Changing spark plugs

[juliog]

Did this recently without lifting engine. You will need small hands, the right tools and *lots* of patience...

[xxscaxx]

I'm know it can be done without jacking the motor (I couldn't get my hands in there, so need small hands), but why not? Yes you have to jack up the car, but its an extra 10 minutes to do so. Its two nuts to unbolt, and you get 3-4" more clearance. All the time fussing with trying to work in small space will eat up time like crazy. Trust me i'm all for shortcuts but the best bet is to try to get in there first without jacking anything up and if its a PITA just jack the car up and jack the motor up and save yourself the hassle.

[Tt3Sheppard]

This helps! I just hit 59k so this will need to be done very soon.

Would this also be a good time to replace the coil packs? I've seen here and there some owners having issues with them.

For those that lifted the engine, did you remove the mounts and use a standard jack?

[Scenic Driver]

Originally Posted by xxscaxx

I'm know it can be done without jacking the motor (I couldn't get my hands in there, so need small hands), but why not? Yes you have to jack up the car, but its an extra 10 minutes to do so. Its two nuts to unbolt, and you get 3-4" more clearance.

Are you sure that's all it is? The service manual says that parts of the exhaust and other things have to be removed/unclipped before raising the engine.

[xxscaxx]

You have to remove the rear bolt holding the front pipe too I believe. Don't think you need to undo anything else. Or you could unbolt the header. I actually forgot about that lol

[Scenic Driver]

Originally Posted by xxscaxx

You have to remove the rear bolt holding the front pipe too I believe. Don't think you need to undo anything else. Or you could unbolt the header. I actually forgot about that lol

Here's what Subaru says to do, if all of this is really required then I'd rather spend an extra hour or even two on top than deal with all of this especially since all of the exhaust nuts and bolts on my car are probably rusted by now.

1) Disconnect the ground cable from battery.
2) Remove the air cleaner assembly w/hose.
3) Disconnect the hose assembly from the sound creator.
4) Remove the two bolts and remove the sound creator.
5) Disconnect the front oxygen (A/F) sensor connector (A) and rear oxygen sensor connector (B).
6) Remove the two bolts securing the harness of the front oxygen (A/F) sensor, and remove the two clips from the stay.
7) Remove the two clips securing the rear oxygen (A/F) sensor harness.
8) Lift up the vehicle.
9) Remove the 12 bolts and seven clips to remove engine under cover No. 1.
10) Remove the seven bolts to remove engine under cover No. 2.
11) Remove the three clips to remove the front mat guard under RH.
12) Remove the two nuts and disconnect the joint pipe.
13) Remove the two nuts, two bolts and two compression springs to disconnect the exhaust center pipe assembly.
14) Remove the bolt to remove the exhaust pipe assembly FR.
15) Remove the two nuts and disconnect the joint pipe.
16) Remove the six nuts to remove the exhaust manifold sub-assembly.
17) Tie the joint pipe to the front crossmember using string.
18) Remove the nuts which secure the engine mounting to the front crossmember.
19) Lower the vehicle.
20) Remove clip (A) securing the engine harness to the engine hanger, clip (B) securing the battery cable and clip (C) securing the generator cable to the intake manifold protector RH, and clip (D) securing the generator cable to the fuse box.
21) Remove the bolt securing the harness stay from the intake manifold protector LH, and the two clips securing the battery cable from the intake manifold.
22) Install the ST1 and ST2 to the engine assembly.
23) Remove the clip securing the bulkhead harness to the vehicle.
24) Set the ST1 and ST2 to vehicle in order to support the engine.
25) Turn the handle on the top of the ST clockwise, and slowly lift the engine from the crossmember engine mount hole until it reaches the position where the engine mount stud bolts can be removed.
26) Lift up the vehicle.
27) Install the ST between the engine mount and crossmember.
29) Rotate the handle on the top of the ST counterclockwise to slowly lower the engine.
30) Remove the ST (ENGINE HANGER) from the vehicle.
31) Remove the RH spark plugs.
32) Remove the LH spark plugs.

[mav1178]

Subaru will advise you to raise the engine because

1) they aren't going to tell you to work on a car because of tight spaces... if you have no room to work with, you increase the chances of damaging the customer's car
2) it's better to have more space because it gives you a better chance of getting an accurate torque setting with a torque wrench
3) reduces liability

As for unbolting the parts listed, it comes with the territory of properly working on a car. In practice, most mechanics will take shortcuts.

-alex

[qqzj]

well, if you are so good with it, maybe you can do it your way and take some pictures to show us like what op did. then your comments would be a lot more helpful and will be taken seriously.

Originally Posted by xxscaxx

I'm know it can be done without jacking the motor (I couldn't get my hands in there, so need small hands), but why not? Yes you have to jack up the car, but its an extra 10 minutes to do so. Its two nuts to unbolt, and you get 3-4" more clearance. All the time fussing with trying to work in small space will eat up time like crazy. Trust me i'm all for shortcuts but the best bet is to try to get in there first without jacking anything up and if its a PITA just jack the car up and jack the motor up and save yourself the hassle.

[xxscaxx]

Originally Posted by qqzj

well, if you are so good with it, maybe you can do it your way and take some pictures to show us like what op did. then your comments would be a lot more helpful and will be taken seriously.

Uhm, what are you talking about?

Where did I say I was "so good with it"? I'm simply stating a fact that its HARD to get in that spot. If you don't have tiny hands its going to be difficult for anyone. I tried to do it without jacking the motor and it was just a PITA so I jacked the motor up quick.

What do you want me to take a picture of a motor jacked up? Go to your car, and imagine the engine 3" higher.

All I simply stated was that it is going to be easier with more clearance in there. If you try to do it without jacking the motor up and its becoming a hassle, just jack the motor. Save yourself the headache.

[Scalzo]

I just changed mine without lifting the engine. It is very tight but i'm skinny as fuck so I was able to change them. My arms were all scuffed up.

[Scenic Driver]

Originally Posted by Scalzo

My arms were all scuffed up.

Kevlar sleeves are great to have when working in tight spaces to keep that from happening. They're great for working around hot parts too.

[ic-racer]

Originally Posted by Black Tire

I will be needing to change spark plugs soon, so I really appreciate this thread!

I guess we can be thankful the maintenance isn't as insane as a Ferrari F355. Here is a quote from an article on the subject (link below):



Here’s Why You Should Never Buy A Ferrari F355

I just had my Testarossa done and it was $13,000 but that included a new clutch, new tires, a bunch of little things that go bad in 25 years and enclosed transportation >200mi there and back.

[zc06_kisstherain]

it looks very tight space. how to torque and gap on spark plugs in that space. lol

[yaguphire]

Shouldn't you gap the plugs before putting then on?

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