Champion 7989 spark plugs are a one piece design that eliminates separating (image courtesy of ModdedMustangs.com).

Summary: In this auto repair blog post, we provide information about an improved design spark plug for Ford 3 valve engines. The original equipment Ford Motorcraft spark plugs have became notorious for breaking when being removed.  One of our previous articles is on broken spark plug removal; but who wants to put the same bad design back in?  There was a huge need a newly designed replacement spark plug that would work in place of Ford’s badly designed spark plug that has caused much expense and inconvenience for many Ford owners. This article is about that plug and has application information as well.

Ford owners looking for a better spark plug to put back in their vehicle after going through broken spark plug blues are turning to the Champion 7989 one piece design. The two piece Ford design has been a total nightmare for unsuspecting Ford owners and mechanics. The original spark plugs can break easily due to a combination a poorly designed spark plug and carbon build-up. If changing the spark plugs for the first time in one of these engines, read our repair article on Changing Ford Spark Plugs 4.6, 5.4, 6.8 – Ford TSB 08-7-6. The article provides information that may help the person doing the job, from prevent breaking the spark plugs to begin with – or least it may help prevent breaking anymore. If researching how to remove broken spark plugs, we have an article that shows the Lisle 65600 DLT in action doing  just that. We sold the Ford special service tool (303-1203) when there were no other options, but now the tool we sell the most of is the 65600. In most cases this tool does the job terrifically, preventing the need to remove the cylinder heads to remove the OE separated spark plugs. The Champion replacement plug at this time only comes in one heat range, however this seems a like a small trade-off to have a plug that’s not going to break at the time of the next tune up!

The Champion Double Platinum Power spark plug (7989) one-piece design is the one I would choose if faced with this dilemma. In addition to its problem-solving design, the new Champion Double Platinum Power plug features the conventional looking electrode which can be gapped. The Motorcraft design has a n electrode saddle which due to design CANNOT be re-gapped. The new Champion plug also has an exclusive Heat-Active alloy, which enables the plug to reach and maintain the optimum temperature range more efficiently.

The new Champion Double Platinum Power spark plug is available at this time for the following vehicles:

• Ford Expedition                   2005-08     5.4  V8
• Ford Explorer                       2006-07     4.6  V8
• Ford F-150                           2004-07     5.4  V8
• Ford F-250 Super Duty      2005-08     5.4  V8 and 6.8  V10
• Ford F-350 Super Duty      2005-08     5.4 V8 and 6.8  V10
• Ford F-450 Super Duty      2005-07     6.8 V10
• Ford F-550 Super Duty      2005-07     6.8 V10
• Ford Mustang                      2005-07     4.6 V8
• Lincoln Mark Lt.                  2006-07      5.4 V8)
• Lincoln Navigator               2005-07     5.4 V8
• Mercury Mountaineer         2006-07     4.6 V8

Please reference this auto repair article when quoting, linking to this page is welcomed and appreciated. If you are new to linking a page. 1. Left click the link; http://www.denlorstools.com/autoblog/2009/10/champion-7989-one-piece-design-spark-plug-ford-3v/ to highlight  2. Right click, select copy 3. Right click and paste to forum, blog web page etc. Thanks! Disclaimer: Auto repair information/tips are designed for informational purposes only, without warranty of any kind, in no event shall the author of this site be liable for any consequential, incidental or direct damages sustained in the course of using the information in this article.

Related Articles

Ford Spark Plug Removal Tool – Picture of Ford’s Bad Design

Changing Ford Spark Plugs 4.6, 5.4, 6.8 – Ford TSB 08-7-6