1999 Ford Ranger Changing plugs.

No, it is not a six cylinder, it is a four banger, Mazda used the same engine and I guess Ford also in their Rangers. I don't have the pickup at the moment my younger son borrowed it and hope it is back shortly :roll:

I went through this on my ranger a few years ago. If I recall correctly I had to use something like three 6" socket extensions and a ball-joint socket adapter to get to them. It was a real pain. And even more difficult was getting the new wires on the new plugs! I just had the wires/plugs replaced by my mechanic this time around, but for what I was charged it is probably worth the pain to do it yourself!

I had the same problem with my 96 ranger first you need a lot of patience and a universal swivel and some electrical tape wrap the tape around the swivel so as to make it stiff but still able to move. Then remove plugs it will take you at least 1/2 an hour just to get to those plugs. I recently changed mine and they were factory plugs. They still had "Motorcraft"on them. But I tell you what I got better gas mileage afterwards

I had same issue with my 94 ranger. 2.3l engine, right?

You need an extension that is just the right length and a spark plug socket that has the rubber liner in it so it will grip the plug for you. With those two assets I was able to change my plugs without a flex extension or any other special tools - though I only ever changed the plugs twice.

One tip my uncle, who is a mechanic by trade, offered me when I complained that the plugs were hard to get to. When putting in your new plugs - Get a small length of rubber hose and insert it snugly over the top of the spark plug. Use the hose as an "extension." It's flexible enough that you can use it to get the plug started in the threads, but weak enough you can't really cross-thread or hurt anything. Once your plug is well started, pull the hose off and use your socket to finish the job. I didn't have to resort to this, but I can see how it would be very handy.