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Spark Plug Install Instructions


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  • 4 weeks later...
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That was a good write up on the plug swap. I just did it myself and found an easierstep. The back two plugs are a pain in the rear but if you just take the two main engine mount bolts off and , with a floor jack and a piece of plywood so you dont dent the pan , you can jack up the motor about 2 to 3 inches and have plenty of room on both rear plugs. It only takes 5 min to save about an hour and alot of cus words. Thanks again for all your help. Norm
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  • 3 weeks later...
The write up worked well, but a few things I think I would do different to save time in the future. Invest in a 1/4 drive socket wrench with some 3/8 adapters. It's a smaller wrench... Duh, so it fits in some places without having to use a Uni/Knuckle. And also, to save time on the driver's side, I pulled off that black plastic tube (What's it called?) that hides the coil pack. It's got a clamp on the front of the tube that can be squeezed with pliers. Just pull down and toward the fire wall to get it unhooked. When I got the coil pack free with a 1/4 drive, I used my 3/8 drive and a 5/8 deep well with a 3/8 socket on top of that. It gave me JUST enough clearance without pushing my socket wrench up against the wheel well. I love this stuff, but it was a BITCH of a job!
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I just did the t-belt along with spark plugs and found if you take the motor mount nuts off and jack the motor up about 2 inches all the plugs are easily accesible and you can take an hour off the time it takes to change plugs. I have a 05 GT limited at trans
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Using a flex head 3/8 ratchet with an extension and spark plug socket makes removing/installing the plugs a complete non-issue. Literally takes about 30 seconds per plug. I did remove the padding on the frame as suggested earlier.

 

The coil packs as previously stated are easily removed using a 1/4 drive set.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Just wanted to post in here and thank everyone for their contributions and advice!

 

I just completed my plug install @ 61,000 miles and put in some fresh NGK Laser Iridiums (SILFR6A). The job took about 2 hours, working fairly slowly. It really wasn't all that difficult, just took awhile to get the right combinations of extensions and universal joints. For some reason, I found the rear passenger side to be more of a PITA than the drivers rear, but that may be because I did the passenger side first.

 

Also, for those with an 07+, it is not necessary to completely remove the air pump pipe. I was able to move it up and out of the way, holding it with a tiny bungee cord to some other hoses, after the pump was removed. I'm glad this worked because that hose clamp on the end of the pipe looked like a pain to get to.

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You guys are over-complicating things. This is the ultimate tool that makes plug changing a snap:

 

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=hand&item_ID=2144&group_ID=1349&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

 

It seems to be custom made for Subaru heads, perfect length.

 

That link doesnt work, what was the item you were pointing too?

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Bought this in anticipation of replacing my spark plugs

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/thumbnail/370x370/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_9741.jpg

 

With this 1" long, 1/4" to 3/8" "wobble" extension (on the right in the picture below), rather than a universal joint between the ratchet and the 3/8-drive, 5/8" spark plug socket. Should be just about the right amount of clearance away from the valve cover and leverage to turn everything easily, even with my big maws.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/370x/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_14225.jpg

 

Between removing the Air Box, and Battery, and jacking the motor up ~ 1.5-2", and using these to access the coilpack areas and the plugs themselves, I'm optimistic that it will improve the speed to completion time on this less-than-easy task.

- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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^ To your first point, they typically aren't complicated. To your second point, they almost always are aggravating. From the advent of the 1st Gen Turbo Legacys onward, at least that's been my experience.
- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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Will do. Had it off the motor mounts a few weeks ago, and was all ready to pull the plugs, but decided I didn't have time for any "glitches" in the time schedule, so I've deferred until now. It was then that the idea of a thin-framed ratchet with a stubby wobble joint would work better than a u-joint, extension and a ratchet. We will see.
- Pro amore Dei et patriam et populum -
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Will do. Had it off the motor mounts a few weeks ago, and was all ready to pull the plugs, but decided I didn't have time for any "glitches" in the time schedule, so I've deferred until now. It was then that the idea of a thin-framed ratchet with a stubby wobble joint would work better than a u-joint, extension and a ratchet. We will see.

 

Or, you can check out my post #595. Others have done this too.

 

Jack up the motor a few inches, and with normal tools the job is easy.

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i saw that, and thought about it. However, since any project i undertake seems to end with a twist, i thought i would go about it the conventional way, and attempt to mitigate any surprises that may come from any unconventional methods.

 

Call me a wuus. i know lol

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  • 3 weeks later...

Thought I would add some insight for those on a H6 3.0.

 

Having a single u-joint, and two various extensions helped a great deal. I also found that a pass-through socket was nice for the coil-pack bolt in certain instances. The MAIN issue was the CP #6 (closest to driver). There is very very little room. The vacation pics say to just turn the CP to get access but I ended up getting a large prybar to gently press against the block and between the wheel arch. This gave enough room to twist the CP out.

 

I also would suggest not putting in CP 4 while working on 6 as it left a little bit more room

 

Below are the old plugs.

 

http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn257/theflystyle/sparks.jpg

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does the NGK Iridium IX (LFR7AIX) fit any year Lgt? i got an 06 and need to change mine.

From what I have read these will certainly fit your car physically but they are one step colder than the stock plugs. Your mods and driving style would most likely determine if they are appropriate for you.

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My mechanic friend is more of the expert, but he thought you could remove the motor mount bolts and jack up the engine slowly without removal of anything else. We slowly jacked up the driver side first at an angle, changed the driver side plugs, slowly lowered the jack....then moved the jack slightly under the passenger side and slowly jacked up the passenger side and did those plugs.

You definitely want to have another person for an extra set of eyes on everything when you are jacking it up to make sure you don't harm any hoses or electrical connections.

Simply removing those two motor mount bolts is golden. I can't imagine doing the plugs on my 08 LGT without doing so. Thanks to everyone contributing to this project. How many pounds should I torque the two motor mount bolts?

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Changed plugs this weekend. Things are a bit tight, but the job wasn't too bad.

 

Key piece of equipment? A hex drive to socket adaptor, like you would chuck into a drill (similar to the pic).

 

I ended up attaching this to the 5/8" spark plug socket and it gives you enough something to hold onto when you are seating the new plugs back in. Hand tighten them a bit and then you can pull on the drill bit piece and the whole spark plug socket will come out, leaving your new plug partially screwed in. The fact that it's screwed in a bit gives you enough clearance to now attach a short extender and universal joint to the sparkplug socket, reattach the setup to the plug, and torque it down.

hex.jpg.e1d0e03f17a6f9af34dab9aad557d072.jpg

"Bullet-proof" your OEM TMIC! <<Buy your kit here>>

 

Not currently in stock :(

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^^ the 180 trick is really the only way to do it i would think...

 

Im curious to see how fast i would be the second time around. I really took my sweet time doing this the first time. However - not sure there will be a second time!

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