Replacing spark plugs & wires on a 1992 Ford Taurus this weekend... Typically I've walked into the autoparts store and got whatever the not-quite-the-cheapest-version was that fit. It's an old car, but in good shape so I'm hoping we'll get some more miles out of it. Any brand/type in particular that I should be looking for? I mean, there are approximately 457,000 types of plugs with platinum or iridium or kryptonite coatings or promises of having been soaked in the tears of baby jesus and providing you an extra sixty horsepower. The cost difference between $3 plugs and $13 plugs is not meaningful enough for me to care if there's a valid reason to go with a more expensive version.
I can't speak for brands, but I will pass on this info I learned when changing mine recently on my '04 Chevy Silverado. The original plug was a platinum tip gapped at 0.060. Now, GM recommends an iridium tip gapped at 0.040. So, if you check the gap for your car, it may say you need 0.040 or something, which would be true in my case - but only for iridium. I like the way my truck was running before, so I put back platinum tip. They came gapped 0.040 and I re-gapped them to 0.060 before I installed them. (I believe the idea is that since iridium has a much higher melting temp than platinum, they can help burn fuel more efficiently and this higher mpg.) For me, I put regular AutoLite Platinum tip in, and my motor sings like a sewing machine. So, I'll let somebody with more knowledge comment on brand / performance.
For and old car like that, just the regular $3 plugs are fine. Most newer vehicles(say 97/2000+) come with platinum plugs as standard plugs, and don't run anything lower grade then those. My 2012 GSX-R 750 and all the new outboards come with the lazer platinum(15-20 per plug). And with your Taurus, hope to god it is a 3.0L not the 3.8L or else you are going to be having some fun on the back 3 plugs. Depending on how small your arms are, it might be easier to unbolt the front engine mount and tilt the engine forward.
It's a 3.0L. I've read a bunch of horror stories about the 3.8L - I'd be tempted to bring it into the shop for that. The plugs in my last Subaru were awful, nearly impossible to get at. Had no skin left on any of my knuckles, a broken socket wrench, and three hours of cursing to show for it last time. I haven't looked at the plugs in my Outback yet, I am putting it off as long as possible.
I managed to extract this SOB during the painstaking process. All of the damage was done before I got to it. The hex mounting was completely stripped - I had to take a file to a too-small socket and eventually got just enough of it - thank God they weren't torqued in there too badly. You can see the only shiny part which is the only piece of the hex edge where I got leverage. Note that these are original to the vehicle so either it was damaged at the factory (unlikely), or at some point someone tried to change them, destroyed this one, and decided to leave them all alone. Nice.
My husband and I are looking for a cheap second-hand car for our daughter. We found one but the mileage is high, which isn't really surprising considering our price point. It's a 1998, Honda Civic, 5-speed, with 142,000 miles on it. They are asking $3,950. Are we crazy for considering it? I know Hondas are known for getting high mileage, but it's already kind of up there. I had planned on looking at it after work. Here's a link to pictures: <a class="postlink" href="http://www.autofind.com/dealer/details/25503/2HGEJ8548WH614118" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.autofind.com/dealer/details/ ... 48WH614118</a> We haven't said anything to our daughter just in case it doesn't work out, plus she pays her own insurance so we need to check the increase there also. Any opinions? I hope the link works, I'm on my phone. Thanks!
In my opinion, that's a tough question to answer just yes or no. There are a number of factors to consider - that price in a Southern, non-beach location might be more reasonable than a northern, road salt area. Or, if the vehicle has been wrecked. You can go to KBB.com to get a decent price range for your area, of what you should expect to pay. There are a number of reasons why you can expect to pay more for that car from a dealer than from a private individual, one of which is level of trust in the dealer, what kind of confidence you have in their inspection of the car, and how well they'd stand behind it if it blows up the day after you drive it off the lot. So, that price seems a bit high to me for that vehicle. But, if it's in your budget range, it's worth it to you to get that car, and you feel comfortable with the dealer, make them an offer and go for it. Using KBB or Cars.com or something similar, can give you good comparitive shopping ideas. Like, $4000 is in your budget, choose that as your qualifier, and see what other cars you get get for that same price. (I just hit cars.com in my area, and there were several newer Civics with fewer miles for $3950 or less.)
Thanks so much. I thought it seemed high for miles, but I just figured it was because it was a Honda and they are known for lasting. I looked at the Carfax for it and if I'm remembering correctly it said it was either $100 under invoice or $300 over. I looked at so many this weekend I can't remember and I'm not home now to double check. We wouldn't even be looking if not for the fact that between her working and swimming its getting harder to coordinate car availability. I'll check out that cars.com site you mentioned. I've never heard of it. Thanks again. It's appreciated.
I wanted to thank everyone for their advice in my car-shopping endeavors. It was quite the experience and I realized that car pictures look MUCH better online than in person. We ended up with a 2002 Ford Escort ZX2, 84,000 miles, 5-speed, new tires, sun roof, beautiful interior, keyless entry, plus some other things for under $5,000. I tried to KBB it but it only called up 4-door Escorts. We may have overpaid, but after looking at some of the crap out there in the same price range (and sometimes even higher), I feel like we made the best choice. Anyway, here's a picture: Thanks for the advice! Not a bad car for a 17-year old I think and her insurance isn't even going up all that much. We are really happy with the lower mileage. Here's hoping we made the right choice!
Anybody use TireRack.com or TireBuyer.com? Their prices are signficantly less than any of my local shops. Several of the local shops are willing to MBRD if I bring the tires in, but none of them would match the online prices or really get close. I was just wondering what the catch is. They'll even ship to the installer. Why wouldn't the shop just order them from online themselves?
I used it a few times, can't beat the prices. I got 4 tires shipped for way less than I could have bought them locally.
Haven't had any issues with both Tire Rack and Discount Tire Direct. DTD does free shipping, too. Got a set of really good summer tires for my car for nearly $150 less than local dealers after online discounts and mail in rebates from DTD.
Discount Tire has a promotion running right now... http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/findPromotions.do?pgid=767
Oops, it's done now. The tires I bought were $12 per tire cheaper at tirebuyer.com, though. They also did free shipping, but charged me tax for Georgia since they're coming from a wharehouse in the state. DTD would not have charged me tax, so it looks like that would've been the way to go. Bummer.
TireBuyer.com delivered them via FedEx yesterday and local shop put them on. Easy. Total was cheaper than any local deal I found by about $120. I'll take it.
The new (Used) Durango I bought has a bit more slop in the steering then I deem reasonable, so I'm going to replace the control arm bushings with polyurethane bushings. I'm a few years removed from doing this sort of thing, but I recall that it doesn't take long before polyurethane begins to squeak. I used to use bolt anti-seize on the bushings to lubricate everything and prevent the eventual annoying noise, is this still the way to go?