Changing spark plugs

[86kahl]

Originally Posted by rick s

Will have to rethink this 60,000 mi service thing! Just got a call from the dealership and it was going to be $750 for this service . At least they were nice enough to call! Needless to say I said thanks but no thanks!


Will have to see about the plug change when it gets a little warmer here.


Cheers.

Daaaaaaaaaamn. That's steep imo but I'm sure the dealership said something about "removing the engine" or some inflated labor none sense. It's a pain but not close to $600 in just labor. I'd take it to an independent Subaru shop for a second opinion.

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by 86kahl

Daaaaaaaaaamn. That's steep imo but I'm sure the dealership said something about "removing the engine" or some inflated labor none sense. It's a pain but not close to $600 in just labor. I'd take it to an independent Subaru shop for a second opinion.

my dealer quoted $700 as well haha. I am going to just do it on my own. I have accesses to a shop with a lift so it might be easier coming in from underneath to get at them

[86kahl]

Originally Posted by go_a_way1

my dealer quoted $700 as well haha. I am going to just do it on my own. I have accesses to a shop with a lift so it might be easier coming in from underneath to get at them

I used a "wobble" extension to get at them, once you remove the DI ECU and metal injector covering it's really not that bad from the top

[rick s]

Originally Posted by 86kahl

I used a "wobble" extension to get at them, once you remove the DI ECU and metal injector covering it's really not that bad from the top

At 700 bucks, I can have a lot of patience to do this myself! Just needs to warm up a touch!

[MrDinkleman]

For those of you who have changed plugs, how worn were they at 60k? Did they look like they needed replacement?


60k seems a little short... the Iridium plugs in my Yaris (RIP) were scheduled for 100k. I never did change them, even after 140k (when it was totaled).

[hmong337]

$700 sparkplug change. What a fckin joke! This is the most annoying thing about this car.. the damn plug locations. This is my first Subaru product so hopefully my first rodeo with these damn boxers go smooth. Have another 17k kms to go till the plug change. I'm dreading it already...

[fumanchu1]

Originally Posted by Scenic Driver

If it was an I4 engine it would probably only take 10 minutes, that's all it takes on my Audi.

Oh god you just reminded me of my IS300, it's powered by a 2jz but not the gte. the difference being the gte has 6coil on plugs while the na has 3 coil and 3 wires. the strut bar was in the way so we had to remove it and several other things just to get to the plugs

[roddy]

Just picked up my plugs from my local dealer...~$24 CDN each. I will likely be changing them in the next month or so. Not looking forward to doing it (or the fuel filter).

[Kaotic Lazagna]

Originally Posted by MrDinkleman

For those of you who have changed plugs, how worn were they at 60k? Did they look like they needed replacement?


60k seems a little short... the Iridium plugs in my Yaris (RIP) were scheduled for 100k. I never did change them, even after 140k (when it was totaled).

When I had my Yaris, I changed them at 63k miles. 40 bucks or so and 5 minutes of my time was worth it, even though they didn't look the slightest bit fouled or worn out. haha.

I'll be changing the FR-S' at 60k, which will be more likely around this time next year since I'm averaging 20k-21k miles a year.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

So far OEM. It's not cheap though. $22-25 per plug.
The plus side they last a long time.

I thought you were kidding, then I realized the price I looked up was for one plug and I missed it. Bonkers. Like you said though, for the average person, that's <$0.01/mile...

[finch1750]

Originally Posted by Mr.ac

So far OEM. It's not cheap though. $22-25 per plug.
The plus side they last a long time.

Is there even other options yet besides the super mad tyte JDM ones? I never found generic Denso or NGK when I did mine last year

[Mr.ac]

Originally Posted by finch1750

Is there even other options yet besides the super mad tyte JDM ones? I never found generic Denso or NGK when I did mine last year

I didn't find any. Same as you. They are different from the average spark plug. It's a lot thinner and longer than average plug. So my guess it's harder to mass produce, also not a whole lot of demand.

Maybe in a few more years. We'll see them flood the market.

[FRSToyota86]

Originally Posted by Scenic Driver

So the car is at around 66k miles so it was time to do the plugs. It's certainly not a job I would want to do often but if you have patience and can work in tight spaces it's not terrible to do. If you do not have a lot of DIY experience you may want to consider paying someone to do this.

Like any other writeup on the internet, if you mess up your car while following this it's your responsibility not mine.



Right side plugs
Remove the injector ecu (10mm bolts x 3), the bottom one is a little annoying. Don't unplug the wiring from the ecu, there's enough slack on the wiring that you can just squeeze it past the hose and move it toward the back of the engine.




Remove the 10mm bolt and unclip the wiring from each of the coil packs and remove them.



You can now remove the spark plugs. Here's the tools I used, if I had another small extension I would have tried that instead of the universal joint but I didn't feel like running to the store. The mini ratchet isn't necessary but I found it helpful. Also, make sure you have a magnet on a stick, the potential for dropping stuff is high, I actually tethered my ratchets to the car with some twine.



I always prefer to insert and start threading the plugs with a piece of vacuum line or an old spark plug boot.



Left side plugs
Because of all of the lines and hoses running on this side there's even less room to work. To get a little more room I removed the bolts from the injector cover (12mm) and to keep from rubbing the shit out my arm I also removed the clip that holds the 3 hoses (it just unclips from the metal bracket). If you have thick arms you may want to remove the strut brace (and master cylinder brace if you have one) as well. It was just too difficult to get good pics of this side but it's not any different than the other side.

Excellent write out, and for a second I tough about taking this shortcut , however then I thought about torque specs.

Manual calls for
Installation of spark plug (bank 1 side)
(1) Install 2 spark plugs.

Standard value:
Tightening torque=17N·m {174kgf·cm} {12.5ft·lbf}






Can you fit a torque wrench in there?

You dont want to over torque, or under torque these spark plugs. Its crucial. This shout out goes to the specially goes to the Newbies. Torque specs are there for a reason. You don't want to screw this up...

If you have the patience just follow service manual and do it the right way.

Thank you!

[gravitylover]

If you can get a ratchet in there why can't you get a torque wrench in too? I ask because I will most likely need to do this before the end of the summer.