Has anyone had to change the back three plugs on the V6 engine?

Holy smokes,

I just took a peek under the plastic engine cover to see what is involved to replacing the spark plugs on my 3.0 V6. The FRONT three seem easy to reach under the coils. But the BACK three are buried!

Does the intake plenum have to come off? Please say no, please say no, please say no.....

Has anyone done this? Any tips, suggestions, new cuss words, removal sequence notes are appreciated.

Tom

Yes, Take the Top Cover off,,, 4 Screws I think and make sure you don't lose them then you'll see the 3 Rear Coils. Unscrew the screws that hold the coils down and you'll see the Spark Plug Holes. It's actualy very easy to do. Just watch your Torques when putting things back together.

Still looking for some ideas and thoughts here.
That cover with the four screws will only reveal the front three spark plugs.
I have the 24V 3.0 liter V6. (2004 model).
Has anyone changed the rear plugs on this engine? They are absolutely buried under the intake it seems. The car is running good - don't want to break anything so any experiences on this particular engine are welcomed.

Loos like I'll have to answer my own question........
Today I went to a local Ford dealer to determine the proper method to remove the spark plugs. They confirmed that the intake plenum has to come off, which is a time consuming and potentially 'ooops I broke this', type of job. There are many parts attached to the intake which all must be carefully disconnected and removed or safely swung out of the way. They would charge $325 to replace the plugs which includes new neoprene plenum gaskets and some other incidental parts. There is no simple cover to remove to access them.
Looks like I'll have to wait until I have some warm weather and a lot of time and patience to do the plug change.

Loos like I'll have to answer my own question........
Today I went to a local Ford dealer to determine the proper method to remove the spark plugs. They confirmed that the intake plenum has to come off, which is a time consuming and potentially 'ooops I broke this', type of job. There are many parts attached to the intake which all must be carefully disconnected and removed or safely swung out of the way. They would charge $325 to replace the plugs which includes new neoprene plenum gaskets and some other incidental parts. There is no simple cover to remove to access them.
Looks like I'll have to wait until I have some warm weather and a lot of time and patience to do the plug change.

highlandlake, ayou are correct, I wish I would have seen your post earlier, cuz I would have told you that you needed to remove it to access the plugs. Once you do it, it'll be much easier the 2nd time around.

I replaced the rear plugs, coil packs in the rear of my sons 2001. Not too hard, just a little patience. I tried to attach the diagrams with the steps below, but they did not transfer across. I can e-mail them on Word
if you would like. The photos do help. Good luck!:grinyes:


SECTION 303-01B: Engine — 3.0L (4V) 2001 Escape Workshop Manual
IN-VEHICLE REPAIR Procedure revision date: 10/21/2002
________________________________________
Upper Intake Manifold
Removal
1. Remove the air cleaner outlet tube.
1. Remove the crankcase ventilation tube.
2. Loosen the clamps.
3. Remove the air cleaner outlet tube.

2. Remove the three nuts and the engine appearance cover.

3. Disconnect the cables.
1. Disconnect the throttle cable.
2. If equipped, disconnect the speed control cable.
3. Remove the throttle cable bracket bolts.

4. Disconnect the throttle position (TP) sensor and idle air control (IAC) electrical connectors.

5. Disconnect the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve vacuum hose and EGR tube nut.

6. Disconnect the EGR vacuum regulator solenoid electrical connector and vacuum hose.

7. Disconnect the three vacuum hoses on the back of the intake manifold.
1. Disconnect the chassis vacuum hose.
2. Disconnect the engine vacuum hose.
3. Disconnect the positive crankcase ventilation (PCV) hose.

8. Disconnect the vapor management valve (VMV) vacuum hose.

9. Disconnect the two electrical connectors attached to the left side of the upper intake manifold.

10. Disconnect the power steering pressure (PSP) sensor electrical connector.

11. Remove the bolt and position the transmission vent hose and bracket aside.

12. Remove the nut from the wire harness.

13. Remove the eight bolts and the upper intake manifold.
• Remove and discard the gaskets.
• Clean all sealing surfaces.

Installation
1. Install new gaskets in the upper intake manifold.
2. Position the upper intake manifold and tighten the bolts in the sequence shown.

3. Connect the PSP electrical connector.

4. Position the transmission vent tube and bracket and install the bolt.

5. Position the wire harness and install the nut.

6. Install the two electrical connectors on the left side of the intake manifold.

7. Install the vapor management valve (VMV) vacuum hose.

8. Connect the three vacuum hoses on the back of the upper intake manifold.
1. Connect the chassis vacuum hose.
2. Connect the engine vacuum hose.
3. Connect the PCV hose.

9. Connect the EGR vacuum regulator solenoid electrical connector and the vacuum hose.

10. Install the EGR valve vacuum hose and EGR tube nut.

11. Connect the TP sensor and IAC electrical connectors.

12. Connect the throttle cables.
1. Install the throttle cable bracket bolts.
2. Connect the throttle cable.
3. If equipped, connect the speed control cable.

13. Install the air cleaner outlet tube.
1. Position the air cleaner outlet tube.
2. Install the hoses.
3. Install the clamps.

14. Install the engine appearance cover.

SECTION 303-07B: Engine Ignition — 3.0L (4V) 2001 Escape Workshop Manual
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION Procedure revision date: 04/04/2001
________________________________________
Ignition Coil-On-Plug —LH
Removal and Installation
1. Remove the nuts and the engine appearance cover.

2. Remove the ignition coil-on-plug.
1. Disconnect the electrical connector.
2. Remove the bolt.
3. Remove the coil-on-plug.

3. To install, reverse the removal procedure.
• Apply a light film of silicone brake caliper grease and dielectric compound to the interior of the spark plug boot prior to installation.




SECTION 303-07B: Engine Ignition — 3.0L (4V) 2001 Escape Workshop Manual
REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION Procedure revision date: 04/04/2001
________________________________________
Ignition Coil-On-Plug —RH
Removal and Installation
1. Remove the upper intake manifold. For additional information, refer to Section 303-01B .
2. Remove the ignition coil-on-plug.
1. Disconnect the electrical connector.
2. Remove the bolt.
3. Remove the coil-on-plug.

3. To install, reverse the removal procedure.
• Apply a light film of silicone brake caliper grease and dielectric compound to the interior of the spark plug boot prior to installation.

Johnson,
Many thanks for the comprehensive 'how to' reply.:smokin:
This will be good to have on here as folks start to need plug replacements. The oldest Escapes are now approaching that age of requiring a full tune-up, and mine will need one soon. 'Course I'll wait till warmer weather....
Thanks again,
Happy New Year!

It took me under two hours today, and that was with cleaning the TB, IAC, plenum, installing new gaskets/seals (takes mere seconds), cleaning the COPOs, insulators, and springs, and sealing all that with silicone grease. It's really not as bad as it may have been described. Then again, I didn't have any trouble with the spark plugs ripping out the head threads (common on all Romeo engines) or intake fasteners seizing. The originals (I think) had 141K on them, and they looked it.

Thanks for the motivational reply Bowtie.
2 hours isn't bad - I can handle that and a little bit more before patience wears thin.
Warmer weather will be here in a few months.

Now I've got to ask.......what is a COPO?

Corporate Office Production Order comes to mind for GM cars, but I'm thinking coil-over something-something on this engine?
Tom

"COP" is the language used in Dearborn to describe a "Coil On Plug" ignition system. I got happy fingers typing that.

When the coils are removed, clean them, inspect and/or test them, and apply silicone grease to the plug insulator where it connects to the coil and on the spark plug end. You'll probably also notice ozone damage at the spark plug end of the connection spring, and you can clean this off and swap ends on the springs.

I am getting ready to do mine and I saw this:

http://www.ford-trucks.com/article/idx/44/281/Ford_Escape/article/How_to_Replace_Spark_Plugs_on_A_V6_Ford_Escape.htm l

I have over 109,000 miles on the original plugs. How far have you guys gone?

I changed mine on my '02 V6 at 98,000 miles. The old plugs looked pretty much the same as the new ones. Unbelieveable the metals they use nowadays. When I first helped my dad change plugs in the late 60's, after 20,000 miles they would be so pitted and burned it was amazing an engine would still run.