Changing Factory Plug Wires 7.3 Gas Tremor

[soulezoo]

Tempted to get these, but I would like to see the same metal heat shield on the massive wires, any way they could be swapped over? ...afraid they will get heat damage over time without it.

There's a school of thought that it is the metal "heat shield" that is cooking the plug instead.

I personally have no opinion on that. I would want some empirical evidence either way to take a position. But there you go.

 

[Nelgroe]

Well I installed the Massive wires today after I did the first oil change at 2500 miles. Blue color. Start up idle seems smoother but a short test ride didn't show much difference. I'm towing later this week and we'll see how she runs. Driver side was easy, Passenger a tad more difficult, didn't need to pull wheel well liner off, but I did do the back two plugs from underneath the fender. I turned wheels completely to left and squeezed my body up under the tire and was able to reach. I was able to reach them from the top after the fact though...So I guess just pre-emptive maintenance. I'll keep the stockers in the truck for a bit, just in case. Thanks.

 

[Raspy]

Well I installed the Massive wires today after I did the first oil change at 2500 miles. Blue color. Start up idle seems smoother but a short test ride didn't show much difference. I'm towing later this week and we'll see how she runs. Driver side was easy, Passenger a tad more difficult, didn't need to pull wheel well liner off, but I did do the back two plugs from underneath the fender. I turned wheels completely to left and squeezed my body up under the tire and was able to reach. I was able to reach them from the top after the fact though...So I guess just pre-emptive maintenance. I'll keep the stockers in the truck for a bit, just in case. Thanks.

I suspect the red ones may have added a bit of power.?

 

[soulezoo]

I suspect the red ones may have added a bit of power.?

Yep. That's why I got the red ones!! ??

 

[Ichulk25]

I installed the massive wire set on my 7.3 2020. They did have a smell while towing, however I think is is the mesh cover breaking in. Customer service from the company was fantastic. Be cautious when installing to not have the plug wire boot touching the exh. Manifold, this can can happen and it WILL cause a misfire and failure of the plug wire. If you want the best I would custom make a set of Jacob’s ceramic plug wires for this motor.

 

[davidb1841]

There is a TSB on some 7.3 plug wires.....causing some misfires/rough idles...........

 

[Jericho]

I installed the massive wire set on my 7.3 2020. They did have a smell while towing, however I think is is the mesh cover breaking in. Customer service from the company was fantastic. Be cautious when installing to not have the plug wire boot touching the exh. Manifold, this can can happen and it WILL cause a misfire and failure of the plug wire. If you want the best I would custom make a set of Jacob’s ceramic plug wires for this motor.

For the cheap seats, how would one go about making a custom set of Jacobs ceramic plug wires?

I've found a jacobselectronics.com.au. The site looks pretty jank tbh.

Sincerely appreciate any guidance you can offer. I'm looking to swap out the factory wires, but I know nothing about brands in this space.

 

[GaryDE]

For the cheap seats, how would one go about making a custom set of Jacobs ceramic plug wires?

I've found a jacobselectronics.com.au. The site looks pretty jank tbh.

Sincerely appreciate any guidance you can offer. I'm looking to swap out the factory wires, but I know nothing about brands in this space.

I don't think Jacobs is around anymore in the U.S. That is a Australian web site.

 

[Ichulk25]

For the cheap seats, how would one go about making a custom set of Jacobs ceramic plug wires?

I've found a jacobselectronics.com.au. The site looks pretty jank tbh.

Sincerely appreciate any guidance you can offer. I'm looking to swap out the factory wires, but I know nothing about brands in this space.

 

[Jericho]

I don't think Jacobs is around anymore in the U.S. That is a Australian web site.

Yeah, the .au gave it away...

So if that is the official site, I'll probably look for a domestic manufacturer... I'd like something more accessible. I've seen a couple ceramic plug manufacturers, but if anyone has any recommendations, I'm definitely open to them.

 

[Ichulk25]

I had a old, but new set from years ago that I used the are a 60 or 135 degree angle. Accel ignition makes a ceramic universal kit that is a great price from summit. I would call them to make sure their 90’ degree or 135 degree boot has a long enough throat to clear the exhaust manifold. Great option for these 7.3’s

 

[soulezoo]

Sad to hear about Jacobs. I used a fair amount of their stuff in the 90's. It was good.

 

[GaryDE]

I had a old, but new set from years ago that I used the are a 60 or 135 degree angle. Accel ignition makes a ceramic universal kit that is a great price from summit. I would call them to make sure their 90’ degree or 135 degree boot has a long enough throat to clear the exhaust manifold. Great option for these 7.3’s

Looks like a good quality set, although if you look at this kit, the end boots are designed for a standard distributor. Wonder if a GM LS kit would fit? https://www.holley.com/products/ign...cel_ceramic_boot_spark_plug_wires/parts/9002C

 

[Uncas]

Update on the Massive Wires, I had issues with delayed start and rough idle so I decided to give them a try. No improvement on either issue. Two weeks ago when making a climb from Fort Collins to Laramie pulling a Uhaul trailer started smelling the burning rubber. Figured it was breaking in and stopped at the Ford dealership in Laramie, no codes and the smell was gone. Had a second Uhaul trip last week and would get the intermittent smell also running on I80. Finally on Monday, pulling my HQ19 up the hill from Golden on I70, we could smell the burning rubber inside the cab and got a check engine flashing. Stopped in Idaho Springs and had a rough idle. Called the Ford Dealership in Silverthorne to see if he had plug wires as my original wires were now in Utah. He didn’t but I had two thanks to the TFL video. Pushed it up the Ike with definite loss of power, backfiring when accelerating and now a solid check engine light. At Silverthorne, they ran diagnostics and had misfiring on 6 and 7. Swapped the plug wires and cleared the codes. Had a couple of flashing check engine lights yesterday from Steamboat to SLC but they cleared themselves. I have my old wires somewhere in a moving box so I ordered a new set from OEM parts. Still getting intermittent backfires. Going to Ford next week since I have 30k, hope they can figure it out.

 

[RedZilla]

Update on the Massive Wires, I had issues with delayed start and rough idle so I decided to give them a try. No improvement on either issue. Two weeks ago when making a climb from Fort Collins to Laramie pulling a Uhaul trailer started smelling the burning rubber. Figured it was breaking in and stopped at the Ford dealership in Laramie, no codes and the smell was gone. Had a second Uhaul trip last week and would get the intermittent smell also running on I80. Finally on Monday, pulling my HQ19 up the hill from Golden on I70, we could smell the burning rubber inside the cab and got a check engine flashing. Stopped in Idaho Springs and had a rough idle. Called the Ford Dealership in Silverthorne to see if he had plug wires as my original wires were now in Utah. He didn’t but I had two thanks to the TFL video. Pushed it up the Ike with definite loss of power, backfiring when accelerating and now a solid check engine light. At Silverthorne, they ran diagnostics and had misfiring on 6 and 7. Swapped the plug wires and cleared the codes. Had a couple of flashing check engine lights yesterday from Steamboat to SLC but they cleared themselves. I have my old wires somewhere in a moving box so I ordered a new set from OEM parts. Still getting intermittent backfires. Going to Ford next week since I have 30k, hope they can figure it out.

I know folks are trying to solve a known problem, at least one that is in the engine's history, but I am in no way convinced the Massive wires are any better than OEM, and I'm very skeptical about their durability. I'll be sticking with the OEM and let the factory work out the bugs. If my engine develops a miss or whatever else I'll let them deal with it under warranty.

 

[Uncas]

I completely agree, I am going back to OEM. My biggest issue was that the dealer in NC could not find any problem even though I was having a random delayed start and occasional rough idle.

 

[Ichulk25]

I completely agree, I am going back to OEM. My biggest issue was that the dealer in NC could not find any problem even though I was having a random delayed start and occasional rough idle.

I certainly hope these issues don’t continue for you. I loved my 7.3 2020, but I sold it back to Ford because they couldn’t figure out the misfire issue, and sporadic fail to start issue with 5100mi. Ordered the exact same truck for 2022. ?

 

[Uncas]

I certainly hope these issues don’t continue for you. I loved my 7.3 2020, but I sold it back to Ford because they couldn’t figure out the misfire issue, and sporadic fail to start issue with 5100mi. Ordered the exact same truck for 2022. ?

Oh boy, mine really started at 22k. It’s had a rough idle since day one but the hard start and misfiring started after a hard tow from Colorado to NC in March. I was thinking of ordering a new one next year but may be time to get in line for a 22 with winch and dual batteries.

 

[ShiverMeTimbers]

Sorry to hear you're having issues. I've towed quite a bit after installing the Massive wires and no problems thus far. The big test will be our cross-country trip pulling a 10k travel trailer. My rough idle was only slightly rough, and the Massive wires solved it. If you're having misfires etc who knows where that's originating, but its probably not the fault of the wires. Did you check them?

 

[Ford Funatic]

I am trying out a new set of Plug Wires on my 7.3 Gas
I did find a hot spot on one of my Massive Wires