Sup all......... I'm gonna do a tune up on my 97 ZA4 and all I've heard is that its a bitch to change the plugs. How hard is it and what problems will I have? And while I'm at it, what else should I change?

Thanks guys SJS


97Z A4, K&N cold air, March Pulleys, MAF, air foil, Eibach Pro Kit, TB bypass, 160 stat, Flow master Catbacks.

 

i just switched my plugs last night.

took about 30 mins to do the driver side.

2-3 hours to do the passenger.

it took me like 30 mins to do the first 2, and damn the last 2 are really hard.

i have several cuts and scratchs on my arms sucks, not only that...seems the car still runs like crap. so i did that for nothing!

 

I have Muscular Dystrophy, and a pacemaker and I did most of mine on my own.

My arms don't straighten out all the way so I have to go at things a little differently than most people, but I managed to get the front three plugs on the driver's side from the top, and the back one from the bottom.

The wires gave me more trouble than anything because I worked the Taylors into the stock looms.

The passenger side, I got the middle two from the top.

Then someone else came over to help and he did the last two. I think he did the back passenger plug from the bottom with the starter moved.

I did the wire routing on the passenger side and it was a pain as well, because of the power steering pump. But if you take your time, you'll get it.

 

yes it is a major pain in the **** the first time. The wires suck too. There are plenty of good writeups though if you search for it. Dealer charges for this are outrageous so you can save yourself some buck if you have the time and patience.

 

Double check after you do them that the wries are on the rite place on the Opti, i donno how many ppl have posted on this board that jsut did plugs n wires and cant figure out why their car is running like *** and all because they didnt plug em into the opti rite lol

 

My MSD wires came with little white plastic pieces that have the spark plug number on them. It makes it much easier this way.

My spark plugs take about 1/2 hour to replace them all now. But, the reason for shorter amount of time, BMR k-member, Hooker LT's, no AC, and no air pump. It is actually getting easier to work on my car, or I might just be getting better at it.

 

thats exactly how I feel

 

It does get easier the more you work on the car.
Funny thing is, most cars you mod em up and they get harder to work on. 4th gens if you pick the right aftermarket parts it actually gets easier to work on. Take out useless crap like AC and AIR and you really get some room. Dare I say it is almost enjoyable to work on my car now.
FYI, the very first time I did plugs on my Z it took me 2 days.

 

The worst part is when you're in an auto hobby shop and everyone's wondering why it takes you 2-3 hours to do plugs. I just want to slap them and ask if they want to do it. PITA, but definitely worth it. Its all about maintenance.

 

Well if you ever tried to change an alternator on an early Saturn, our plugs seem like a gift sent from heaven...or at least something the devil himself spent only 6.5 hours designing.

 

Worst car to work on is a Cutlass Supreme with the 3.4 in it... Theyre incredibly cramped, nearly impossible to get to anything at under the hood with out a **** load of work ... and to top it off they about as reliable as a Yugo ... My friend has one and a few tiems **** would go bad on it that we had to try and fix ... its a nightmare , or at least to me it seems far worse then my LT1 ...

 

Its not impossible, or even hard after you do it enough. My first time or two took me about 4 hrs because I didnt know which extensions to use wehre and so on. After a year of detonation problems and changing my plugs 8times....I can now do the whole thing in about 1hr-1:15 every time. I get all the first 3 drivers side from the top, the last one from the bottom of the car(15-20min). Passanger side(45min), i get them allout from the top. Have to have fairly small arms to cram your arm between the stock manifold(if you have headers could be better or worse), oil stick and body of car..but its possible. Also, for the number 2 plug...just remove the alternator, it only takes a min or two and gives you more room to move your arm and wrech around, however, there is still tubing in the way. Youll need to find the perfect size/combination of socket/wrench to get it. After a few times...youll be able to do it in no time. They key to doing it really fast is remembering which tool/socket setup to use on which plug. My first few times...i spent hours trying to figure out which ones too use. Also, a little stubby wrench helps a lot for some of the the passanger side ones. One more thing...ive found that for some of the ones on the passanger side...its easier to almost lay on the engine and use your left hand(even if its your weak one). It give me much better angle to get some of them out/in then standing and working from the side. Like mentioned above, youll have tons of little scratchs/brush burns on your amrs when your done. Have fun, lol...Good luck.

 

30 mins.. Man I love the aftermarket K member.
STEW

 

Rub it in!