Fords new 7.3L gas spark plug wires

[AlwaysDream]

Originally Posted by mack73

I replaced my sparkplug wires today on mine. My F53 22k chassis was made in October so it had the additional cut out around the radiator but before the new sparkplug wires were available. I decided to be proactive and just change them myself so I can do it on my own time in my driveway instead of mid-trip on the freeway shoulder. Replacement was super easy from the bottom. Lifted the front on the jacks and reached over the wheel/frame. Took maybe 15 minutes.

I took some pictures of the 2 parts. It is very obvious if you have the old vs new. So if you are in the window of being unsure which part you have and quick look at the engine should tell you for sure.

The insulation and heat shielding around the wire at the sparkplug end is much larger than the original plug. Also, there is a spring in the end that sticks out all the way, presumably to ensure the headshield has an air gap between it and the boot

New part is 1" at the heat shield. Old is 1/2"

Thanks Mack73
2021 Jayco Class A with Ford V8 Motor, 8000 miles Built Feb 2020
Back on 4/15/21 I purchased the Rev C plug wires for as a backup. At which time I ripped off the baffle.
The “Check Engine Light” came on today.
I am looking for help replacing the Spark Plug wires.
Question: Is there coils, did you replace them?
My OBDII Pocket Scanner did not work, it powers on, but on a read it says “NO LINK”?
Question: Anybody else have trouble reading DTC Codes?
I can’t find a definitive cylinder numbering diagram.
Question: I think the cylinder numbering is passenger side from front is 1-2-3-4, Driver side from front 5-6-7-8. Can Anyone Confirm?
Replacing the Spark Plug wires:
It sounds like you didn’t attack from the top by removing the engine cover (i.e. Dog House)?
Did you go in through the wheel well? Did you remove the wheel?
Any tips, hints, tricks to make this process smoother?

All help is appreciated. I m trying to get on a Summer Tour, hoping to shove of at the end of the week.

[mack73]

Originally Posted by AlwaysDream

Thanks Mack73
2021 Jayco Class A with Ford V8 Motor, 8000 miles Built Feb 2020
Back on 4/15/21 I purchased the Rev C plug wires for as a backup. At which time I ripped off the baffle.
The “Check Engine Light” came on today.
I am looking for help replacing the Spark Plug wires.
Question: Is there coils, did you replace them?
My OBDII Pocket Scanner did not work, it powers on, but on a read it says “NO LINK”?
Question: Anybody else have trouble reading DTC Codes?
I can’t find a definitive cylinder numbering diagram.
Question: I think the cylinder numbering is passenger side from front is 1-2-3-4, Driver side from front 5-6-7-8. Can Anyone Confirm?
Replacing the Spark Plug wires:
It sounds like you didn’t attack from the top by removing the engine cover (i.e. Dog House)?
Did you go in through the wheel well? Did you remove the wheel?
Any tips, hints, tricks to make this process smoother?

All help is appreciated. I m trying to get on a Summer Tour, hoping to shove of at the end of the week.

Mine is a '21 Bounder.
No didn't touch the coils
Yes I went in from the wheel well. No I didn't remove the wheel. I used the jacks to lift up the front so the tires were almost off the ground to give me the most clearance above the tire.
Once you lift it up, you can look above the tires and see that the wires are just sitting right there staring at you on the side of the engine. Super easy access.
I just reached over the wheel and swapped the wires one at a time. Very easy.
Passenger side had a small panel to remove that is bolted on top of the frame - not sure if this is a Fleetwood thing, or comes on the F53's.
Probably took me 20 minutes total - if that panel wasn't there it would have been a 5 minute job.

No haven't had an issue with my code reader connecting.

[AlwaysDream]

I was able to install all 8 plug wires. I put the front end up on the leveler system but I still could not reach in over the wheel, arms too short. My method was to get the front wheels 1" off the ground, turn the wheel all the way and I had enough head room to kneel in the wheel well and it was a easy reach to get to all 8 plug wires.

I paid $14.95 through mail order for a plug wire when I bought 4 in April. Local Ford dealer charged me $24.95 for each of 4 plug wires. The price is what the computer says and that's it. No time to go elsewhere.

When completed, runs smooth, but Check Engine Light on solid as expected. Don't bother taking your rig to an Auto Parts store for a free OBD II scan. It won't work. The ODB II scanner needs to be handle the Ford CAN Bus OBD II protocol. I suppose you can do a hard reset on the ECM by disconnecting the battery But I wanted to see the code. I have a advanced ODB II scanner on order that is known to work on the 2020 F53 7.3 Gas Engine, see thread link below:
https://www.irv2.com/forums/f23/obd-...ml#post5820554

In the meantime, I took the coach to a Truck Mechanic with a professional OBD II device and the code was P03004 - Cylinder 4 misfire. It cleared and the Coach is good to go.

Some Parting comments:

• This forum and others are so important to RV owners and DIYers. The expertise and experience shared is invaluable. A shout of gratitude to all who post. You have saved countless RV'ers from going down the wrong road
• First Model Year Vehicles Like the 2020 F53, with new engine design, are going to have problems. You have to expect it. The 2 Major ones that I am aware of is the faulty plug wires/Baffle airflow restriction (a defective part and possible design issue), and the rear differential with no fluid (a manufacturing issue).
• It is hard to find a Ford Service Center that will work on Class A MH. Heck, it is hard to find a Ford Truck Service Center that will work on them. Even more ridiculous is Ford's statement that TSB's aren't done unless something "breaks". Case in point, the Spark plug wire issue. My Ford Service center said they wouldn't do the Spark Plug TSB (change plug wires and modify the baffle) under warranty, unless the Check Engine light was ON. So I have to wait till We are on vacation, with a loaded RV, broke down on the Brazos (I-10 Fort Bliss, Texas) before they will fix it?
• In hindsight, I think for gas RV's, it is easier to get Ford Service centers to work on Class C RV's Like a E350 Super Duty. In this, there is much less finger pointing. It's all Ford.
• Plan ahead, carry a spare tire, not a wheel, a tire. Carry some some parts, research the forums and find the high failure items, like 7.3L V8 Plug wires and carry them on board.
• Don't be pennywise and pound foolish. Case in point, the the differential fluid safety recall. If you have your coach, bring it to a truck service center and have them fill it. Costs less than $100. If you don't here grinding, whining etc, you are probably ok. When the season is over, bring it in for the full monte. Check the pumpkin even if your VIN isn't on the list. Case in point: Spark Plug TSB. Rip the baffle off yourself and change out the plug wires. Easy and relatively cheap. Much easier to do in the driveway with your crew relaxing at home. It's risk-a-verse. You have a $100,000+ MH, spending a couple bennies to prevent problem is worth?
• Get a ODB II (Ford CAN Bus compatible) device for $100. Now you will know what the Ford Truck Service Tech will know. Knowledge power.

Thanks for listening

[D20]

Originally Posted by mack73

I replaced my sparkplug wires today on mine. My F53 22k chassis was made in October so it had the additional cut out around the radiator but before the new sparkplug wires were available. I decided to be proactive and just change them myself so I can do it on my own time in my driveway instead of mid-trip on the freeway shoulder. Replacement was super easy from the bottom. Lifted the front on the jacks and reached over the wheel/frame. Took maybe 15 minutes.

I took some pictures of the 2 parts. It is very obvious if you have the old vs new. So if you are in the window of being unsure which part you have and quick look at the engine should tell you for sure.

The insulation and heat shielding around the wire at the sparkplug end is much larger than the original plug. Also, there is a spring in the end that sticks out all the way, presumably to ensure the headshield has an air gap between it and the boot

New part is 1" at the heat shield. Old is 1/2"

Originally Posted by D20

Thanks for the photos. I would definitely change them out if I had the old ones. I am pretty sure I have the new ones already, but I am going to double check.

Well, I finally got around to taking a closer look at my spark plug wires. Even though my chassis build date is November, well after the TSB cut off date of Sept 28th, I have the original spark plug wires LC3E-12286-LB (WR6163). I just read a post on the Jayco forum about a member, with the same chassis build month as mine, that had his F-53 die on the side of the road due to misfires. I have 7400 miles on mine without any issues, but I think I will also be proactive and order the new wires LC3Z-12286-C (WR6167) before our next long trip.

[Shadow5501]

Well now I have this problem. Pulling into my latest campground is a 1/2 mile climb at 10%-11% grade. There’s a stop in the middle and the engine was a V7 at that point with MIL illuminated. I nursed it the remaining fraction of a mile into the campsite, where it remains.

My OBD2 reader has P0308 pending and permanent codes - cylinder 8 misfire. Thats the drivers side rear cylinder, if you speak Ford. That’s interesting because the Ford TSB is concerned only with misfires on the passenger side, although it does specify to replace all eight plug wires.

Question - how are you guys determining the chassis build date? Mine is a 2020 and does not have the passenger side baffle; I’m unsure which plug wire revision it has (not willing to go out in the rain and mud to find out . Wondering if I’m in that sweet spot after the TSB but before updated wires became available. My rig went into production in December, so the timing seems about right.

Second question - how open is airflow on the drivers side down the engine of your rig? Between the Ford components and all the expanding foam Tiffin used, it’s pretty well closed up over on the drivers side of the radiator. I’m wondering if a bit of remediation is called for.

This all occurred on a Saturday afternoon. Monday AM I’ll work on the fix it plan, be that get it infor service, acquire new plug wires and install them myself, or whatever else works.

[D20]

Originally Posted by Shadow5501

Well now I have this problem. Pulling into my latest campground is a 1/2 mile climb at 10%-11% grade. There’s a stop in the middle and the engine was a V7 at that point with MIL illuminated. I nursed it the remaining fraction of a mile into the campsite, where it remains.

My OBD2 reader has P0308 pending and permanent codes - cylinder 8 misfire. Thats the drivers side rear cylinder, if you speak Ford. That’s interesting because the Ford TSB is concerned only with misfires on the passenger side, although it does specify to replace all eight plug wires.

Question - how are you guys determining the chassis build date? Mine is a 2020 and does not have the passenger side baffle; I’m unsure which plug wire revision it has (not willing to go out in the rain and mud to find out . Wondering if I’m in that sweet spot after the TSB but before updated wires became available. My rig went into production in December, so the timing seems about right.

Second question - how open is airflow on the drivers side down the engine of your rig? Between the Ford components and all the expanding foam Tiffin used, it’s pretty well closed up over on the drivers side of the radiator. I’m wondering if a bit of remediation is called for.

This all occurred on a Saturday afternoon. Monday AM I’ll work on the fix it plan, be that get it infor service, acquire new plug wires and install them myself, or whatever else works.

The chassis build date is on the VIN sticker on the upper left. I think that month/year is rounded off though as the build date on my window sticker is somewhere in late Oct (don’t remember the actual day) and my VIN sticker says Nov 2020.

Drivers side on mine is pretty much all closed up. The only airflow path to the engine is through the radiator and through the baffle cut out on the passenger side. And of course from underneath.

[Shadow5501]

Originally Posted by Shadow5501

Well now I have this problem. Pulling into my latest campground is a 1/2 mile climb at 10%-11% grade. There’s a stop in the middle and the engine was a V7 at that point with MIL illuminated. I nursed it the remaining fraction of a mile into the campsite, where it remains.

My OBD2 reader has P0308 pending and permanent codes - cylinder 8 misfire. Thats the drivers side rear cylinder, if you speak Ford. That’s interesting because the Ford TSB is concerned only with misfires on the passenger side, although it does specify to replace all eight plug wires.

Question - how are you guys determining the chassis build date? Mine is a 2020 and does not have the passenger side baffle; I’m unsure which plug wire revision it has (not willing to go out in the rain and mud to find out . Wondering if I’m in that sweet spot after the TSB but before updated wires became available. My rig went into production in December, so the timing seems about right.

Second question - how open is airflow on the drivers side down the engine of your rig? Between the Ford components and all the expanding foam Tiffin used, it’s pretty well closed up over on the drivers side of the radiator. I’m wondering if a bit of remediation is called for.

This all occurred on a Saturday afternoon. Monday AM I’ll work on the fix it plan, be that get it infor service, acquire new plug wires and install them myself, or whatever else works.

It’s fixed. It was the #8 plug wire.

My chassis was built 10-30-2020. It does not fall under the TSB so Ford will only replace the one failed plug wire, not all eight. It was manufactured without the baffle, but uses the old plug wires.

While I’m at it, I’d like to give a shout out to Ferrario Ford of Elmira, NY. They sent a tech to my campsite with parts and an IDS computer to diagnose, replace, and validate the fix, and billed it to Ford as a warranty claim. Everyone there was exceptional to deal with.

I did purchase additional wires to install at my convenience, as I don’t enjoy being stranded on the side of the road, Tiffin or not. Bad on Ford for not stepping up to replace all these failing wires.

[D20]

Originally Posted by Shadow5501

It’s fixed. It was the #8 plug wire.

My chassis was built 10-30-2020. It does not fall under the TSB so Ford will only replace the one failed plug wire, not all eight. It was manufactured without the baffle, but uses the old plug wires.

While I’m at it, I’d like to give a shout out to Ferrario Ford of Elmira, NY. They sent a tech to my campsite with parts and an IDS computer to diagnose, replace, and validate the fix, and billed it to Ford as a warranty claim. Everyone there was exceptional to deal with.

I did purchase additional wires to install at my convenience, as I don’t enjoy being stranded on the side of the road, Tiffin or not. Bad on Ford for not stepping up to replace all these failing wires.

That is outstanding service from Ferrario Ford. Glad you are all fixed. Doesn’t make sense that Ford won’t change all 8 once one goes.

How many miles do you have on your Tiffin? My chassis build date is a few days before yours and I have about 7400 miles on mine with the original 1st generation wires. I just received a set of the new wires so I’ll be changing them out soon. Cheap insurance at $80 for the set.

[Shadow5501]

Originally Posted by D20

That is outstanding service from Ferrario Ford. Glad you are all fixed. Doesn’t make sense that Ford won’t change all 8 once one goes.

How many miles do you have on your Tiffin? My chassis build date is a few days before yours and I have about 7400 miles on mine with the original 1st generation wires. I just received a set of the new wires so I’ll be changing them out soon. Cheap insurance at $80 for the set.

About 7800 miles. Agree with your decision. I got lucky, it failed no more than 1/2 mile from my destination for a week, so I had the luxury to get it fixed without much impact. But it could be a significant negative impact if you are on the side of the road, waiting for a tow, and then parts, etc.

[Shadow5501]

Originally Posted by Shadow5501

About 7800 miles. Agree with your decision. I got lucky, it failed no more than 1/2 mile from my destination for a week, so I had the luxury to get it fixed without much impact. But it could be a significant negative impact if you are on the side of the road, waiting for a tow, and then parts, etc.

Update. I replaced the remaining 7 wires before my travel day. On the Tiffin OpenRoad it was ridiculously easy. It took perhaps 20 minutes total - 5 to setup, 5 for drivers side, 5 for the passenger side, and 5 to tidy up. The only tool required is a light of some kind. Just pull off the old wires, push on the new ones until the gently click into place. I have front&rear Liquid Spring so I raised the ride height to make it easier to crawl under the rig. I suppose you could remove the doghouse and work from the top, but that would make it ten times longer.

It runs better than ever. Super smooth both at idle and driving. No change in MPG on my 200 mile repositioning though, still about 7.9 towing my Jeep at 65MPH.

[boiler01]

Originally Posted by Shadow5501

Update. I replaced the remaining 7 wires before my travel day. On the Tiffin OpenRoad it was ridiculously easy. It took perhaps 20 minutes total - 5 to setup, 5 for drivers side, 5 for the passenger side, and 5 to tidy up. The only tool required is a light of some kind. Just pull off the old wires, push on the new ones until the gently click into place. I have front&rear Liquid Spring so I raised the ride height to make it easier to crawl under the rig. I suppose you could remove the doghouse and work from the top, but that would make it ten times longer.



It runs better than ever. Super smooth both at idle and driving. No change in MPG on my 200 mile repositioning though, still about 7.9 towing my Jeep at 65MPH.

Your situation made me change my plugs before our current trip. I had ordered a full set several months ago, but just kept them in the rig 'just in case', but finally swapped them out. I don't have liquid springs, but just jacked up the front end enough for me to reach over the top of the front tires and within 15 minutes all were done. Didn't have a failure, but it is so easy to get done. Beats having to do it on the side of the road with a hot engine.

[busking]

Thought I would add to the tally. We are five weeks in to our 12 week trip from FL headed west. Entegra (Jayco] Vision XL 34G, chassis build date of Sep 2020. 170 miles east of Topeka we get a flashing CEL, goes solid after 5 min or so, then continues to flash after another 5 min. Noticeable misfire buts runs reasonably well. Randomly found a dealer in Topeka willing to see us. Shout out to Ryan at Laird Noller Truck Center. He was great and addressed the problem. Took him two days to get all eight wires….five one day from Denver, three the next day from Chicago. Three nights in a nice park…no worries. Mileage at warranty replacement of wires was 8251. TSB 20-2370, misfire cyl 3, codes P0316 and P0303.

Have been running through mountains since the replacement and the motor is running impressively well. Runs strong and idles great. Went through Denver and all the parks in Utah. Headed to Yellowstone tomorrow and fingers crossed the fix is permanent. Towing a four door 2020 Willys. 7.6 mpg since leaving FL, approximately 4200 miles. Safe travels everyone.

[TW Smith]

Originally Posted by mack73

Mine is a '21 Bounder.
No didn't touch the coils
Yes I went in from the wheel well. No I didn't remove the wheel. I used the jacks to lift up the front so the tires were almost off the ground to give me the most clearance above the tire.
Once you lift it up, you can look above the tires and see that the wires are just sitting right there staring at you on the side of the engine. Super easy access.
I just reached over the wheel and swapped the wires one at a time. Very easy.
Passenger side had a small panel to remove that is bolted on top of the frame - not sure if this is a Fleetwood thing, or comes on the F53's.
Probably took me 20 minutes total - if that panel wasn't there it would have been a 5 minute job.

No haven't had an issue with my code reader connecting.

I was confused by the two 'different' Ford part numbers for the new and correct ignition wires, and the two different prices per wire that come up in an online search: LC3Z-12286-C and WR6167.



Turns out LC3Z-12286-C is the Ford service part number (around $14 - 20), and WR6167 is the Motorcraft part number (around $9.62) for exactly the same thing. I got this same answer from two different Ford parts departments.

[Kluffinator]

Originally Posted by Kluffinator

Wow. After reading this I’m kinda glad for my GM 8.1 Workhorse. That has heat issues too vis a vis spark plug wires but at least those plug wires are easy to get and the cooling solution is well documented.

Ok. I guess my snarky response on this subject has come home to roost. We bought a 2021 Thor Challenger with the Godzilla engine in February and I assumed that surely given the elapsed time that I would not also experience this issue. HA! Headed out to camp yesterday and sure enough, check engine light and the FordPass app alerted ( as well as my code reader app) that it was a cylinder misfire on #3. Now just waiting on the local Ford Truck dealer to open up some space on his lot. Seems if he doesn’t keep the MH’s inside the fence the cats get stolen. My head hurts.
One thing that many with the 8.1 owners did/ do is to route a length of aluminum dryer flex from the front grill to direct air to the sides of the engine to aid in cooling. Just a thought if this problem becomes recurring.
Otherwise I love this engine vs my 8.1. And I was rather fond of it.