spark plugs change...

[fistpoint]

I just got through browsing the BRZ manual and nearly shit when I got to the spark plug section. You damn near have to disassemble the engine to replace them!

Surely there will be an easier way eh? I can't imagine paying the monkeys at the dealership AND trusting them to put all those nuts, bolts and clips back in their proper place.

[Duff_man]

If the dealer dosen't do it properly..who's going to?

[Calum]

me

Seriously, you're gonna trust your car to someone that gets paid by the job and has every incentive to half ass the job?

[lordtakuban]

Originally Posted by Calum

me

Seriously, you're gonna trust your car to someone that gets paid by the job and has every incentive to half ass the job?

+1
It's a major PITA by looking at the procedure, but the iridium plugs should last at least 80K miles. They're supposed to go 100K or more, but as they say, YMMV.

[HunterGreene]

I guess at the end of the day, its a boxer engine. Your spark plugs won't be conviniently located.

Maybe check in on some of the Subbie forums and see if they have any work-arounds for it.

[Hawaiian]

I thought I had read somewhere that the plugs could be accessed from the wheel wells.

[fistpoint]

Originally Posted by Duff_man

If the dealer dosen't do it properly..who's going to?

That's my point. I normally do simple stuff like this, but after reading there is no way in hell I'm going to be able to with lack of time or knowledge/tools.

Dealerships are infamous for leaving 2 foot(yes, TWO foot long) wrenches under the hood of my cars, leaving screws/bolts laying around that they forgot where to put back, forgetting to hook up the turbos, forgetting this and that and whatever.

That's why I buy Hondas, because they don't need maintenance beyond oil changes for the most part. The stuff I mentioned above was parents cars and minor wreck fixes for me(not my fault).

So, we're looking at a $200-$300 or more spark plug change. Thankfully it should only have to be done once, but having it done correctly is my major worry.

[Calum]

I gotta say this is gonna be a PITA. With my old Neon I used to sit in the living room, watching TV while I gaped the plugs. Then I'd go out, find my ratchet, extension,& socket and installed the plugs during a commercial break. I could be back on my ass in less then 3 minutes including wiping the tools and putting them away.

[phm14]

Most of the operations on the 86 look easy for a late model car. If this is the only PITA maintenance procedure, and it has a minimum 6 year interval (manual says 60K miles) for me, I'm happy. It's possible I could buy something else by then & won't ever change these plugs, so I don't see a concern for me.

[seannyice81]

I've replaced the plugs on lots of dohc boxers (Saab 9-2xs). On those, you remove the ignition coil sideways through the gap in the valve cover. Then you insert the plug socket, followed by a short universal extension, followed by a roughly 2 inch extension. You then use a short 3/8 ratchet to get the plug loose, then remove the ratchet and loosen the plug the rest of the way by hand. You then remove tools in reverse order, the plug comes out in the plug socket. Use a bendy-magnet if it doesn't want to come out.

Now, I haven't looked very thoroughly at the plugs and coils. At just a glance it looks, not fun or easy. If I end up trying out a plug replacement (doubt anytime soon), I'll let you know if its the same procedure.

[csaba]

Originally Posted by Calum

me

Seriously, you're gonna trust your car to someone that gets paid by the job and has every incentive to half ass the job?

Agree!! I don't trust them either. Good thing I'm very handy...

[Shagaliscious]

There was another thread about this somewhere, someone said you need to raise the engine up 100mm to gain access to the spark plugs. I'm sure when the time comes, someone will have found out a way to replace the plugs with having to do all that.

[Touge Monster]

There is a special service tool that acts as some sort of spacer to allow access to the spark plugs haven't seen one yet. Toyota sent out a bulletin to all the techs for sst "special service tools" about a month and half ago and if it makes anyone feel any better all of the techs will be receiving special training of the FR-S company wide. Toyota/Scion whatever is taking this vehicle very seriously.

[GL4787]

Originally Posted by Calum

me

Seriously, you're gonna trust your car to someone that gets paid by the job and has every incentive to half ass the job?

yeah, because losing their job isn't "incentive" enough to do good work. Some technicians take pride in the jobs they do. Just because you've obviously had a bad experience or two doesn't mean every tech on earth is an unknowledgable dirtbag that's only worried about a paycheck.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by GL4787

yeah, because losing their job isn't "incentive" enough to do good work. Some technicians take pride in the jobs they do. Just because you've obviously had a bad experience or two doesn't mean every tech on earth is an unknowledgable dirtbag that's only worried about a paycheck.

Thank you.

I was a BMW Tech for 4 1/2 years. As a Tech we obviously don't have the greatest reputations thanks to a lot of shady mechanics out there. But I can tell you not every Tech is like that (at least where I worked). I can see everyones point about forgotton tools and such. It happens sometimes when your working on 15-25 cars at the same time in one day with some being waiters and the service writer breathing down your neck at the same time. I know, I've done it myself. I even did free labor every now and then just to help a customer out. But I still took great pride in the work I did and made sure I did everything correctly. Thanks to that I got to where I'm at now. I wish I could same the same for some other Techs out there.

But back on topic, my experience has shown that repair manuals are very by the book. They will always tell you to remove something that you won't always have to. This may very well be the case this time as well.

[Calum]

I've been a technician for 13 years now, not automotive, but that's beside the point. I've also been working on cars for over 20 years, I know my work and trust it.

The way automotive shops are run is the cause of the vast majority of the problems, but to the end consumer that doesn't matter. I've know three automotive techs that I trusted. Two work at a small shop about a half hour drive away and they do all of my alignments. The other took a job installing elevators years ago. I'm sure there are more, probably even close to me, but I can't afford to find them. Maybe I'm too picky, maybe I just live in a bad area, I don't know.

Sorry if you take offense to my view point, but it comes from my own experience. YMMV

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Calum

I've been a technician for 13 years now, not automotive, but that's beside the point. I've also been working on cars for over 20 years, I know my work and trust it.

The way automotive shops are run is the cause of the vast majority of the problems, but to the end consumer that doesn't matter. I've know three automotive techs that I trusted. Two work at a small shop about a half hour drive away and they do all of my alignments. The other took a job installing elevators years ago. I'm sure there are more, probably even close to me, but I can't afford to find them. Maybe I'm too picky, maybe I just live in a bad area, I don't know.

Sorry if you take offense to my view point, but it comes from my own experience. YMMV

Oh no, no offense was taken. I understand exactly what you were talking about. Being on that side of the fence I've seen some shady techs myself. Needless to say, they didn't last very long. But I do agree, it's the way the system is run that causes all the problems.

When I left the dealer, BMW redid their warranty system resulting in like a 20% paycut. On top of that the only thing managers/owners care about are numbers the techs are putting out. I even almost got fired once from a low customer service index that turned out had nothing to do with me. I was rated low for things like the customer lounge not having Wi-Fi. Another customer loved my work and how fast I got her back on the road. But she gave me a 0 because she didn't know how the survey worked.

Pretty much every one of my friends that are auto techs agree, the flat rate system needs to go. We would rather be paid hourly and get the job done right then rush through car after car hoping to make an hour or two. A lot of my friends at the dealer have quit as well and moved on to other fields.



Anyways, I plan on looking at the engine this weekend. I'm curious to see where the plugs and everything sit now.

[Black Tire]

I kept wondering in the procedure on the spark plugs when they would actually get to the "replace plugs" part. I hope they last a while!

Maybe it would be easier to remove the front tires, suspension, and fenders, then cut an access holes/panels in the inner fenders if needed, remove half of the exterior engine ancillaries and then change the spark plugs.

[Dustin@Dynosty]

We can confirm removal of number 1 (with just overpipe removed) and number 2 plug can be done with out anything else removed, the frame is wider at the front, the rear gets a little tighter so those are questionable, if I get time I will investigate further. The coils are very flexible at least with only 2,000 miles on them. It is a very tight squeeze, recommend small hands.

[finch1750]

flex head ratchet, extension, swivel adapter.

That and some time will be all you need. (Assuming its similar to an 05 sti)

[Pscylo]

Engine swap~

[Rokkinpo]

as a Toyota tech and an owner of an frs I take some offence the the half ass work statement. I like to think I give what the customer pays for. In any event you can undo the motor mounts and jack up the motor enough to get to them. and half ass or as some people call it flat rating it is how we find short cuts so u don't have to rebuild the motor