changing spark plugs

[fadedSTi]

how easy is it to change the spark plugs on the STi? i want to change mine out. anyone done theirs that can give me any hints to doing it? im not even sure where they are at. thanks for any help :)

[Frankie Figs]

I havent done it yet but it looks like fun!!

[fadedSTi]

I havent done it yet but it looks like fun!!

lol, i cant even find them

[scoobywrx]

There is really no need to change them the stock ones are good to about 60000 miles.

[fadedSTi]

There is really no need to change them the stock ones are good to about 60000 miles.


i want to change mine due to i had a boost leak so i know i was running very rich. i want to make sure i didnt ruin any, just to be safe.

[Frankie Figs]

Yea what he said :) The only reason I see to change them is if you plan on running 20+ PSI or if you've been running REALLY rich and may have fouled 1 or 2 or 4 ;)

[fadedSTi]

Yea what he said :) The only reason I see to change them is if you plan on running 20+ PSI or if you've been running REALLY rich and may have fouled 1 or 2 or 4 ;)


well i meet both then. sorry, only 19psi. but i did have a bad leak and made a few passes at the track so im going to change mine out to be safe. found the NGKs i need for $8.50 a plug. not too bad. now whos down to show me wheres these plugs are at? :lol:

[Frankie Figs]

I know where they are on the motor but I've never tried to look for them with the motor in the car. If I become unlazy and think about it I MIGHT go outside and check it out :)

[fadedSTi]

I know where they are on the motor but I've never tried to look for them with the motor in the car. If I become unlazy and think about it I MIGHT go outside and check it out :)


let me know what you find. from what i understand you have to remove the battery, intake, and washer fluid reservior

[JonLGT]

i know how to get to the 2 on the passenger side... the drivers side i didnt even look at.

[fadedSTi]

i know how to get to the 2 on the passenger side... the drivers side i didnt even look at.


hook me up with some advice jon

[JonLGT]

take out your airbox, or in your case intake and look on the side of the engine. there are 2 coil packs, take them out and take the plugs out and replace them. Good luck with the drivers side.

[FlatFour]

I had always believed you were supposed to go one step colder for around ever 100hp over stock.... is this not true? Good luck with the drivers side i could never see them bastards.

[fadedSTi]

I had always believed you were supposed to go one step colder for around ever 100hp over stock.... is this not true? Good luck with the drivers side i could never see them bastards.

you are correct, im not going with a colder plug. just need new ones

[davcivic]

I just did mine with my install, they are a PITA like everything else in the car.

Locate you valve covers in your engine, the top cover on the sides of the engine. Running thru the middle of the 2 cams you will see 2 black boxes, these are your coil pack, there is a 12mm bolt holding these in place. Take them out, thenm use a screw driver to pop them out. Get a spark plug socket and go at it. You can use a short extension for your rachet wrench and take them out.

The passenger side has more room to work on than the drivers side. I actually had to push the engine to the passenger side to move it a little to be able to take the coil packs of the drivers side. Not too difficult but you do have to take a few things appart to get to them.

I went with NGK one step colder and got them from Racing zone in Orlando for $19 with tax for the set, so they were like 3.50 each or something like that.

[fadedSTi]

I just did mine with my install, they are a PITA like everything else in the car.

Locate you valve covers in your engine, the top cover on the sides of the engine. Running thru the middle of the 2 cams you will see 2 black boxes, these are your coil pack, there is a 12mm bolt holding these in place. Take them out, thenm use a screw driver to pop them out. Get a spark plug socket and go at it. You can use a short extension for your rachet wrench and take them out.

The passenger side has more room to work on than the drivers side. I actually had to push the engine to the passenger side to move it a little to be able to take the coil packs of the drivers side. Not too difficult but you do have to take a few things appart to get to them.

I went with NGK one step colder and got them from Racing zone in Orlando for $19 with tax for the set, so they were like 3.50 each or something like that.


what are the NGK plug numbers you got?

[davcivic]

I will have to check when I get home, because I cannot remember right now, but I think it was the same as stock but instead of a 6 they had a 7 in there.

[fadedSTi]

I will have to check when I get home, because I cannot remember right now, but I think it was the same as stock but instead of a 6 they had a 7 in there.


sounds like you went with a colder plug

[davcivic]

I went with NGK one step colder and got them from Racing zone in Orlando for $19 with tax for the set, so they were like 3.50 each or something like that.

Yes it is, the car dynoed at 272whp on CFT's Mustang dyno this saturday, I guess around 300whp on a dynojet. I was running still the factory plugs, when I took them out, I pretty much didn't have anything left, 62000+ miles

[fadedSTi]

Yes it is, the car dynoed at 272whp on CFT's Mustang dyno this saturday, I guess around 300whp on a dynojet. I was running still the factory plugs, when I took them out, I pretty much didn't have anything left, 62000+ miles

nice #s man. i know the stock plugs will last awhile but when you run that car at the track with a bad boost leak running pig rich.

[davcivic]

I knew I needed new plugs, so I went ahead and did them while the car was taken apart for the turbo install. I mean you know the little, damn I forgot the name, the little point on the spark plug, was almost all gone, and the gap was like .60mm or so, with boosting more I knew I needed to change them.

I'll post some pictures of my install and dyno day when I get home.

[fadedSTi]

I knew I needed new plugs, so I went ahead and did them while the car was taken apart for the turbo install. I mean you know the little, damn I forgot the name, the little point on the spark plug, was almost all gone, and the gap was like .60mm or so, with boosting more I knew I needed to change them.

I'll post some pictures of my install and dyno day when I get home.

looking forward to seeing the pics man

[lstepnio]

I think I found some really detailed instruction with pictures on scoobymods.com

[fadedSTi]

I think I found some really detailed instruction with pictures on scoobymods.com


ill check it out, thanks man :)

[lstepnio]

ill check it out, thanks man :)

I was mistaken, I got the instructions for plug removal from the original Vishnu Stage 0 installation document.

http://www.vishnutuning.com/files/StageZero_Installation_v1.1.zip
PART ONE: SPARK PLUGS

We'll need to remove a few parts from the car in order to get access to the spark plugs. Now that that 10mm open-ended wrench and remove that battery. Be careful when loosening the positive (+) terminal from the battery. If your wrench gets grounded (touches anything metal), you will shock yourself and possibly blow a fuse. So be careful! Next, loosen the 10mm nuts that hold the battery in place. Once the tie down rods are loose, they can be removed from the car. Now, pull the battery and battery tray from the car and place it on the ground. Be careful not to scratch up your car while pulling it out of the engine bay.

Now take that 10mm socket wrench and remove the windshield washer bottle (two 10mm bolts). You'll also have to unclip one (or two if you have a wagon with a rear wiper) electrical connectors that power the washer fluid pumps. You'll also have to yank off the rubber lines from the pump nipples. It is likely that washer fluid will squirt out during this step. If it does, don't worry about it as washer fluid isn't corrosive, harmful to paint, or particularly smelly.

With the left (driver's) side of the engine bay now cleared up, we'll now focus our attention to the right side. With your screw driver, loosen the clamp that holds the soft intake tube to the plastic tube that sits under the intake manifold. Next, unlatch the two fasteners that keeps the top of the intake box attached to the bottom portion. Once unsecured, pull the top of the intake box off the car. intake tube will come with it. Now removed the intake filter which is now completely exposed. The With that all out of the way, unbolt the two 12mm bolts that secure the bottom of the intake box to the frame of the car. Once loose, remove the bottom of the box from the car. You will have to pry the box from the short tube that extends out of the fender.

Next, we need to remove each one (of the four) of the coils that is bolted on to the top of the valve covers. There are two coils on each side. To remove them, loosen the 12mm bolt that secures each of them to the valve cover. The bolt does not need to be completely removed from the coil to do this. Once loose enough, pull the coils from the valve cover and tuck them out of the way. You can leave the electical connectors clipped to the coils if you'd like. If not, remember which connector goes to which coil (the white one goes towards the front of the car). Not that there is a bracket that holds the o2 sensor wire to the #3 coil (passenger side rear) which can be removed when the bolt is loosened. With all the coils removed from the valve cover, you can now remove the spark plugs. Depending on what kind of socket wrench and extension sets you have, this can be super easy or slightly irritating. Before installing the new plugs (included with the Stage Zero kit), make sure to gap them to 0.028 inches. Too much bigger and you will get misfire. To much smaller and idle quality will suffer. Also, be careful not to over-torque the spark plugs when screwing them in. A good rule of thumb is finger tight plus one-half turn from the socket wrench. Too tight and you'll make life really difficult for yourself. Now, reverse the steps and re-install the coils (and o2 sensor bracket). Leave the battery, washer bottle, and intake assembly off the car for the time being.
PART ONE: SPARK PLUGS

We'll need to remove a few parts from the car in order to get access to the spark plugs. Now that that 10mm open-ended wrench and remove that battery. Be careful when loosening the positive (+) terminal from the battery. If your wrench gets grounded (touches anything metal), you will shock yourself and possibly blow a fuse. So be careful! Next, loosen the 10mm nuts that hold the battery in place. Once the tie down rods are loose, they can be removed from the car. Now, pull the battery and battery tray from the car and place it on the ground. Be careful not to scratch up your car while pulling it out of the engine bay.

Now take that 10mm socket wrench and remove the windshield washer bottle (two 10mm bolts). You'll also have to unclip one (or two if you have a wagon with a rear wiper) electrical connectors that power the washer fluid pumps. You'll also have to yank off the rubber lines from the pump nipples. It is likely that washer fluid will squirt out during this step. If it does, don't worry about it as washer fluid isn't corrosive, harmful to paint, or particularly smelly.

With the left (driver's) side of the engine bay now cleared up, we'll now focus our attention to the right side. With your screw driver, loosen the clamp that holds the soft intake tube to the plastic tube that sits under the intake manifold. Next, unlatch the two fasteners that keeps the top of the intake box attached to the bottom portion. Once unsecured, pull the top of the intake box off the car. intake tube will come with it. Now removed the intake filter which is now completely exposed. The With that all out of the way, unbolt the two 12mm bolts that secure the bottom of the intake box to the frame of the car. Once loose, remove the bottom of the box from the car. You will have to pry the box from the short tube that extends out of the fender.

Next, we need to remove each one (of the four) of the coils that is bolted on to the top of the valve covers. There are two coils on each side. To remove them, loosen the 12mm bolt that secures each of them to the valve cover. The bolt does not need to be completely removed from the coil to do this. Once loose enough, pull the coils from the valve cover and tuck them out of the way. You can leave the electical connectors clipped to the coils if you'd like. If not, remember which connector goes to which coil (the white one goes towards the front of the car). Not that there is a bracket that holds the o2 sensor wire to the #3 coil (passenger side rear) which can be removed when the bolt is loosened. With all the coils removed from the valve cover, you can now remove the spark plugs. Depending on what kind of socket wrench and extension sets you have, this can be super easy or slightly irritating. Before installing the new plugs (included with the Stage Zero kit), make sure to gap them to 0.028 inches. Too much bigger and you will get misfire. To much smaller and idle quality will suffer. Also, be careful not to over-torque the spark plugs when screwing them in. A good rule of thumb is finger tight plus one-half turn from the socket wrench. Too tight and you'll make life really difficult for yourself. Now, reverse the steps and re-install the coils (and o2 sensor bracket). Leave the battery, washer bottle, and intake assembly off the car for the time being.

There aren't any pictures in the above document but there are other versions of the kit/instructions which may or may not include pictures if you need them. I did notice that colder plugs don't seem to be part of any of the current power packages. http://www.vishnutuning.com/files/

[fadedSTi]

I was mistaken, I got the instructions for plug removal from the original Vishnu Stage 0 installation document.

http://www.vishnutuning.com/files/StageZero_Installation_v1.1.zip


There aren't any pictures in the above document but there are other versions of the kit/instructions which may or may not include pictures if you need them. I did notice that colder plugs don't seem to be part of any of the current power packages. http://www.vishnutuning.com/files/

thanks for the info. i dont plan on going with a colder plug.

[Frankie Figs]

did you do them yet?

[Billy]

It's not really that bad, but plan on spending some more time then normal the first time around. From what I've seen, everything you need to know has been posted here.

One thing that can make your life alot easier if you don't have a socket wrench with a swivel head (or even if you do). I was able to use a 19mm socket on the end of my spark plug socket. That made it alot easier for me to get my hands in there when I needed to and not have to worry about trying to get an extension in and out of there.

[fadedSTi]

It's not really that bad, but plan on spending some more time then normal the first time around. From what I've seen, everything you need to know has been posted here.

One thing that can make your life alot easier if you don't have a socket wrench with a swivel head (or even if you do). I was able to use a 19mm socket on the end of my spark plug socket. That made it alot easier for me to get my hands in there when I needed to and not have to worry about trying to get an extension in and out of there.


thanks for the heads up. got the swivel socket. cant change the plugs now due to my left hand has 7 stitches in it. gonna have to wait a couple weeks or pay to have it done

[Frankie Figs]

omfg :whoa: what did you do to your hand?

[fadedSTi]

omfg :whoa: what did you do to your hand?

doing some work around the house and was loading a new blade into a box cutter. blade slipped off cut completly across my left index finder. cut all the way to the bone and snipped a tendon. i have very limited movement in the finger now. i need surgery to get the tendon repaired. not sure when ill be wrenching on the suby myself again.

[lstepnio]

doing some work around the house and was loading a new blade into a box cutter. blade slipped off cut completly across my left index finder. cut all the way to the bone and snipped a tendon. i have very limited movement in the finger now. i need surgery to get the tendon repaired. not sure when ill be wrenching on the suby myself again.

:thumbdwn:

[fadedSTi]

:thumbdwn:


i agree

[FlatFour]

ouch, best wishes on the recovery/surgery.

[fadedSTi]

ouch, best wishes on the recovery/surgery.

thank you sir :)