dreaded job completed

[Plymouthy Adams]

Had been putting of changing the plugs in the wife's minivan..5 plugs in and out in just a few minutes..an hour later..many scrapes etc..heat shield removed..I got the rear passenger side plug changed..I would not recommend this be done at home unless you have a lift..plugs gap at .040..the old ones ranged between .056 and .062

[Vazlov1949]

What kind of mini van has 5 plugs?

[Fireball]

I think Tim meant that 5 were easy but one was not.

[Dodgeb4ya]

I pull the alternator to do the 3.3/3.8 rear pass plug if it was a Chrysler/Dodge minivan.

[Plymouthy Adams]

Fireball be right..guess I could have been a bit more clear in that..I would agree on the pulling of the alternator..I did look at that..but having the lift, I fought it out from below..I bet I could not turn the socket better than 1/16 turn at a time if that much..yes Chrysler 3.8

Seeing as how I had the lift clear I went ahead and done an oil and filter change and overall inspection of my Chrysler Concorde....

[old woolie]

Take the upper intake plenum off and it's a joke from the top. The gasket is only a few buck's and you may not even break the old one.

[falconvan]

I've got the same van; I changed 5 plugs about 6 months ago. There's one more new one laying on my workbench somewhere. Both my son and I tried half a day to get that old plug out.

[Death Dodger]

A late 90's 350 Camaro is billed at 8 hours for spark plugs. You have to lower the engine to get the rear 2.

[Plymouthy Adams]

I knew before starting that this task is one not easily done..it is such a shame that the engineers behind this stuff are not forced by the production branch to change a minimum of ten items per series of car they are designing...put a stop to a lot of this after the sale high price maintenance BS...

My Sunbeam Tiger with the V8 has holes in the firewall for getting the back plugs out by design..at least they knew what the prob would be and thus made some allowance...in all my retrofitting on my old cars..I do not think you will find a problem such as this as ease of maintenance is a creed by which I do my home-engineering..or at lest to the best of my ability and thus far..I have been rather successful...

[Dennis_MN]

My wifes Hyundai Tucson 2.7L V6 has a shop charge of around $300 to change the plugs. Seems that the exhaust manifold has to be removed to get at the spark plugs. I ain't about to pull a manifold to change a spark plug. Sorry Honey, take it to the garage.

Dennis

[laynrubber]

I have done the 3.8 engine in our van twice now. Both times from below....not bad if your patient.

[Plymouthy Adams]

well..patience I did have as the job is done..just very time consuming getting it out as it is inchy-wrench all the way..going in, new plug, bit of btubbing slipped over the insulator..able to bottom it out before needing the wrench

too many crs being built like this today..no real need for it..somebody ion design is not earning their money in my book..

[james curl]

Quite often the designer does not know of the problem because he is working from drawings and a time schedule which does not allow him the time to check everything out and once designed the cost to retool and make any changes eat into the profit that is required to pay for the new design and then there will be no money for the next new design. All Engineers and Designers/Draftsman/Cad Operators should have to work every station on the assembly line before going into the Engineering department. Then they would know that you cannot get your hand into a 2" square space and use your fingers to install a sparkplug. Very few of the design team have ever worked on the assembly line or in a repair shop. Almost all people in management have no experience in assembly or design and have a timetable and budget for the design and push everyone on the design team to get the design to production, and would not know good design if it bit them, all about the money.

[55 Fargo]

well..patience I did have as the job is done..just very time consuming getting it out as it is inchy-wrench all the way..going in, new plug, bit of btubbing slipped over the insulator..able to bottom it out before needing the wrench

too many crs being built like this today..no real need for it..somebody ion design is not earning their money in my book..

Tim, you outta had farmed out that job, leaves more time for the important things like painting old cars:D

[Plymouthy Adams]

Yeah Fred..and end up with a stripped out head where they could not get the plug in straight or...even better yet ..do a tune up on a hot engine..read dissimilar heat expansion aluminum and inserted steel..no thanks..and of course it would be your fault as the plug was already crossthreaded when you brough it in....I have already come behind on three shops that friends have used..don't need that headache..now I am not saying every shop works to that level..but it happens and they pawn the cost to the owner even if they are at fault..

..

[Mr. Belvedere]

Well thank god most of these new cars do not need plug changes to often like the old cars did. My dad finally felt guilty enough to take his Town & Country in for a plug change after a 150,000 mi. They gave him the old ones and the still looked pretty goood just some minor wear on the center electrode and the insulator was still white and clean. I changed the plugs on my wifes Escape and you have to remove the intake plenum and coil on plugs, throttle controls, and vacuum hoses. Kind of a pain in the neck especially in light of the fact that the plugs still looked new when I replaced them!

[Plymouthy Adams]

the modern computer controlled car is a marvel and I will continue to upgrade to every chance I get..I pefer the first generation as it has the built in diagnostics (Mopar) and thus I do not ever need a hand held tool. The average car is not required a tune till 100,000 miles..exhaust sytems..I have only had to replace one muffler since 1989..that was on my Ramcharger with 230,000 at time of change...

[Dodgeb4ya]

One issue with 100,000 mile plug change intervals is the possibility of the plugs not being able to be removed because of carbon build up on the end of the plug. Real common problem on the newer Ford V-8`s. Other cars too. The heads have to be sometimes removed for repair if the special tool set won`t work. The plugs can actually break off. This is a expensive-VERY expensive repair! 4 cyl.Mazda`s/Rangers also are sometimes hard to get old plugs out of the heads.

[Plymouthy Adams]

IF that is a problem then the problem is by design and should be covered by the maker..the plugs should not extend below the threaded head to allow this build up of carbon..that was the biggest problem when BOSCH was making plugs for the American market years ago..generic and extended threads that ended up galling the aluminum heads on removal..the Bosch problem I saw many times over...they should have been hung out for target practice...I have seen a fe w of the Ford V8 with this problem also..another big problem is also used induced in the fact thaey do a tune up on a relativley hot engine..no no for aluminum heads...

[JIPJOBXX]

As you guys know I have a 42 dodge four door. Well anyway I have a chance to buy a 42 two door very rare. But its totally rusted from the floorboards down. The insides have been gong through with field mice and moisture. All I can see with this old car would be maybe the fenders, trim and other outside equipment that wouldn't have made contact with the ground. Just what do you think something like this might be worth. The guy trying to sell it wants $800 dollars but like I said it would take a very dedicated person to bring this back to original. Any thought?