Bought the plugs now the fun begins...

[blupupher]

I am not looking forward to doing the plugs on my Santa Fe, but that is a good 7-8 years away.

I love I-4 for their plug change simplicity. Does not matter if they are FWD or RWD.

There are some longitudinal V6 and V8 that the back plugs are a huge pain to get to also.

 

[ZZman]

Originally Posted by Patrick0525
Originally Posted by ZZman
I have already changed the PCV valve on the Avalon. that was easy. The Sanra Fe PCV was buried under the throttle body but I didt that too.

Yes I got the intake gaskets

@zzman How did you remove the engine plastic cover without damaging the clips? What is the secret recipe? Do u remember PCV open wrench size?

Mine has nuts and bolts on the cover. 14mm wrench I believe.

 

[Patrick0525]

Originally Posted by ZZman
Mine has nuts and bolts on the cover. 14mm wrench I believe.

Thanks

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by slacktide_bitog
How much time does it take for you to pull the intake on a VQ like the 4th gen Maxima? That's one of the better transverse V6 designs, and that one has cutouts int he intake to access the rear plugs and coils. It still takes time to pull the intake, but not as bad as the 1MZ.


I thought pulling the intake on a 4th gen VQ30DE was pretty awful. The two bolt/studs (can't remember which) for the hangers in the rear are almost impossible to get to. Fortunately the cutouts allow access to the plugs on the rear bank without intake removal, but keep in mind this required Nissan to design TWO DIFFERENT coils, one set for the rear bank, one set for the front that are not interchangeable. That adds cost, and I'm pretty sure the bean counters have made the practice of two different coils ancient history.

I've done a few vehicles which required intake removal for rear bank plug access and they weren't bad. My Pacifica takes about 15 minutes to pull the plastic intake and get to the plugs. I've done a Ford Duratec 3.0L V6, that wasn't bad either, less than 30 minute job. I'm sure there's vehicles where pulling the intake to get to plugs is a real challenge, but I haven't encountered any yet.. Other than my Maxima, but the intake doesn't need to be pulled to get to plugs, I had to change a knock sensor deep in the "v".

Worst vehicle I've ever done plugs on, by far, was a 2001 Nissan Frontier with the VG33ER supercharged engine. This is a longitudinal engine which goes to show that the transverse V6 plugs being hard to access is NOT a blanket statement. Plug accessibility has everything to do with the vehicle/engine bay layout, it's not inherent in an engine size or orientation.

 

[jeepman3071]

Dang that sucks. My BMW was super easy, I did all 6 in about 20 minutes. The 16 in my dad's Grand Cherokee 5.7L took a bit longer.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by nthach
Supposedly Honda V6s aren't as bad to work on, The Critic said a head R&R on one doesn't involve dropping the engine/subframe. Now to do a head job on a Toyota V6...
http://carspecmn.com/teardown-and-b...-liter-2gr-fe-v6-in-depth-picture-guide/


OMG reading half that how-to has hurt my brain. Note to self: Never buy that Toyota/Lexus vehicle with that engine!

I did the head gaskets on my Odyssey with Honda J35 engine-- it's a piece of cake with engine in vehicle. After I pulled the heads off, I decided to remove the rest of the engine/bottom end so I could reseal everything. Everything comes out the hood, no touching of the subframe required.

 

[DoubleNickels]

Originally Posted by Whimsey
Originally Posted by AuthorEditor

One reason I'm determined my next car will be a 4-cylinder one,


There is no lack of useful power with the 2.3 EB vs the 3.5 NA. In fact the 2.3 EB is as powerful if not more than the 4.6 V-8 in our 2005 Explorer. And it gets ~23 mpg overall vs 13 for the 4.6 V-8

.


Back a decade ago, 4 cylinder engines were still anemic. I hated having to speed up going downhill, in order to compensate for the loss of power going up the next hill. Worst feeling in the world when your little car is struggling and losing power trying to go up a hill.Of course, I'm talking about the early 2000's & late 90's, where there were some pretty awful small cars.

Today's cars with small engines actually have good engines. Well, some of them have good engines. I'm really liking the Ford city van with the 2.5L 4 cylinder. And those spark plugs being right up front & center. Amazing that I can literally tune up the car in 30 minutes or less. Remember spark plug changes on the modular 5.4L V8 Ford?

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted by JLTD
Originally Posted by AuthorEditor
Quote
Both have V-6 motors so of course the intakes must come off to do the back plugs.

One reason I'm determined my next car will be a 4-cylinder one, but I'm sure I will come to find they have ingeniously made something that should be routine into a quest for smaller hands.


Totally agree here… If the motor is installed sideways in the engine bay, it has to be an in-line design for me; no sideways "V" motors for just that reason. Not to mention the rear bank tends to cook the oil since it runs hotter. [ insert discussion here about how synthetics will tolerate the extra heat better than conventional ]


OR you can simply buy a RWD vehicle and have easy access to both sides of the engine.

 

[92saturnsl2]

Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
OR you can simply buy a RWD vehicle and have easy access to both sides of the engine.


Not always the case! There are plenty of RWD/4WD (longitudinal engine orientation) vehicles that are a nightmare to change plugs on.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Most are easier than any FWD vehicle.
Besides, with long lasting plugs, most will never need to change them during their ownership.

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by SeaJay
If I remember correctly, GM designed a car that was supposed to get a rotary engine in the 1970's. The motor never made it to production, so they fit whatever other regular motors they had into the car. In order to change the sparkplugs on the V8 powered one, the motor mounts had to be disconnected and the engine lifted a bit to reach them.


V8 Monza

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
Two worst plug changes I ever encountered were big block 1960s Mustangs and 90s Mitsubishi Monteros with the 3.5 engines.

On the Montero, you can't reach any of the plugs without removing the intake manifold. The intake manifold has about a hundred steel brackets supporting it for some reason. Some of the bolts directly face the firewall. Can maybe fit a sheet of paper in there.


390 Mercury Cougar.....All the pain of a A/C equipped BB Mustang topped with Vacuum controlled headlamp covers. Talk about a packed engine compartment.

 

[MrMoody]

Originally Posted by BigD1
Got to give GM credit for spark plug changes on 3.1 V6 engines. The dogbones can be loosened, and the engine rolled forward with a strap to expose the rear bank of spark plugs. Makes it so much easier to change the rear plugs.

Yep, W-body 3800s are the same way, too. Easier than it looks.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
OR you can simply buy a RWD vehicle and have easy access to both sides of the engine.


Not always the case! There are plenty of RWD/4WD (longitudinal engine orientation) vehicles that are a nightmare to change plugs on.


Ditto. The plugs on a Chevy LS tilt to the front the driver's side (easy) and to the back on the passenger side ( royal pain).

 

[Gasbuggy]

I did a GTP once entirely by feel. Not sure how much harder your car is.

 

[ctechbob]

Originally Posted by nthach

Supposedly Honda V6s aren't as bad to work on, The Critic said a head R&R on one doesn't involve dropping the engine/subframe. Now to do a head job on a Toyota V6...
http://carspecmn.com/teardown-and-b...-liter-2gr-fe-v6-in-depth-picture-guide/


Nope,they're not. No intake removal for the plugs and supposedly you can get the valve covers off without taking the intake off as well, although I've never tried that as the intake comes off pretty easily.

 

[nthach]

Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2

Not always the case! There are plenty of RWD/4WD (longitudinal engine orientation) vehicles that are a nightmare to change plugs on.

Ford 4.0L Cologne OHC, talk about losing skin and blood. The intake has to be pulled on more recent Mercedes V6s.

 

[Skippy722]

Originally Posted by Lolvoguy


OR you can simply buy a RWD vehicle and have easy access to both sides of the engine.


Nope, gotta pull the intake on the Pentastar v6, even if it is installed as God intended

 

[SeaJay]

Originally Posted by clinebarger
Originally Posted by SeaJay
If I remember correctly, GM designed a car that was supposed to get a rotary engine in the 1970's. The motor never made it to production, so they fit whatever other regular motors they had into the car. In order to change the sparkplugs on the V8 powered one, the motor mounts had to be disconnected and the engine lifted a bit to reach them.


V8 Monza


Yes, now I remember. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

 

[LDM]

Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
OR you can simply buy a RWD vehicle and have easy access to both sides of the engine.


Not always the case! There are plenty of RWD/4WD (longitudinal engine orientation) vehicles that are a nightmare to change plugs on.


Ditto. The plugs on a Chevy LS tilt to the front the driver's side (easy) and to the back on the passenger side ( royal pain).

Yep, just changed the plugs on my 94 Camaro LT1. The drivers side you can get from underneath the car without any major issue but the front 3 on the passenger side are almost impossible to get and only from the top of the car. I even have long tube headers on mine and its still difficult, took me about 2.5 hours to do them all. Most of my left arm was covered in scrapes and cuts in the process, #6 forces you to jam your hand into a place it just doesn't fit. I don't even have big hands either.