High_Order1
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- January 31, 2007
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- 2005 Jack Bauer Edition
How to change the spark plugs on an 05 V6
Tools / stuff:
Why?
Most people that are regulars on a site like this know how to do this. I am writing this guide to help people who are new to cars, or want to learn more, and are looking for a jumping off point. (Hey, I came here looking for an answer, others are googling here, too.) If you know what’s special about a plug socket, this is just going to bore you. Sorry.
Anyway, why? Spark plugs are mission critical parts of your vehicle. They are consumable products, and when they reach the end of their life, your cars’ performance and mileage will suffer. It might even start idling funny. You can keep paying someone to do this job, but honestly, you could probably do this yourself, and impress your pets and neighbors. Then, send explorerforum part of what you just saved – running this site ain’t cheap, pal!
What do they do?
Spark Plugs are devices that deflagrate the fuel charge in the piston chamber. This explosion drives the piston away from the explosion, and doing so pushes a crank, spinning it. They are precision items, designed to handle stupid amounts of heat, pressure and voltage.
How’d you do it, Shawn??
Glad you asked!! (Or else, this is a waste, huh?) First, go get your stuff. Buy your parts. Get your vehicle somewhere where you can work. Think ahead. If you mess something up, is the car going to block something until you get it straight? You gonna bake in the sun? Is it supposed to rain? Worse, did you start too late, and now it’s dark, and you can’t see crap? Is tomorrow a work / school day? You got a backup plan? (EVERY bit of this has happened to me at least twice. Learn from me)
That spare car – most projects require one extra trip to the parts store. Sucks to do it on foot. The flat spot? Everyone tries to lay tools and parts inside the engine compartment. Even surgeons do it occasionally. That’s why there are people walking around with sponges and retractors inside them. If you get yourself a table, or cart, or big box or ANYthing, you can lay everything out, all neat like. You won’t have to go hunt for stuff. Worse, you won’t have to dig through gravel or grass looking for a nut or a socket. And, you won’t drive off with a screwdriver or a socket ready to drop out of that gap between the radiator and front support and bust a hole in something.
Plugs? What to get??
Dude, there are some serious arguments over this. All I can tell you is go do some research. Me personally, I have a plain vanilla car. I have determined I don’t need a sapphire coated, octo-split tetrode aerospace – grade 6 dollar a plug plug. I just buy a brand name resistor plug, and replace them on a regular schedule. (shrugs shoulders).
Factory spec plugs – pn’s are AGSF22PM for the LH bank, and AGSF22PGM for the RH bank. (I vaguely remember there is a heat difference between the two sides, that was their vague justification, anyway.)
When you get your plugs, act like you know what you want, because if not, you might get those nine dollar plugs ‘because that’s what the factory/some NASCAR dude/professionals use’. I make them spin that monitor around, and I see what the price range is, personally.
See if you can con them into gapping your plugs for you. Don’t buy for a second that they come from the factory preset. Make them, at least, write the correct gap on the box. Different plugs may need different gaps.
If they didn’t gap them for you, you’ll need a gap tool. There are two major kinds. One looks like a half dollar. One looks like a multi-bladed knife. Splurge and get that knife-y one, it has other uses. If they need a name, you want the least expensive feeler gauge. I don’t think those round ones are very accurate, but that’s my opinion. And, you can’t use the coin ones to adjust other things.
So, now, pick the correct feeler (you may have to stack a couple. Simple math: .006 + .003 +.010 = .019) GENTLY slide this into the space between the thing that looks like a staple, and the center rod shaped thing. Look at the picture=
(PS - I shot with one hand, leaving exactly one hand to hold the rest. You should probably use one hand for the plug, and another for the gauge, but that's your business).
If you pussed out and got the coin, here’s what that looks like: ( I couldn’t find mine. Solly!)
RESIST the urge to use the feelers or the coin to make that gap wider if it needs it. You will possibly mush a groove into the tool, and it won’t measure right ever again. At the very least, its’ not good practice, and you are at the beginning of your workerman career, don’t start off with bad habits. Some tools have a doololly that clamps onto the electrode arm to bend it. I tend to use the U shaped handle of the feeler gauge. Go EASY. You can bend that piece way, way too much very easily. If it’s too wide, resist the urge to leave the measuring tool in, and beat it against a rock. You can break that center insulator, and ruin the plug. Pieces could come out in the piston chamber. YES, gap does make a real difference, and being off even a little bit does make a difference. Take your time.
Gap all six plugs. (factory spec plugs need .061 - .068 {1.57 – 1.73mm}) If you bought those Klingon technology plugs, follow their manufacturers’ guidance.
Now, I coat the plug threads with antiseize. I have heard the arguments for both ways. All I can tell you, is research it yourself. Know this: you are stuffing a metal bolt into an aluminum nut. Then, you’ll heat it up several hundred degrees and cool it off a thousand times. The downside is that maybe the plug backs out. (shrugs) up to you, pup.
All right. Now it’s time to swap. TAKE ONLY ONE OUT AT A TIME. Let me say that again: DEAL WITH ONE WIRE AND ONE PLUG AT A TIME. If you bought replacement wires too (not a bad idea), FIRST YOU DO THE PLUGS, THEN YOU DO THE WIRES. Or not. When it sounds like a washer machine when you start it, remember that I told you not to do it.
Use your stable platform to get up to where you can get to that plug. Doesn’t really matter which one you start with. (Just in from completing this job again, I highly suggest starting with the drivers’ side first. They are easy to see, and help you to ramp up your skillset. The frontmost one on the passenger side, you’ll have to do almost entirely by touch).
Drivers' Side locations:
Passenger Side locations:
What kinda shirt, pants, belt you got on there, boy? Are you fixin’ to put a good skeeerrrachh on that paint job? Worse, see that black box with the two huge cables coming off of it? Big angry electrons live in there. If you got a big bracelet, nice necklace, or (ow) touch your wrench to the red side and something metally, you are in for an AWESOME show.
So, using a twisting motion, pull the plug wire boot off. If you just yank it straight off, you could damage the internal connector – wire connection. You won’t be able to tell it by looking. But you’ll be able to hear it as the engine stumbles, and you search In vain for a month trying to figure it out.
DON’T force a plug loose. Use even pressure. Maybe a lot of pressure, but don’t jerk it. Also, when you turn the plug, turn the plug exactly perpendicular to the axis of the plug. What I am saying in Roane County words is don’t **** that wranch there, boy. You can mess up the threads in the head. You might could break the plug off. When you are putting the new plug in, you could break the top insulator off.
Put the socket on the plug, all the way to the base. Snap in an extension bar if you need it. Then snap in the socket wrench handle. Plugs unscrew to the left (CCW) if you are looking directly at the top of the plug. If you pull the wrench to the left, and all you hear is a ratcheting sound, and no resistance, the wrench is set wrong. Flip the little lever, or turn the knob on back. Things should get easier to unscrew the further the plug comes out. PAY attention to exactly how that extension is pointing out from the spark plug hole. When you are trying to put the new one in, put the extension in exactly the same angle, and it will help things.
Swap plugs. Something I do, is lay the old plugs out exactly like they were in the motor. When I look at them later, I can see whats’ going on in the engine. Oil-fouled plugs toward the back is a bad thing. Brown sooty plugs are normal now because of fuel additives.
This is what FoMoCo says about plugs in the official Service DVD:
(I know, I know. This is a big picture. The first smaller one, you couldn't read it. You may still have to just save it then zoom it using preview or something. Sorry.)
Now look at my set. What do you think??
Rinse, lather, repeat five more times. Be CAREFUL when you first start the new plug in. It should NOT be excessively hard to turn. If it is, you are probably doing it wrong. A trick I know is to turn the plug in the wrong direction. You will feel a slight ‘tic’ when you have the plug perfectly flat against the plug hole. If you try to put that plug in there ****ed, it may not go in at all. Worse, it might thread a little bit. Then, you force it, and now you have something we call ‘dicked up threads’. This can sometimes be remedied with something called a thread chaser. Sometimes you have to put something called a helicoil in. Sometimes you have to get someone to replace that head. Really. Take your time. Try doing it sober. Get something more sturdy to stand on and quit using that empty drywall mud bucket. Send mouthy, naggy backseat drivers away on an errand. All of these things help, I swear. Anyway, once snugged down, twist the plug wire back on. Done.
How tight?
Heh, that’s always a good question. Pros use something called a torque wrench. It clicks when the correct amount of tension is applied. Honestly, I can’t tell you. Its’ something you learn over time. Too little, gases will blow by and eventually shoot the plug out (one on my dodge Dakota, sounded like a pistol shot. Dinked against the sheet metal.) Too much, see the paragraph above on stripped threads.
Factory says: 13 pound - feet (17 Newton – meters)
Factory also says to apply silicone dielectric grease to the inside of the boots when putting them back on. Maybe I’ll start doing that.
Now what?
You should be done. Go look around again and make sure you didn’t accidentally knock something loose, or left something in your patient. Go start the car. Should sound fine. If not, stop immediately. Go figure out what happened.
If it did sound fine, CONGRATULATIONS! You’re done. If you bought plug wires, now you can swap them one at a time. Don’t lay them over each other. Try not to let them lay on metal surfaces, or excessively hot places like manifolds.
Here, in case you screwed the order up….
I am sure I forgot something to tell you, but honestly, this sounds pretty complete. See, its’ not so hard, now is it? If you can do this, change an air filter, and change the oil, you’ve done an entire tuneup yourself.
(Oh – the needlenose pliers. Sometimes, that socket will stick onto the plug, and you can’t get the wrench extension back on it. Use the needlenose to grab the socket and yank it back out. )
Good luck!
Tools / stuff:
- 6 plugs
- You might want some anti-seize (read the guide)
- A 5/8“ ‘plug’ deep-well socket
- A short extension
- A ½” socket drive wrench
- Doodad to measure the ‘gap’ of the plug
- Needlenose pliers
- Something stable to stand on
- Good light
- Flat space that isn’t part of your car to stage things
- Spare working vehicle
- Plenty of daylight left, or a garage
- handcleaner
- Time: maybe an hour barring any problems
- Effort: Some
- Complexity: Moderate
Why?
Most people that are regulars on a site like this know how to do this. I am writing this guide to help people who are new to cars, or want to learn more, and are looking for a jumping off point. (Hey, I came here looking for an answer, others are googling here, too.) If you know what’s special about a plug socket, this is just going to bore you. Sorry.
Anyway, why? Spark plugs are mission critical parts of your vehicle. They are consumable products, and when they reach the end of their life, your cars’ performance and mileage will suffer. It might even start idling funny. You can keep paying someone to do this job, but honestly, you could probably do this yourself, and impress your pets and neighbors. Then, send explorerforum part of what you just saved – running this site ain’t cheap, pal!
What do they do?
Spark Plugs are devices that deflagrate the fuel charge in the piston chamber. This explosion drives the piston away from the explosion, and doing so pushes a crank, spinning it. They are precision items, designed to handle stupid amounts of heat, pressure and voltage.
How’d you do it, Shawn??
Glad you asked!! (Or else, this is a waste, huh?) First, go get your stuff. Buy your parts. Get your vehicle somewhere where you can work. Think ahead. If you mess something up, is the car going to block something until you get it straight? You gonna bake in the sun? Is it supposed to rain? Worse, did you start too late, and now it’s dark, and you can’t see crap? Is tomorrow a work / school day? You got a backup plan? (EVERY bit of this has happened to me at least twice. Learn from me)
That spare car – most projects require one extra trip to the parts store. Sucks to do it on foot. The flat spot? Everyone tries to lay tools and parts inside the engine compartment. Even surgeons do it occasionally. That’s why there are people walking around with sponges and retractors inside them. If you get yourself a table, or cart, or big box or ANYthing, you can lay everything out, all neat like. You won’t have to go hunt for stuff. Worse, you won’t have to dig through gravel or grass looking for a nut or a socket. And, you won’t drive off with a screwdriver or a socket ready to drop out of that gap between the radiator and front support and bust a hole in something.
Plugs? What to get??
Dude, there are some serious arguments over this. All I can tell you is go do some research. Me personally, I have a plain vanilla car. I have determined I don’t need a sapphire coated, octo-split tetrode aerospace – grade 6 dollar a plug plug. I just buy a brand name resistor plug, and replace them on a regular schedule. (shrugs shoulders).
Factory spec plugs – pn’s are AGSF22PM for the LH bank, and AGSF22PGM for the RH bank. (I vaguely remember there is a heat difference between the two sides, that was their vague justification, anyway.)
When you get your plugs, act like you know what you want, because if not, you might get those nine dollar plugs ‘because that’s what the factory/some NASCAR dude/professionals use’. I make them spin that monitor around, and I see what the price range is, personally.
See if you can con them into gapping your plugs for you. Don’t buy for a second that they come from the factory preset. Make them, at least, write the correct gap on the box. Different plugs may need different gaps.
If they didn’t gap them for you, you’ll need a gap tool. There are two major kinds. One looks like a half dollar. One looks like a multi-bladed knife. Splurge and get that knife-y one, it has other uses. If they need a name, you want the least expensive feeler gauge. I don’t think those round ones are very accurate, but that’s my opinion. And, you can’t use the coin ones to adjust other things.
So, now, pick the correct feeler (you may have to stack a couple. Simple math: .006 + .003 +.010 = .019) GENTLY slide this into the space between the thing that looks like a staple, and the center rod shaped thing. Look at the picture=
(PS - I shot with one hand, leaving exactly one hand to hold the rest. You should probably use one hand for the plug, and another for the gauge, but that's your business).
If you pussed out and got the coin, here’s what that looks like: ( I couldn’t find mine. Solly!)
RESIST the urge to use the feelers or the coin to make that gap wider if it needs it. You will possibly mush a groove into the tool, and it won’t measure right ever again. At the very least, its’ not good practice, and you are at the beginning of your workerman career, don’t start off with bad habits. Some tools have a doololly that clamps onto the electrode arm to bend it. I tend to use the U shaped handle of the feeler gauge. Go EASY. You can bend that piece way, way too much very easily. If it’s too wide, resist the urge to leave the measuring tool in, and beat it against a rock. You can break that center insulator, and ruin the plug. Pieces could come out in the piston chamber. YES, gap does make a real difference, and being off even a little bit does make a difference. Take your time.
Gap all six plugs. (factory spec plugs need .061 - .068 {1.57 – 1.73mm}) If you bought those Klingon technology plugs, follow their manufacturers’ guidance.
Now, I coat the plug threads with antiseize. I have heard the arguments for both ways. All I can tell you, is research it yourself. Know this: you are stuffing a metal bolt into an aluminum nut. Then, you’ll heat it up several hundred degrees and cool it off a thousand times. The downside is that maybe the plug backs out. (shrugs) up to you, pup.
All right. Now it’s time to swap. TAKE ONLY ONE OUT AT A TIME. Let me say that again: DEAL WITH ONE WIRE AND ONE PLUG AT A TIME. If you bought replacement wires too (not a bad idea), FIRST YOU DO THE PLUGS, THEN YOU DO THE WIRES. Or not. When it sounds like a washer machine when you start it, remember that I told you not to do it.
Use your stable platform to get up to where you can get to that plug. Doesn’t really matter which one you start with. (Just in from completing this job again, I highly suggest starting with the drivers’ side first. They are easy to see, and help you to ramp up your skillset. The frontmost one on the passenger side, you’ll have to do almost entirely by touch).
Drivers' Side locations:
Passenger Side locations:
What kinda shirt, pants, belt you got on there, boy? Are you fixin’ to put a good skeeerrrachh on that paint job? Worse, see that black box with the two huge cables coming off of it? Big angry electrons live in there. If you got a big bracelet, nice necklace, or (ow) touch your wrench to the red side and something metally, you are in for an AWESOME show.
So, using a twisting motion, pull the plug wire boot off. If you just yank it straight off, you could damage the internal connector – wire connection. You won’t be able to tell it by looking. But you’ll be able to hear it as the engine stumbles, and you search In vain for a month trying to figure it out.
DON’T force a plug loose. Use even pressure. Maybe a lot of pressure, but don’t jerk it. Also, when you turn the plug, turn the plug exactly perpendicular to the axis of the plug. What I am saying in Roane County words is don’t **** that wranch there, boy. You can mess up the threads in the head. You might could break the plug off. When you are putting the new plug in, you could break the top insulator off.
Put the socket on the plug, all the way to the base. Snap in an extension bar if you need it. Then snap in the socket wrench handle. Plugs unscrew to the left (CCW) if you are looking directly at the top of the plug. If you pull the wrench to the left, and all you hear is a ratcheting sound, and no resistance, the wrench is set wrong. Flip the little lever, or turn the knob on back. Things should get easier to unscrew the further the plug comes out. PAY attention to exactly how that extension is pointing out from the spark plug hole. When you are trying to put the new one in, put the extension in exactly the same angle, and it will help things.
Swap plugs. Something I do, is lay the old plugs out exactly like they were in the motor. When I look at them later, I can see whats’ going on in the engine. Oil-fouled plugs toward the back is a bad thing. Brown sooty plugs are normal now because of fuel additives.
This is what FoMoCo says about plugs in the official Service DVD:
(I know, I know. This is a big picture. The first smaller one, you couldn't read it. You may still have to just save it then zoom it using preview or something. Sorry.)
Now look at my set. What do you think??
Rinse, lather, repeat five more times. Be CAREFUL when you first start the new plug in. It should NOT be excessively hard to turn. If it is, you are probably doing it wrong. A trick I know is to turn the plug in the wrong direction. You will feel a slight ‘tic’ when you have the plug perfectly flat against the plug hole. If you try to put that plug in there ****ed, it may not go in at all. Worse, it might thread a little bit. Then, you force it, and now you have something we call ‘dicked up threads’. This can sometimes be remedied with something called a thread chaser. Sometimes you have to put something called a helicoil in. Sometimes you have to get someone to replace that head. Really. Take your time. Try doing it sober. Get something more sturdy to stand on and quit using that empty drywall mud bucket. Send mouthy, naggy backseat drivers away on an errand. All of these things help, I swear. Anyway, once snugged down, twist the plug wire back on. Done.
How tight?
Heh, that’s always a good question. Pros use something called a torque wrench. It clicks when the correct amount of tension is applied. Honestly, I can’t tell you. Its’ something you learn over time. Too little, gases will blow by and eventually shoot the plug out (one on my dodge Dakota, sounded like a pistol shot. Dinked against the sheet metal.) Too much, see the paragraph above on stripped threads.
Factory says: 13 pound - feet (17 Newton – meters)
Factory also says to apply silicone dielectric grease to the inside of the boots when putting them back on. Maybe I’ll start doing that.
Now what?
You should be done. Go look around again and make sure you didn’t accidentally knock something loose, or left something in your patient. Go start the car. Should sound fine. If not, stop immediately. Go figure out what happened.
If it did sound fine, CONGRATULATIONS! You’re done. If you bought plug wires, now you can swap them one at a time. Don’t lay them over each other. Try not to let them lay on metal surfaces, or excessively hot places like manifolds.
Here, in case you screwed the order up….
I am sure I forgot something to tell you, but honestly, this sounds pretty complete. See, its’ not so hard, now is it? If you can do this, change an air filter, and change the oil, you’ve done an entire tuneup yourself.
(Oh – the needlenose pliers. Sometimes, that socket will stick onto the plug, and you can’t get the wrench extension back on it. Use the needlenose to grab the socket and yank it back out. )
Good luck!
