Cost of a tuneup.

I am at 101,000 miles and would like to do a tuneup. How much should the parts cost for me to do it myself? Other then plugs and wires, what else will I need? Should I go with factory plugs and wires or aftermarket? I was thinking about the E3 plugs. I have a 99 Silverado 5.3 ext. cab 4x4. I need to do a tranny and coolant flush to.
Thanks,
ecnar

I think that if you do it yourself you will save your pocketbook some money, with the plugs & wires i would also change out the cap and rotor & fuel filter, the plugs & wires will cost the most. everything else should not be that much. To do plugs and wires most shop's will charge you $600 or more depending on what kind a car or truck that you drive.:cool:

Only use AC-delco tune up parts.
Parts places can give you the parts prices.
Hold on transmission flush.
A pan drop and filter change with only dexron/mercon no multi purpose fluid or dope is best.

A good tune up will run 2-3 hrs labor.
What is the shop labor rate in your area?

Plugs are kind of expensive for these, like 5-6 bucks a plug, go AC-Delco. Wires I did napa and they are good, no AA or AZ. Dexron 3 for the atf and when you drop the pan if it has a reusable gasket use it, if not go cork but not rubber. Coolant is like 12bucks a gallon now but if you have dexron you need to flush it really really good. The transfer case fluid is dealer only if it is push button and regular if not. I would throw a fuel filter, cabin filter and check the air filter.

I replaced the plugs and wires in my 2000 Tahoe this morning (5.3 motor). The best tip I picked up was the importance of using some channel lock pliers to remove the old wires - they are VERY HARD to remove (I was at 130K miles on the original plugs/wires). Don't be timid, grab those suckers on the rubber boot with the pliers and then find a leverage point to pry them off. You will be reusing the metal sleeves that cover the rubber boot, so dont' manlgle them too much.

The rear plug on the passenger side is the hardest to remove. I suggest you start with one of the easier ones to get your confidence up, then tackle that little sucker with both hands.

Oh yeah, I wish I was about 6 inches taller, as it was a bear to get over the fenders (I'm 5'9" with a 32" inseam).

The AC Delco Iridium plugs plus the "lifetime warranty" Duralast wires cost about $117 from AutoZone.