with my hand....helped that the wrench wasnt in the way lol...might wanna try that too when removing them

 

And a spark plug socket with the rubber grommet inside. You'll never be able to lift the plugs out of the holes without it.

 

consider the slightly greater time needed to 'index' the spark plugs
since the spark plug change time is already so long on a 4.7 V8
that a little more time is not a huge addition to the job
=======

Spark plug and ignition advance changes.

I did a careful test run of 311 miles after indexing sparkplugs in a 5.9V8 and
measured what might have been a 3% improvement. That could be random
variation. To index the plugs, buy 16 instead of the usual 8 and choose plugs
that tighten down so that the gap points toward the V of the engine and the
ground electrode is on the fender side. Return the 8 plugs you don't use to
the store or give them to another Ram owner. This puts the metal post of the
ground electrode over against the metal wall of the cylinder head where it
does not block the growth of the flame. a view of the 4.7
combustion chamber.



There is an article with several good illustrations of sparkplug indexing at
this Ford site:

http://www.fordmuscle.com/archives/2...gs/index.shtml

do not use the copper washers to index spark plugs, as they come loose

the standard 4.7 PCM computer has
significantly retarded ignition timing
to allow it to run on lower octane gasoline,
so tricks like
indexing,
cutting back the ground electrode,
or larger gaps
can have modest gains

in contrast,
a 5.7 V8 has been reported by a Chrysler dyno test employee as being within 5 degrees of 'mean best torque' ignition advance because of its dual sparkplugs,
and i would suspect that the newest dual plug version of the 4.7 is similar

 

Not trying to bash or anything, so hopefully this won't come across wrong.

I have a friend who is a high performance engine builder (street, strip, roundy rounds, etc) and he says it's pretty much a waste of time to index plugs on a street car engine. The gains are very minimal if any at all (like under 1%). Besides, on our 4.7 engines, the plugs are so deep down in the valve covers/heads that it would make it a huge pain in the *** trying to mark and index the plugs. The only way I can see it even being possible is marking the socket extension indicating which way the electrode faces so you could tell once the plug is in the hole.

 

Yeah thats what i heard...A matter of some debate is the "indexing" of plugs upon installation, usually only for high performance or racing applications; this involves installing them so that the open area of the spark gap, not shrouded by the ground electrode, faces the center of the combustion chamber, towards the intake valve, rather than the wall. Many experts believe that this will maximize the exposure of the fuel-air mixture to the spark, and therefore result in better ignition; others, howeverlol, believe that this is useful only to keep the ground electrode out of the way of the piston in ultra-high-compression engines if clearance is insufficient.

idk only what i read, but if u wanna index...it cant hurt either i guess, suck every inch of power you can out lol