Changing the sparkplugs...a guide for those who need one

[FLYBYU]

So I needed to change the spark plugs on my 2003 Venture van like you may be considering. I've heard this was a big job so I phoned around to see how much it would cost. It turns out that most places were charging $250 and up for the sparkplugs and installation labour. I can't really afford that right now, so I'll show and tell you how I did it for much cheaper and it was fairly easy as well. First off I didn't go with the AC Delco plugs like the dealer has, they are pregapped and are platinum plugs, so they will last longer. Instead I bought 6 Champion plugs for $12 from Walmart. These plugs will need to be gapped, I phoned the dealer and since their plugs come pregapped they had no idea what the gaps was (seriously!), so I took a trip to the Library and checked out the 2003 Cheverolet Chilitons manual. Turns out the manual says to gap the plugs to .060, easy enough. Next I removed the front three plugs one at a time which is very easy and took around 5 minutes for all three. Now of course there is a the hard part, removing the rear three plugs. I decided to take the van to my Dad's for this as he has a ton more tools then I do. I had read that you can remove them from underneath by sticking your arm inside where the exhaust goes and removing the plugs. This didn't work, niether my Dad nor I could reach the plugs to even take the plug wires off. The other method I read about was to take the mounting brackets off the front of then engine and then take a ratchet strap and pull the engine ahead with that, this didn't work either as my van doesn't have a flex pipe in the exhaust for some reason. After we tried all this we were tired and cold and decided to call it a day and tackle it tomorrow. The next day we looked at the engine bay again and got a brain wave. If we removed the coil pack on the top back of the engine we could probably get the sparkplugs out the top of the engine. Now the coil pack is probably the hardest thing to remove, it has two bolts in the front and two nuts in the rear. The front two bolts remove with ease, the back ones were very hard to remove. I used a Stanley ratchet that my Dad has where when you twist the handle either way it ratchets that way, this worked well for removing them. After that you have to remove all the plugs that are plugged into the coil pack, this is pretty easy to do and they are hard to mix up because they are all different sizes. Then you have to remove it, there isn't much room so you have to disconnect the linkage for the windshield wipers and move that out of the way. Once the windshield wiper linkage is out the way it is simply a matter of wiggling the coil pack around a bit as you pull it out. Once it is removed there should be more then enough room to reach down and take the plug wires off, and you can now fit a 3/8" ratchet, extension and long sparkplug socket down behind the engine and actually remove the sparkplugs. Once all the sparkplugs are changed manuever the coil pack back into place and reconnect all wires and bolt it back down. Next reconnect the windshield washer linkage and then you are good to go. I made a small drawing of where all the plug wire went and then just removed them all from the coil pack and spark plugs, but you could leave them connected if you wanted. Now that I've done it, I'm confident that I could change all the plugs in under 2 hours. I hope this helps some people out. Oh and the Champion plugs now have around 3000kms on them with zero problems, and I'm getting around 5mpg better mileage.

Here are some pics of the process:

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...P2014Large.jpg

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...P2009Large.jpg

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...P2013Large.jpg

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/c...P2004Large.jpg

[roadrunner2]

Excellent 'how to' post FLYBYU.

I have a '00 Silo and know what a PITA those plugs are to get at.

Only one point I'd like to add is when installing ANY plugs (new or used) is to double check the gaps and set them to the proper specs.

Those 'pre-gapped' plugs in a package get pretty rough handling on their journey to the store and have been known to get damaged whereby the gap is 'off'.

[FLYBYU]

Yeah I forgot to mention that, I did set the gap on all the plugs to .060 before installing them. Doing the job the way I did wasn't all that hard, except for removing the coil pack, that was the most painful part I think. I thought I would put something up here since when I was researching I heard a variety of ideas, but none of the people really went into detail too much so it was hard to follow along with them.

[thesmart1]

i just changed mine 3days ago too bad i didnt find this....well i changed mine in 3 to 4hours soo...nothing else worked i took the coil off and had a easy access to the plugs have still not changed the last one yet(#1) changed the wires and plugs vans still shaky and the engine light came on..going to get the code 2morro hopefully
i used the same plug as you did....Champion

[463]

the battery should be disconected. don't forget to use some compressed air to remove the foreign materials from around the plugs (befor removeing the plugs),anti seize on the plug threads , if not they will bond to the aluminum heads and itll most likely be the last set of spark plugs you ever put in the engine, and dielectric grease on the spark plug boots. proper torque on the install of the new plugs. Torque spec is 11 ft. lbs link:http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...rk+plug+torque

[dougb2]

I like this much better than rotating engine. This is a job that I need to do as gas mileage is around 16 now.
Thanks for sharing

dougb2

[dewaynep]

By far the easiest way for me is from underneath and reaching up beside the cat-co pipe to reach the plugs. It is best to put the vehicle up on ramps as tall as you can get it and then let it cool so you don't burn your arms on the pipe. I've done plugs on several of these vans for friends and it takes about 45 minutes total start to finish. I guess what I am saying is that what's easy for one isn't necesarily easy for all. With a lift at your disposal it would take about 20 minutes to change all of the plugs by reaching underneath. I wish I charged $250 for this job, I could retir early... To each his own.

[AdVenture]

Boy this thread is getting better. I live on post at Ft. Dix and we have a self serve auto shop we use. I can rent a bay with a lift for $5 an hr. I'll see if I can use the lift method. I hope it only takes me 20 min.