I got a quote from the dealer for a spark plug replacement for a (99 CL 3.0 w. 65,000 miles) $240 not including the wires. I was shocked & asked him twice if that was the price for the plugs only installed & he confirmed. If I buy the plugs seperate they wanted $100 for the plugs.

So I went to Pep Boys & found the plugs(NGK Iridium) for $42 for the set of 6. I read the manual & it seems pretty easy to replace them.

Other than turning the plugs too tight is there anything else to watch out for during the replacement?

I don't have a torque wrench so I am going to hand tighten the plugs then do the 2/3 turn with the socket wrench. Is the Torque Wrench a necessity?

 

go to your mechanic.

that is if you dont trust yourself, maintenance i dont get done

@ the dealer, they rape.

 

$240!

dude is that guy on crack or what

 

when my dad changed his plugs in his camry, the wire plug got stuck on the plug and many more problems, and it was a pain to get out, ended up dropping something inside the engine and made this loud rattling noise, had to get whole new wires and everything, rattling noise stopped after the object came out of the exhaust , dont drop anything in there

 

i did it myself. not too difficult. the ones in the back are a lil arkward but not too bad. just make sure your engine is cold since it's alumium.

 

if u do replace spark plugs.. how much do u have to tighten them when putting them back on?

im gonna do this on the weekend if its not to difficult..

 

plugs should only be tightened to ~ 8 in lbs of torque. it doesent take much to keep em in there. another reason to change them with the engine cold is the plug wires will pull apart on u if the car is hot. just do one at a time and ull be fine. if u do drop something in there get mechanical fingers or a magnet or something, but do not start ur car. dude earlier was talkin bout a rattlin noise, stuff does not just come out of the exhaust, it got chewed up in to little pieces and put on the cat, where it prolly is to day with pieces of his engine. that would be the suck.

 

hard metal object dropped in cylinder and you let it pass? That isn't a kidney stone.

 

I've got a great story concerning spark plugs. These guys who were trying to get their product picked up at RacingZone (shop i go to) were there same time i was. I needed new spark plugs for my nitrous setup, so they gave me a whole set for free.

Back on topic, just go buy some from a shop and throw em in yourself. If you get em done at the dealer make sure to bring plenty of Astroglide.

 

just tell them to spit on it first.

 

dude, i'm a chick, and i changed my spark plugs (with help from my dad of course!) but seriously, it's easy. don't get raped.

just make sure you "calibrate them. sometimes the little prong can get pushed in too far while being handled. i personally never had a problem, but i remember when i was younger and my dad was working on his old caddy i gapped them for him. such a good daughter i was

 

its not that hard man....just tight it as much as u can but not too hard....as hard as ur wrist can turn should be tight enought.

when taking it out and putting it in make sure the plugs are secure to the spark plug socket u dont wanna drop it.

 

yea iam about due to change my spark plugs too, i did it at 30,000 miles
when i first bought the car

now iam at 60,000 miles ....which was 'bout 4 years ago
and i changed the plugs myself.

u def. need a torque wrench tho'

 

[QUOTE=zyx345]I got a quote from the dealer for a spark plug replacement for a (99 CL 3.0 w. 65,000 miles) $240 not including the wires. [QUOTE]

FYI- OEM plugs should last 90-100k

 

FYI - OEM plugs should last 90-100k in a 3.0

 

Does it depend on how you drive?

I do 1/2 city driving & 1/2 highway. When I am doing city driving it is a constant stop & go in traffic.

 

Same for me (plus i redline it almost daily) and I didint change mine until 90k. They were still OK when they pulled them out. Can't hurt to change them now, but I dont think it's necessary unless you're having a problem

 

one dealer out here wanted to charge me $25 per spark plug, I went to the one across the street and got them for like $12

 

Spark plugs are so easy to do. I just changed mine.
I went and got 6 NGK Iridium plugs 10mm Wires a new Distributer cap and new rotor.

1. Remove wires and lable them 1 through 6 with a silver sharpie remember this

- - - - - Hood - - - - -
1 2 3
------ ------- -------
| |
------ ------- -------
4 5 6

Since you have an external coil you will get 7 wires in your plug wire kit.

2. Remove the plugs with a plug socket
3. gap new plugs with a gaper ($1.07 at AutoZone) Gap to .044
4. Put plugs into cylinder. I personally tighten to about 15 lbs
5. Remove distibuter cap. There are 2 bolts I cant rember socet size off the top of my head. completely remover all wires and ley them out on the ground by length.
6. Remove rotor with a phillips screwdriver VERY IMPORTANT Make sure you do not turn the rotor or it will throw your timing off. replace the rotor and tighten. the screw back into place.
7. Replace distributer cap.
8. lay new wires out by length and lable them as the old ones are.
9. replace coil wire. it wires to the center of the distributer cap.
10. replace wires in their proper order. (An easy way to remember order is to also take the old wires of the old distributer cap and place them on the new one in the same place and them lable the cap.
11. replace all the wires so that you feel the wire "grab" onto the plug and the rubber completly covers the cylinder. Do this to all of the cylinders.
12. make sure everything is nice and snug, replace all of the panels and make sure the wires are run like they are supposed to in the grooves Honda so nicely made for us. Make sure you leave no tools under the hood, close the hood, and start your engine, let it run for a few minutes and happpy driving =)