Changing spark plugs

[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.

[Myv]

[BRZtoni]

teach me more!

[hmong337]

Subbed

[humfrz]

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 .

Good write up, there Scenic Driver ......thanks for posting ......

I think when my FR-S gets up to that point ..... I'll just trade it in .....

Oh, the "good old days", ...... just open the hood, climb in the engine compartment and change the plugs; a 5 minute job.....


humfrz

[Scenic Driver]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Oh, the "good old days", ...... just open the hood, climb in the engine compartment and change the plugs; a 5 minute job.....

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

[GotMunchies?]

Wait... that's it?

No removing engine mounts and jacking the engine up? No soaking two piece plugs in PB Blaster and praying to the car gods they don't break when removing them? (Looking at you Ford Mod V8's) No enlisting seven year olds with slender wrists to grab them from under the firewall? (Looking at you, GM W Bodies)

[aghuman]

Thanks for this write up, Im getting to the point I need to change mine too and was debating doing it myself so this definitely helps. If anyone has done this or is planning to do this, are you just using OEM plugs or changing to something else?

[Scenic Driver]

Originally Posted by GotMunchies?

Wait... that's it?

No removing engine mounts and jacking the engine up? No soaking two piece plugs in PB Blaster and praying to the car gods they don't break when removing them? (Looking at you Ford Mod V8's) No enlisting seven year olds with slender wrists to grab them from under the firewall? (Looking at you, GM W Bodies)

Unbolting the engine from the mounts and jacking it up is the way the service manual says to do it but as myself and others have found, it's not the only way.

[Muaddib]

Lifting the motor to replace the plugs is just another way for Toyota to "lighten" up your wallet.

[Fastbrew]

I am putting in a set of these soon:
HKS M50HL

[mreddie]

I'm a new owner here (1 month!), but it's good to see a successful alternative to changing plugs. Actually, lifting the engine slightly doesn't look too hard either - the mounts are easily accessible. I know changing plugs on some of the Ford V6 requires unplugging and removing the intake :-(

[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):

What’s that? You heard “routine engine-out service”? Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that’s right: the F355 requires a complete engine-out service every three to five years in order to change the timing belts. This is another six to eight grand – remember, every three to five years – depending on where you do it. Some Ferrari dealers charge as much as $10,000. Although Ferrari is famous for these engine-out services, the 355 is the last modern model to require it.

Here’s Why You Should Never Buy A Ferrari F355

[yaguphire]

nice write up. thank you.