Spark plug removal replacement tips.

[speleopower]

I'm about to replace the spark plugs, wires and coil pack on my '97 3.0L van.
The last time it needed plugs I was recovering from heart surgery and did not want to do any auto mechanics so I took it to a shop. It's been awhile and the van is showing all the signs of needing new ignition parts again.

I see how to get the forward 2 plugs on the drivers side and passenger side though the wheel well area. However, the driver side plug especially I don't see how to get at it. I had my neighbors little kid get on the floorboard under the dash and try to reach it with his small hands. He could barely touch the spark plug.

Can someone tell me what they have used to get the rear plugs replaced. I bought a stubby ratchet wrench to put on the spark plug socket but was wondering if there was a step by step guide published yet?

Thanks-Scott

 

[BrooklynBay]

You wouldn't be able to get enough power to remove the plugs with a stubby wrench. Use a 3/8" or preferably a 1/2" ratchet or breaker bar with a short extension (a wobble extension might be better for some plugs). You could get to all 3 driver's side plugs from under the hood. The rear one is hard to reach, but possible. The small opening inside of the vehicle doesn't let you swing the wrench too much. The passenger's side plugs have to be removed through the wheel base.

 

[speleopower]

I did pick up a 3/4" swivel socket that will go onto the top of my spark plug socket.

Wow really you can get to the rear most drivers side plug from the hood! I'll have to stare at it a bit more and see if I can get it figured out.

Thanks-Scott

 

[BrooklynBay]

3/4? Did you mean 3/8"?

 

[speleopower]

3/4" socket to fit over top of the spark plug socket which is sized for a 3/4" wrench. There is also a hole on top of the spark plug socket for a 3/8" driver as well.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I was thinking of a 3/8" drive. When I saw that you wrote 3/4", I thought that you were referring to the drive size, so I was confused. I think that it's a 5/8" deep socket.

 

[speleopower]

Well I gave up on replacing the plugs. OMG what a pain. I did check a couple of them and they look good.
I did replace the wires and coil pack. The car drives fine and runs quite well now.

I did have an issue when I was connecting the coil pack plug back in. I tried to start the car after changing everything and nothing happened.
The car turned over but there was no spark and the car wouldn't start. I then checked for power on the power plug to the coil pack and found the female portion of the plug was out of place. After fixing the plug everything now works perfect and the van runs great.

In the meantime I did find the EGR hoses that were bad and where giving an error code.

-Scott

 

[BrooklynBay]

Thanks for the update!

 

[speleopower]

Another couple tips for 3.0 Liter engine spark plug replacement is to open the engine cover inside the van and put some sort of light shining into the engine compartment.

Also, disconnect the throttle/cruise control cable and remove the bracket. Doing this creates quite a bit of reaching room and allows you to see all three spark plugs on the drivers side. The rear one is still a huge pain to reach but it can be done.

Once the throttle cable and bracket is removed you can see the EGR rubber hoses. Both of these were burned through on my van giving me the DPFE upstream hose error code. Without

Since my plugs looked ok I decieded not to change them out

My biggest tip for spark plugs, wires and coils on this van is to get someone with thin arms to help out. Or grab the neighbor kid to help. My forearms are pretty thick and they are now very bruised from reaching over top of the engine!!!

-Scott