Tune-up steps
 

Forgive my ignorance...was wondering what a good tune-up on a 98 GT (56,000 miles bought with 21,000) would consist of. I'm used to doing these on older 5.0s and Chevys, where things (cap, rotor, etc.) were a little more straightforward.

From what I've been reading on the board, I am assuming a good set of copper plugs are in order, as are a set of wires (consensus here seems to be Ford 9mm or MSD). What about the fuel filter...is it easy to get to? No distributor cap to change but is there anything that needs to be done with the coil packs? O2 sensor? Should the throttle body or anything else be cleaned?

Thanks for your help...don't have a service manual for this yet, but I'm going to get one. I have one for the up-to-1995 Mustangs, which doesn't do much good as far as engine work goes.

Well Cad, I think you came to the right place with your question. There are lot's of intelligent people here (im a NOOB though) who can help you.

Your on the right track by replacing your wires with 9mm. I dont think you want copper plugs unless thats what your car came with. Copper plugs are normally used in Super charged applications to prevent detonation. I put copper plugs in my 00 GT, and they made no difference. I then replaced those with autolite double platinums, and I noticed a difference with those.

Changing the air filter is the next thing you should do. Replace it with a K&N if you dont already have one. If you do, buy the cleaning kit for it, and clean it.

One thing I like to do when I get under the hood is to clean things. The throttle body is a good place to start, and I have even pulled the EGR valve and cleaned that too.

Changing the oil is another thing to do. Make sure you use the recommended oil weight (should be 5W20), and put a good oil filter on. I dont recommend you use synthetic because once you do, its the only thing your supposed to use every time after that. I like synthetic blends personally.

You said you have 56K miles on it? I would also change the fuel filter. On my model year, I needed a special tool to get the fuel filter off. I think you can rent one from Pep Boy's.

Now would also be a good time to change your other lubricants as well, such as engine coolant and transmission fluid. Other than that theres not much more I can think of right now. I am sure there are some others who use this forum who can suggest some other things they might do to keep their stangs runnin like new. Hope this was some help for ya. Good luck.

A couple of things to note. There is no benefit to platinum plugs, except longer life. If you want to leave them in for say, 100k, go for it. However, the electrodes are so thin and fragile, that you can only gap them once. It's the tempature of the plug, not the metal used, that makes a difference on blown cars.

Also be careful if you clean the throttle body or anything else on the car.

Best weight for the motor is 5w30, I run Mobil 1 exclusivly. Do not put a fram filter on your car, the motorcraft ones are suprisingly of great design. And they're cheap if you don't get them from Ford.

Thanks guys...what do I have to watch out for cleaning the throttle body? I actually remember a sticker on my friend's Ford Ranger instructing us not to clean the throttle body...