04-13-2005, 02:32 PM
So the dealer says I need new wires, plugs & ignition coil at 45,000km. Reason: corrosion. Reason: water under the valve cover. That would expalin the loss of power/hesitation/stumbling -- it wasn't the fuel pump (recalled) after all
I decided to get my hands dirty today, so with the help of my trusty Haynes Manual I set to work to see if I could cleanup it up and save me some money (Ford quoted $546+tax for new spark-plugs, wires, and coilpack). What I found was shocking .. and it might be worth checking yours if you haven't recently 'cos it might end up ruining your electrical system as well.
I started by pulling the spark-plug wires from the coilpack (nothing unusual there). Then I pulled each plug-wire boot up out of the valve cover. Underneath, THEY WERE YELLOW. Then I looked inside under the valve cover and down into the spark-plug wells. Yellow 'rusty-water residue' and a couple of millimeters of WATER POOLED AROUND THE SPARK-PLUGS. :blink: :o
Yes, the entire area - top to bottom was covered in yellow --- which indicates to me that at some point in time the entire thing must have been FULL of water?? No wonder the Ford Tech was convinced I'd had an engine shampoo or put the hose-pipe on the engine -- which I can say with 100% certainty has NEVER happened. Yes, I've driven through some pretty heavy rain storms, but for the plug-wires' boots to not seal sufficiently and allow that much moisture inside is just astounding.
On top of that, there were numerous sycamore seeds ('propellers') down there in the spark-plug wells. How the hell did they get in there?? I've owner the car since it was new and am the only driver, and never had the spark-plug wires out for more than 2 minutes when I checked the plug type shortly after I bought the car.
Anyhow, I cleaned everything off and the wires at least visually appear ok, the spark-plugs had a lot of corrosion on the thread-portion and the insulator and electrodes were slightly carbon-fouled but otherwise in good shape.
I ended up pulling the entire valve cover off and giving everything a good clean using strips of paper towel to absorb the moisture, a damp toothbrush to get rid of all the yellow and a vacuum to suck up all the dust and residue. I put it all back together and figured I'd look at the coil tomorrow (as it was getting dark and I was hungry). But before I went inside, I tried starting her up to see if it had improved the situation - but now the car won't even start!
Maybe I didn't push the wire-boots down far enough? Or forgot to re-attach something..
To be continued tomorrow.. :D
I decided to get my hands dirty today, so with the help of my trusty Haynes Manual I set to work to see if I could cleanup it up and save me some money (Ford quoted $546+tax for new spark-plugs, wires, and coilpack). What I found was shocking .. and it might be worth checking yours if you haven't recently 'cos it might end up ruining your electrical system as well.
I started by pulling the spark-plug wires from the coilpack (nothing unusual there). Then I pulled each plug-wire boot up out of the valve cover. Underneath, THEY WERE YELLOW. Then I looked inside under the valve cover and down into the spark-plug wells. Yellow 'rusty-water residue' and a couple of millimeters of WATER POOLED AROUND THE SPARK-PLUGS. :blink: :o
Yes, the entire area - top to bottom was covered in yellow --- which indicates to me that at some point in time the entire thing must have been FULL of water?? No wonder the Ford Tech was convinced I'd had an engine shampoo or put the hose-pipe on the engine -- which I can say with 100% certainty has NEVER happened. Yes, I've driven through some pretty heavy rain storms, but for the plug-wires' boots to not seal sufficiently and allow that much moisture inside is just astounding.
On top of that, there were numerous sycamore seeds ('propellers') down there in the spark-plug wells. How the hell did they get in there?? I've owner the car since it was new and am the only driver, and never had the spark-plug wires out for more than 2 minutes when I checked the plug type shortly after I bought the car.
Anyhow, I cleaned everything off and the wires at least visually appear ok, the spark-plugs had a lot of corrosion on the thread-portion and the insulator and electrodes were slightly carbon-fouled but otherwise in good shape.
I ended up pulling the entire valve cover off and giving everything a good clean using strips of paper towel to absorb the moisture, a damp toothbrush to get rid of all the yellow and a vacuum to suck up all the dust and residue. I put it all back together and figured I'd look at the coil tomorrow (as it was getting dark and I was hungry). But before I went inside, I tried starting her up to see if it had improved the situation - but now the car won't even start!
Maybe I didn't push the wire-boots down far enough? Or forgot to re-attach something..
To be continued tomorrow.. :D