I just finished replacing my spark plugs and it went pretty easy. I would say it was a 4.5 out 10. 1=putting air in your tire, 10=engine rebuild. Actually it was pretty simple except 1 spark plug cover(closest to passenger seat). I would have given it a 3.5 or 4 but I penalized it for the time it took me to clean myself up.
good God you get dirty. Oh plan to cut your nails after wards.
Total time about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 1 1/2 if it wasnt for the darned one spark plug.
Tools needed:
1.) 6 spark plugs( I used NGK iridium $6.99 each)
2.) jack/ jack stands
3.) 2 allen wrenches, short and regular
4.) Socket for plugs 16MM
5.) a lot of Frickin degrease soap
6.) and of course Pedro's how to!! Damn that guy is cool!!
http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Change_Spark_Plugs_%26_Tubes.html
Here is How I did it: 3 plugs on each side
1.) Unloosen the lug nuts on passenger rear tire.
2.) Jack one side up( I started on passenger(it is the hardest) and placed support jack under it between the tire and the seat on the round piece right before the tire.( I left the jack up just for safety)
3.) Take tire off.
4.) Take off two "plastic" bolts holding wheel well guard(towards seat). this is a must.
5.) You need two allen wrenches a short(2"-3") and a long(4"-?). this will save you time. Doesn't matter what one you start with(I started with 1st one towards rear). two allen screws need to be removed(hardest part of the job).
6.) Gently pull off coil pack(no need to unhook wires. use socket to take out old and put in new.
7.) Replace coil pack and allen screws and repeat for the rest.
8.) The one closest to the pass seat was a pain. The wire harness unhooked on me(didn't break, just unhooked). The end crept up in the rubber guard. I spent 20 minutes trying to fish it out but I finally took scissors and cut a slit on the rubber. Peeled back the rubber and rehooked it up.
9.) put tire back on (inspect tire first, I found some glass and a small nail). The correct pattern to put the nuts back on(
I said nuts) is the star of David pattern or pentagram. top-bottom-top right-bottom left-.....
10.) repeat steps 1 through 9 on the other side. The driver’s side only took about 10 or 15 minutes, it was a breeze.
Over all I was impressed at how easy it was, if it wasn't for the 1 spark plug coil coming off and the frickin mess, I would have given this a 3 out of 10. The old plugs looked pretty worn down and I definately noticed better idling and it seemed to purr a little better. I only started it for a few seconds as I am waiting on the oil change to test drive it to see how much of an improvement there real is.
Projects completed:
1.) Serpentine belt
2.) Sparkplugs
3.) Radio replaced
4.) Tires
5.) Oil Change/air filter
6.) Speakers
7.) throttle body clean
Projects to do:
fuel filter
Battery (spring).
Just finished Spark plugs.
Hybrid Mode
