Spark plug replacement - tools needed

Thanks.

 

Your right, it says, "trivalent metal plating provides superior anti corrosion & anti seizing properties". In short, I don't need to put anti seize on it. Thank you 2009Prius.

 

Told ya.

DROID RAZR ? 4 Beta

 

I just did it this morning. These are my spark plugs after 136,000 miles.

 

Wow, it's amazing how little wear the electrodes on those iridium plugs show after all those miles. I've got my new plugs here ready to go in next time I give it a service, just gotta wait for a nice warm day to do it.

BTW. I'm impressed that you got them changed out without breaking a nail.

 

Thanks to all who posted pics and advise. Waited a little longer than most. Just changed mine on the '08, at 222,800 miles. Plugs looked pretty worn. Test run was a success, now for another 70,000 then I'll do it again.

 

I'd love to see a picture of those "pretty worn" plugs.

 

Just changed one of mine, '05 with 68k on it. I removed the wiper cowling and pan, changed the PCV valve, cleaned the wiper drain pan (good thing, as the two drains in the bottom were totally plugged), and inspected the plugs and ignitors. The '05 has the defect TSB where the wiper cowling leaks onto the engine. The rightmost plug was all rusty so I replaced it. The other ones seemed fine.

Bad plug vs good plug

The bad plug once removed:


I suggest that if you see the plugs are rusty, try to get the debris out before removing the plug. I vacuumed before removing the plug, but a lot more rust was broken free when I removed the plug and fell into the cylinder. I think it would be better to loosen the plug a few turns, vacuum around it, and then remove it the rest of the way.

I think I got most of the debris out of the cylinder by taping a small rare-earth magnet to the end of a long 1/4" socket extension that would fit down through the hole into the cylinder.


If your spark plug socket has a rubber ring to hold the plug in place, make sure it's still in the socket when you're done and not still on the plug.

 

I'd never advise putting something into a cylinder to get out some rust or debris unless absolutely necessary but instead would suggest getting some clear tubing that fit into the spark plug hole with room to move it around and tape that to a vacuum, the difference in aperture size from the vacuum to the tubing (it would need be tough enough not to collapse from the vacuum suction, got some in my garage) the difference to create quite a suction and should be able to suck out the smaller pieces and be able to lift out any large ones. What if that magnetic came off and stuck to the cylinder wall or piston? Head job?

 

I tested it first by sticking it some pieces of iron and seeing if the magnet will rip through the tape. It was clear that it wasn't going to come off. I'm not sure if the vacuum would work all that well. The locations of oil spots on the garage floor are easy to see after I vacuum up sawdust, as the sawdust doesn't get picked up at all where the spot is.

 

Northcoaster, how'd you take those pictures of the spark plug wells?

 

Thanks for sharing! This post along with others on the same topic helped a lot!

 

I appreciate this is 3~4 year old posting, but just a tip:

I had debris in a spark plug well, and what I did was hacksaw just the thread portion off an old plug, and jam/glue a wooden dowel on the end. Then reach that down, screw it in a few turns, then you can freely blow air in there without fear of getting debris into the cylinders. Much narrower than a whole spark plug, it allows you to get the air in and debris out without restriction.

 

Or, use a vacuum to suck out any dirt?

 

Doing mine soon, you guys think replacing one plug a time will work with the wiring scheme? Or take all out first and replace them all together?

 

+1 on the swivel magnetic socket - I purchased the GearWrench equivalent (same price) and it made the job MUCH easier. Thanks for the tip!