[Red_Sonja]

I just purchased a 2006 ZX4 ST 2.3 with 212,000 miles on it. unfortunately the previous owner encountered problems which he was unable to fix and couldn't afford a shop. i did get it relatively cheap ($2500) and the miles were almost all highway miles, long commute. the problem is i have no way to contact the original owner(s) to know what maintenance has already been done. soooooo, i am basically doing any and all high mileage maintenance.

- Drive belt/tensioner/pulleys
- hoses (Samco kit available?) heater hoses?
- cam cover gasket/seals (leaking)
- spark plugs (AR103's)
- fuel filter (motocraft or fram?)
- all fluids; engine oil, coolant, steering fluid, brake fluid, transaxle fluid
- tie rod ends?
- brakes/SS hoses setup will come from my crashed SVT
- Koni yellows with H&R sport springs (were for my SVT)
- sway bars from my SVT including an H&R 24mm rear (will they fit?)

Is there anything else which i should just replace because of the high mileage? Well anything under $50 .

Oh, currently the engine is throwing codes: P0102 (mass air flow sensor low) and P2004 (IM runner control stuck). I will take the IM off and clean and inspect it for the P2004 code, but am unsure where to start with the P0102 code.

 

[felixthecat]

I use the Denso it20 plugs. A great cheap mod is a bsd plug. Remove the oil pan & remove the bs= 5 bolts hold it up & then plug the bs feed hole & the reinstall the pan & add 6qts of mobil 1 w/ filter. Use gold coolant. Install your svt front rotors/calipers on= direct bolt on. Use the rear calipers you have & switch out the caliper brackets using the svt brackets & rotors. You want to remove the st backing plate. Leave the backing plates off. Great time to install a set of ss lines. I used Earls flex pro lines. Yea the sway bars interchange. I don't think the samco hoses fit= I looked yrs ago. I just noticed you have a '06, so you'll need to get a pr of '05 spindles only or use your svt spindles & A-arms. The '00-'05 struts won't work on the +'06 cars. The '05+ spindles use a bigger ball joint. The '05 spindle use s the smaller earlier strut & the bigger ball joint of the later cars. Hope that helps you.

 

[zetecDon]

Moved to "General Technical Chat".

 

[sailor]

Before you go pulling the manifold to check the tumble flaps, just look to see how the actuator works.

fixed mine this summer with only a piece of vacuum hose, intermittent from the original hose from the solenoid on top of the intake to the actuator splitting. had to get bad before it would STAY messed up when not driving so I cold find that....

Arm pulls down when you start it up, rev it up by hand & you'll see it pop up again. Default is the open position, closed by vacuum when commanded at low rpm.

 

[felixthecat]

Before you go pulling the manifold to check the tumble flaps, just look to see how the actuator works.

fixed mine this summer with only a piece of vacuum hose, intermittent from the original hose from the solenoid on top of the intake to the actuator splitting. had to get bad before it would STAY messed up when not driving so I cold find that....

Arm pulls down when you start it up, rev it up by hand & you'll see it pop up again. Default is the open position, closed by vacuum when commanded at low rpm.

You'll see it behind the t/b.^^^^^^^^

 

[Nmarzoli04]

I would listen to anything these two say, they know a lot about the 23 ?

 

[felixthecat]

I would listen to anything these two say, they know a lot about the 23 ?

btw Nate, did you ever do a bsd?

 

[Nmarzoli04]

Not yet, I was going to wait until I change my oil again in a few thousand miles

 

[Red_Sonja]

Thanks for all the advice. From what I've read in several threads, the AR103's are difficult to find but maybe the best plug for the Duratec.
Any consensus on whether Gates drive belt and pulleys are at least as good as Motorcraft. they are less expensive.
How about wheel bearings? Anyone had to replace them? How many miles? My front's seem to be making a bit of noise but it's difficult to hear over just tire noise.

 

[Nmarzoli04]

Thanks for all the advice. From what I've read in several threads, the AR103's are difficult to find but maybe the best plug for the Duratec.
Any consensus on whether Gates drive belt and pulleys are at least as good as Motorcraft. they are less expensive.
How about wheel bearings? Anyone had to replace them? How many miles? My front's seem to be making a bit of noise but it's difficult to hear over just tire noise.

I had to special order ar103s from o Reilly's, but they still have them available

 

[Red_Sonja]

I had to special order ar103s from o Reilly's, but they still have them available

Do u remember how much? Amazon has them at $5.90 with $.75 mail in rebate on Prime (free shipping). Thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Autolite-AR103-Racing-Spark-Plug/dp/B000ET2776/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EQA8NA79N0WKTR07RMA

 

[Marde]

I also almost bought em at amazon, but found a set of 4 for less than $10 at my local autozone. Go to autozone online and search for "Autolite Copper/Spark Plug".

 

[felixthecat]

Thanks for all the advice. From what I've read in several threads, the AR103's are difficult to find but maybe the best plug for the Duratec.
Any consensus on whether Gates drive belt and pulleys are at least as good as Motorcraft. they are less expensive.
How about wheel bearings? Anyone had to replace them? How many miles? My front's seem to be making a bit of noise but it's difficult to hear over just tire noise.

If the front bearings are making some noise, I'd replace them both since your there. Yea, you could run the gates belt, I'm still on the oem one.

 

[Red_Sonja]

I also almost bought em at amazon, but found a set of 4 for less than $10 at my local autozone. Go to autozone online and search for "Autolite Copper/Spark Plug".

Can u give me a link? i tried the search and nothing came up for AR103's...

Never mind... I called my local Autozone and they said they can't even get them, they gave me an NGK cross reference which i don't want! Sooooooo, i called O'Reilly Auto Parts and they are ordering them for $3.99 with the 75 cent per plug rebate. I just ordered two boxes (of four).

 

[Marde]

yeah, strange, i know, that's why i said; at autozone.com search for "Autolite Copper/Spark Plug".

 

[Nmarzoli04]

Do u remember how much? Amazon has them at $5.90 with $.75 mail in rebate on Prime (free shipping). Thanks

http://www.amazon.com/Autolite-AR10...bs_auto_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EQA8NA79N0WKTR07RMA

Not sure exactly, I think around fifteen bucks for all four

 

[Nmarzoli04]

Can u give me a link? i tried the search and nothing came up for AR103's...

Never mind... I called my local Autozone and they said they can't even get them, they gave me an NGK cross reference which i don't want! Sooooooo, i called O'Reilly Auto Parts and they are ordering them for $3.99 with the 75 cent per plug rebate. I just ordered two boxes (of four).

I guess I was close then! Haha

 

[felixthecat]

Get a set of Denso it20's.