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 If your late model Pajero, Challenger or Magna is due for it’s 100 or 200,000km service it is possible to save yourself quite a bit of dough by replacing the spark plugs yourself. It is a reasonably straight forward job to do and can be done with a basic spanner, screwdriver and socket set. Allow yourself plenty of time though, quite a few hours will be needed to finish the job.

 There are a few precautions that you need to be aware of, nothing too drastic just little things that will make the job easier for you and they are outlined below. I had actually got halfway through this job before growing a brain and realising that this information might be useful to our readers so I’m all the steps in reverse so please don’t shoot me if there is anything I have left out! I will try my best to cover everything.

 OK, dust off the tools and let’s get down to it.

Important Notes to Remember.

1.  Allways replace the spark plugs with Platinum or Iridium plugs. Yeah they cost a bit more but you do not want to be doing this job every 20,000km or so. Your parts supplier should be able to set you up with the right plugs.
2. The spark plug leads will be quite difficult to remove. Try twisting the leads first, a little each way until they come loose and then pull them out.
3. A smear of anti-sieze compound or even a smear of engine oil on the spark plug threads will prevent the new plugs from binding up in the alloy heads and make removal easier next time.
4. When you remove a component sit the bolts back into the holes where they came from. Because we are dealing with a lot of bolts this will make the re-assembly so much easier. No more trying to guess which bolt went where!
5. A foot-long length of hose that fits over the porcelain section of the spark plug is useful for extracting the plugs once you have them loose.
6. If you find it necessary to remove any of the leads from the coils be sure to mark them clearly, both on the lead and it’s coil. You don’t want to find out later that you don’t know which lead goes to which coil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first step is to remove the air intake. Release the four clips around the air filter housing, release the throttle cable from the intake, remove the electrical connector from the air flow meter, remove the PCV hose from the intake and undo the clamp around the throttle body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to remove the throttle body. Number and remove the three vacuum hoses on the top of the tb, remove the 10mm bolt holding the throttle cable and earth strap, loosen the two 12mm nuts holding the throttle cable to it’s mount and remove the cable from the tb, remove the electrical connector from the air bypass at the bottom of the tb, and then remove the four 12mm bolts holding the tb to the intake manifold. Take a note of which way the gasket sits between the two and do not remove the two coollant hoses from the bottom of the throttle body, there is enough slack in them to simply move the tb to the side out of the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now to remove the wiring harness that comes across the manifold. This is self explanatory, if it’s plugged in and in the way - unplug it! Once you have all connections and harness mounts undone move the harness out of the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Remove the four 12mm bolts holding the bracket in place and remove the plug leads from their holder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove the fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose and remove the 10mm bolt holding the electrical connection and harness bracket - this allows access to the first plug lead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remove the 10mm bolt holding the two connectors to the intake manifold. One thing to rememer here is that when re-assembling, the wires for these two connectors go under the black bracket in the second picture up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time to remove the three coils. My advice is to remove the 10mm bolts holding them down but do not remove the plug leads unless you absolutely have to. With a bit of manouvering the coils can be moved enough not to cause any problems with the leads still attached. There is also two 12mm bolts holding the fuel supply and return lines to the manifold that have to be removed. Remove the PCV hose from the manifold at this time also.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Working on the left side of the manifold, remove the brake booster vacuum supply, 10mm bolt holding another earth strap, the charcoal canister vacuum hose and the vacuum hose at the rear of the manifold. (Yeah, ok, I’m not sure where this last one goes to!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the same side as above, remove the two 12mm bolts from the manifold bracket and the two 12mm bolts holding the hot air intake - this has a gasket that usually falls down when the bolts are undone so be careful!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Working from the front of the car again, undo the three 12mm bolts holding the electrical connectors and bracket. Sit them back in their respective holes in the bracket once it’s removed to avoid confusion when re-assembling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting there! Now remove the remaining 12mm bolts securing the manifold. Some will be hard to see but if you look in the location of the arrows they shouldn’t be too hard to find. On the front of the manifold there is two bolts that hold down a small bracket and this can be tricky to remove. A magnetized screwdriver or small magnet works wonders for removing this. Once all the bolts are removes the manifold should be easily lifted up and out of the engine bay. If it is stuck do not force it, have a look to be sure all the bolts are removed. Be careful not to damage the gasket between the two parts of the manifold if you plan on re-using it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And this is what things should look like. Don’t pay any attention to the timing covers being off, I was doing the timing belt at the same time on this engine. BEFORE doing anything place a rag over the intake runners of the lower manifold to avoid getting any dirt or heaven forbid, any solid object down there!

Re-assembly is the reverse of what we have just done with attention paid to the precautions I listed at the start of the article. Visually check the spark plug gap before fitting them and use the length of hose to lower them into their holes. You don’t want to find out that one plug has a closed gap after re-fitting everything!

Doing this job yourself would save you many hours in labour charges and we all know how much mechanics need to charge these days to make a living. As I stated earlier I am writing this in reverse and from memory alone so if you see something I have left out please let me know or if you get stuck and need assistance please email me at autofix@aapt.net.au.

Craig

  Welcome to the first instalment of my DIY Tutorials! My aim is to provide practical guides to the DIY mechanic, ranging from the most basic repairs and maintenance up to the more complicated repairs. I will keep these guides ‘generalised’ in an attempt to cover many makes and models, however if there is something specific you need to know don’t hesitate to leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do. So put on your overalls, dust off the tools and let’s get started!

 Parts/Tools Required.

1. The car (sorry I just had to!)
2. Trolley Jack or the cars factory jack
3. Chassis Stands
4. Oil Drain Tray
5. A funnel
6. The correct size spanner and/or socket, extension bar and ratchet
7. Oil Filter removing tool/s
8. Replacement sump plug washer
9. Correct grade and quantity of oil
10. Correct oil filter for your car
11. Some rags to clean up?

 

  Certainly not rocket surgery here (I love that saying!), but none the less a very important part of vehicle maintenance. Information on the correct grade of oil to be used can be found in your vehicles owners handbook, failing that the guys where you buy your auto parts will have the nescessary information. Ditto for the oil filter and sump plug washer.

1. My opinion is that the oil should be at engine operating temperature before draining it. Although this can cause hassles when removing the sump plug, I will show you a way to avoid getting your hands burnt by hot oil.
2. Raise the vehicle and support with chassis stands. NEVER GET UNDER A CAR SUPPORTED BY THE JACK ALONE. It is possible with some vehicles to change the oil and filter without lifting the car, even if you use the factory jack to lift one side of the car it will make your life easier.
3. Using the ring end of the spanner or socket and ratchet, loosen the sump plug. If you have warmed the engine up, don’t remove the sump plug just yet. Take your socket and join it to your extension bar and use this to remove the plug completely and keep your hands out of harms way! Don’t worry if the plug drops into the waste oil, we can retrieve it later.
4. Take your Oil Filter removal tool and turn the filter anti-clockwise to loosen it. Oil may run out of it at this stage so be prepared with some rags. Over-size multi-grip pliers are great at removing stubborn filters.
5. Once the sump plug and filter are removed go and make a coffee or harass the dog for twenty minutes or so while it drains.
6. Once the oil flow is down to a very slow drip, replace the sump plug washer with the one you bought and refit the sump plug. Be careful not to over-tighten the sump plug. With a new washer fitted it won’t leak as long as it is tightened firmly but not over-tightened.
7. Wipe down the area where the oil filter seal contacts the engine block. Dip your finger in the new oil and put a film of oil on the new filter’s seal. Install the new filter and once again do not over-tighten. Hand tight is fine.
8. Refill the engine using the funnel and hold the oil container on its side to prevent it from ‘gulping’ out. As a general rule of thumb, I initially put 3.5 litres of oil in a four cylinder and 4 litres in a 6 or 8 cylinder. Once you have put the initial amount in let the oil drain down for a couple of minutes and check that you have oil over the minimum mark on your dipstick.
9. Let the car down off the jack and chassis stands.
10. Start the car and keep a close eye on the oil pressure light or gauge. The light should go out or the gauge should move after about thirty seconds of running.
11. Once again go harass the dog for five minutes and come back and check the level. If you find it low use amounts of 250ml and let it drain down until the level is correct.
12. Check for leaks!! You don’t want to find out the hard way that you have a leak!
13. Take the waste oil to a recycling centre or your neighbours yard! NO, no don’t do that, waste oil must be disposed of correctly, think of all the fish it harms if you put it down the water drain.
14. The last thing to do is document the date and mileage of your oil change. Sometimes the oil container will have a sticker you can peel off and put on your windscreen, if not note it down and put it in a safe place so you’ll know when it’s due again.

  Next week we will take a look at what is involved in a basic tune-up for a electronically fuel injected car. Until then take care and be safe on the roads.

We have moved the RA28 Celica - 1GGTE conversion page to the Photo Gallery. There are plenty of photos of the build and if you require any more information please don’t hesitate to shoot us an email to autofix@aapt.net.au