[ArmyofOne]

Anyone know it? Looked everywhere, cant find it...Gotta change the upper bank plugs before a 1200 mile road trip when I get home in a few days. They got 62k on them...that means they are...32k overdue.:doh: The wife reports the truck is stalling out every once in a while and I think this might be the culprit.

 

[snrusnak]

It's not in the manual? I checked the NGK database I have and it doesn't have it listed. I need to do mine as well (I'm at about 55,000 miles). I was contemplating putting iridiums in the top rows...

 

[ArmyofOne]

No it isnt in the manual, I have looked, and looked and looked, and looked again...as well as googled my ass off. I cant find it anywhere. Dont do the iridiums, the way the engine runs, it will foul them out in 30k as well. Everything I have read points to it being a waste of money. Just go with NGK, or Bosch Copper plugs and save yourself the $50-$75.

Bosch are like $3.25 a piece. NGK Iridiums are $12.99.

 

[ArmyofOne]

AH-HA! It is in the manual...it eluded me...:doh:

Spark Plugs – 4.7L Engine Upper Bank — FR8TE2 (Gap 0.039 in [.99 mm]) Lower Bank — FR8T1332
(Gap 0.051 in [1.30 mm])

 

[snrusnak]

Glad you found it. Why would the iridiums only last 30k miles? They should last a lot longer than the copper..

 

[ArmyofOne]

It has to do with the way the truck burns the fuel, and the temperatures in the combustion chamber. Its hard to explain. It does not really make sense to me either, but the Lead Tech at my dealership even told me, go with the cheaper plug because they all foul out no matter what. When my wife called him to get a quote on the plugs, she told him what it was doing, and he said "its common for the 4th gen's to stall out when they need plugs. Sometimes they wont ever throw a code."

So, there you have it 4th gen owners. Change your plugs on schedule.

 

[snrusnak]

So when you do the lower banks are you going to swap the iridiums with copper?

 

[ArmyofOne]

No, the lower banks have platinums in there, and thats what I will use when I do those at 100k.

 

[snrusnak]

I was under the impression they were iridium, don't remember where I read that though.

 

[ArmyofOne]

They may be, for sure they are either platinum or iridium, and thats what will go in there when I replace them, but the top row does not seem to benefit from them.

 

[Lmc22391]

I hate to bring back an old post, but I am looking into changing my top bank in my 4.7 and was googling multiple threads and sites, and I have to say. Its crazy the amount of people that are saying the top bank on their 4.7's need to be changd every 30k miles. That is not correct according to the owners manual? It says 30k for 3.7 and 5.7, but for the 4.7 its the top bank at 48k and bottom bank at 96k. I mean, i guess it wont hurt to change at 30k, but I just couldnt believe how many different threads and sites kept saying 30k for 4.7 top bank.

Had to get that off my chest ha.

 

[Lmc22391]

Also, since im reviving an old post, maybe someone can answer my question. I keep hearing everyone say Bosch is OEM, no wait, NGK is OEM, no wait, Champion is OEM. Which one is it?!

I see a lot of people recommending NGK. I found the NGK copper for the top bank on Rockauto. Is the NGK for the bottom bank Iridium or double platinum. Because rockauto isnt showing any NGK iridium, just NGK double platinum.

Also, in the owners manual, it says change the wires at 96k. But it doesnt say anything about the coil on each top plug. Do you regulary change those? Or is it a wait till it goes bad type of deal? Thanks!!

 

[snrusnak]

OEM for the 08+ 4.7L is Bosch, I'm not sure about the older 4.7L. The reason you see many people saying 30k miles is because older years required that per the owner's manual. I would suggest you stick with oem plugs, they are a special plug (copper yttrium and iridium yttrium). Other plugs will most likely not perform as well and definitely will not last as long.

You can use the iridium one in the upper bank for longer life. I replaced my coils by need (rubber boot tears on removal of top bank). No need to though unless they fail. I believe now you can buy rubber boot replacements (couldn't when I needed them).

 

[Lmc22391]

Holy moly I never knew spark plugs were so confusing!! haha. But Just before I read your post I figured out that the part number in the owners manual matched up with a Bosch, so I will go ahead and get those, as your recommendation too.

One last question. is it di-electric grease that goes in the boot and around where the boot contacts the plug, correct? and then anti seeze on the threads of the plug?

my truck is at 75k, bought it used around 60k. Dont know if the pervious owner changed them or not. So I figured Id just go ahead and swap the top bank now and pray the boot isnt siezed. Then also change the top again at the 96k mark. I can afford an extra $28(3.50x8) for some piece of mind.

Also going to order this for the thin wall socket. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0074HNKI6?tag=viglink27338-20

 

[snrusnak]

Yes dielectric electrical grease on the boot will help keep it from seizing. Just a dab of anti seize on the spark plug threads will also help keep from seizing into the head.

Also, if your boots are stuck to the plugs, take a piece of copper plumbing (can't remember if it's 3/8" or 1/2"), and cut a small section like 12" or 8" or so, and you can use that to separate the boot from the plug (after tearing the boot/coil off). Use a hammer to drive the copper tubing. The copper tubing will fit perfectly between the boot and the spark plug, then you can use needle nose pliers to pull the boot out.

I'll tell you I changed my top bank with the copper oem plug at around 50k miles I believe, then did both upper and lower banks with the iridium oem plug at around 110k miles, and the plugs looked really good both times. So you can definitely push them...

 

[Lmc22391]

So if you put iridium in the top bank, it doesnt effect performance? and then you can change them both at 96k intervals?

 

[snrusnak]

That's correct, I couldn't notice a difference in performance if there was any. The benefit is longer change intervals.

 

[Lmc22391]

I wonder why they didnt do that in the first place then....weird.

 

[snrusnak]

The only two reasons that makes sense are due to cost (would be more expensive for the owners). By using copper on the top they split the change intervals up and split the cost up (plus the coppers are cheaper). Otherwise, maybe due to the boot seizing the the plug issue? It'll probably be even worse going twice the miles.