Rear Sparkplugs 3.3 Liter V6

[backyardmech]

Would someone be so kind as to tell me how to change the rear 3 spark plugs on my 3.3L V6 1991 Dodge Caravan. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much in advance.

[IntrepidLHSGC]

You may have to remove your washer assembly, and the rain catcher at the bottom of your window. besides removing the engine thats about all you can do to make it easier on you... still gonna have to do some snaking with the old arm..

[Norm Petersen]

Probably too late on this subject, but have you tried buying one of those

3/8" inch or 1/2" inch Flexible extensions about 8-12" inches

long or longer. They are Awesome for hard to get at places, like them

spark-plugs !!! :flash:




-

[yale329]

***Note to -Proticus***
Not that difficult. Drive your van up on some ramps.
Put your emergency Brake on,***"after you have the van on the ramps"***, and wheels blocked, crawl all the way to the back of the front cross-member. You should be able to reach your arm up there quite eazily. Good luck P.S- Best let the engine cool down.

[AirScrew]

Although this is a pretty old thread, I'll throw my 2 cents in here.

I know of two ways to change the rear spark plugs,...
Hayes or Chilton manual says remove the Altenator to get to left side rear and the air intake on right side to get to the right sparkplug and from underneath to get the one in the middle.

My way, remove the Wiper tray and windshield wipers, remove the intake assembly, (make sure you have a new gasket for the intake manifold) remove the throttle body and disconnect all electrical and vacuum lines. Its a piece of cake, took about 4 hours to change my sparkplugs...

If ya do it my way, get the book, there are torque specs for the intake, plus the book is real handy before you start unplugging anything.

[yale329]

Forget your last comment or you will have removed your whole engine. Good luck

[colortech]

I own a 94 GC and to change the rear plugs, I put 3 plugs in my right hand, ratchet, extension & socket in the left and get a running start. If you hit it hard enough you can just reach all three.... the numbness will fade in 3 to 4 days and in 2 - 3 weeks the gashes should heal.
Seriously, be creative, it took me about an hour of looking, figuring and removing and replcing parts to get the least invasive way to reach the rear plugs. It's still not easy, but as I said before the numbness will fade in 3 to 4 days.
This thread is so old I know no one will read this anyway.

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by colortech

I own a 94 GC and to change the rear plugs, I put 3 plugs in my right hand, ratchet, extension & socket in the left and get a running start. If you hit it hard enough you can just reach all three.... the numbness will fade in 3 to 4 days and in 2 - 3 weeks the gashes should heal.
Seriously, be creative, it took me about an hour of looking, figuring and removing and replcing parts to get the least invasive way to reach the rear plugs. It's still not easy, but as I said before the numbness will fade in 3 to 4 days.
This thread is so old I know no one will read this anyway.

Not so. Came to the same issue today! Made 2 of 3 from underneath on jackstands, came to the conclusion the alternator or the intake manifold had to go - or remove the wiper and cowl assembly.

WHAT a PITA!!!

[dno36]

Old thread, but here goes again...
On the 91-95's you do not need to remove the wiper cowl.
Just take out the front motor mount bolt while supporting the engine with a jack.
The engine will rotate forward when you let the jack down, exposing the rear plugs for removal from above. No jackstands, and you can get better torque on the rusted plugs from above. Quicker, better, safer.

I've had 5 of these vans with 3.3L's. Still have 2.

GL to all,

DNO.

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by dno36

Old thread, but here goes again...
On the 91-95's you do not need to remove the wiper cowl.
Just take out the front motor mount bolt while supporting the engine with a jack.
The engine will rotate forward when you let the jack down, exposing the rear plugs for removal from above. No jackstands, and you can get better torque on the rusted plugs from above. Quicker, better, safer.

I've had 5 of these vans with 3.3L's. Still have 2.

GL to all,

DNO.

For the 1999, I just ended up taking the tension off the serpentine belt using a narrow bicycle pedal wrench (fits, is not expensive, the Park Tools version as a nice handle and a 90 degree offset for the slot).

Removed the bracket anchoring the alternator to the engine, loosened the lower bolt, tilted it out of the way toward the firewall. Great access to #1, the biggest PITA I had to deal with. I could have also done #3 and maybe #5 from there. I believe the fronts are #'s 2,4,6 - all easy.

No access from underneath would have been required had I taken the above approach from the start.

Also noticed the Chilton and Haynes manuals differ on their approach. In this case the Haynes Manual for 1996 through 2002 Caravan/Voyager gave a better approach.

I work more often on DOHC 4 and 6 cyl engines, I was impressed by the intense heat these plugs appear to be subjected to. The holes also catch a lot of debris and must be cleaned out unless you don't care if sand falls into the combustion chamber when you pull the plug.

Lots of rust on the OEM Double Platinum Champions. By comparison, I have a 2.4L Nissan with 10 years of mostly Winter use - the plug boots seal the recessed area, the plugs look like nearly new after 7 years (Bosch Quad-Plats).

When I looked under the hood of the 2004 Caravan recently, it looked like pretty much the same iron block SOHC 6 with no significant improvements other than possibly EM advances.

No wonder Honda, Toyota, and others are eating into the Caravan Market share - Dodge just leaves the important mechanicals the same for too long, they are in general only average quality parts, and you end up spending more for repair work than I think is reasonable. Examples on an until recently fully serviced car by the dealer with 3000 mile oil changes, all recommended service:

- frozen serpentine belt tensioner, should have been replaced but they just got it loose and lubed it, charged 2X labor because someone else then replaced the belt (different guy), double charged for belt labor -
- broken studs on the front rotor/hubs - cheap metal, rusts easily, they break and the dealer charges parts and labor to replace - even though they are the only ones taking tires on and off the car.
- cracked an worn front stabilizer bar front bushings, allows so much slop it clunks when the struts move - this given the car gets regular "safety checks" (obviously not ones that involve driving!).

Until recently I never drove the car (wife's) until she mentioned some problems. With only 60k on a 1999, I see way too much in the way of cost-cutting now transferred to picking the consumer's pocket for service cost.

Now it's one of the million or so that needs to have the Air Bag issue recall dealt with - pathetic. I like Dodge, have a RAM Hemi '04, but I don't think the Minivan will make my short list when time comes to retire the current one. It has barely changed, price has risen >$5000, other than some neat interior tricks, no real improvements in driveability, handling, or reduced cost of ownership.

[porcelien]

when you change the plugs using this method, do you have to unhook the exhaust and air intake?

[porcelien]

not sure if I was clear when you use the removeing front motor mount method, do you have to unhook the exhaust system, and the air intake system?

[SteveZ]

Originally Posted by porcelien

when you change the plugs using this method, do you have to unhook the exhaust and air intake?

No I just missed this the first time.

Yes on Airbox (air filter box) but not air intake (did not remove the plenum or cast intake). Not needed. Nor did I remove any body work or anything around the wipers. On the 1999 the removal of the air intake to me is just overkill and you would then have a lot more to be careful with, working with a cast Al piece that certainly could crack easily from overtightening, or require careful attention to even torque across all its bolts, etc. Another PITA I did not need!

No I did not remove the exhaust, I was mostly coming in from above and if I recall the exhaust was not an issue coming in from below, it was something else in the way...coming up from below was not happening.

#1 is the dog, just push the alternator out of the way and unbolt its bracket. I did use multiple flexible extensions (short flex + med extension + short flex on the socket). Much of the problem here would have been much easier had the plugs not been so stubborn to get out due to corrosion and heat. No one used any anti-seize on the set put in OEM.

I took photos of intermediate steps just in case I ever had to do this again, not sure where they are at the moment (digital).

Steve

[SteveZ]

oh, and add a new gasket, too if you went that route - not my choice, did not do it.

[porcelien]

Thanks so much!!!!!