[cdahl383]

Changed my spark plugs today. Took me about 2 hours to do it. Got all 16 plugs from the dealership for $55. The dealership gave me a quote of $275 to change them out, so I saved about $220 doing it myself which is cool! It's not hard to do at all, this is the second time I've done it.

Main tools you need are a ratchet, magnetized socket for pulling the plugs, some short and long extensions, a swivel unit, torque wrench, and a 10mm socket for the coilpack screws.

I also used anti-seize on the plug threads and put dielectric grease on the bottom tip of the plug and in the coilpack boots. Gapped the plugs to .043" and torqued them down to 13 ft/lbs. I just snugged up the coilpack screws.

Car seems to have a little better response and less throttle input to keep it moving down the road now. Hopefully I'll see a little better mpgs now too. I changed them out a little early, they only had 28,000 miles on them but I wanted to get it done before we got into the dead of winter.

Here's a few pics for fun...

http://i1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg640/cdahl383/Challenger Photos/DSC00061_zps59e1d536.jpg

It was a fun and easy job and now I'm set for another 30,000 miles! :smileup:

 

[MIDNITE RT]

Gotta love dealerships... mine quoted me $ 339 for the same job. Must be harder to replace the plugs in NJ than it is in Mi.

 

[Drewcrane]

I have 32k on my car perhaps I SHOULD GET THIS DONE,

I was wondering what are gaps of the plugs you removed ??

 

[MommaBetty]

That was a very good post Carl. I am so glad, like Art, that you gave me the price the dealer was going to charge you to replace the plugs. I have 26,000 miles on mine and I probably will have it done sometime next spring. I am keeping your price quotes!!!!

 

[vin57]

I was told $299 for my truck....did it myself...plugs were $80!

 

[TikiMan]

Let's face it, most people dont have the tools at their disposal nor how to twist a ratchet so they go to the Stealership. Nice job on the DIY and promoting others to learn the DIY way also.

 

[TheOldGuy]

I mentioned this before in a thread long ago about indexing the plugs. I did it back in the Spring and it was a real hassle to do all 16. It required 3 complete kits of indexing washers in order to have both plugs with the ground strap of the close plug facing the exhaust valve and the remote plug having the ground strap facing the Intake. (As per the drag car expert I have been able to speak with) This was an all day affair. Did it make a difference? Of course it did, because I convinced myself it did after all that work laying across the fenders. Would I recommend anyone else do it?
No, because I want that possible edge.:gy:

-John

 

[gsbell]

Its not a horribly hard job for someone handy. I got an extension that locks on the socket, that was worth it.

I did feel an immediate improvement in throttle response. I think I was at 35,000 when I did mine.

 

[cdahl383]

Plug gap is .043" per the manual so that's what I gapped mine at. I did the same thing on the last set and they were fine.

I called a few dealerships last time at 30,000 miles. One told me $250 and one told me $300. This time I called and they said $275. Seems like $250-350 is about the norm depending on which dealership you call. Some are better than others.

The plugs are $80 from the dealership at regular price. If you know a Chrysler employee you can get 35% off of all Mopar parts. I used my father in law's info so the plugs were only $55 which isn't too bad at all.

I've never indexed plugs on any of my vehicles before. I've heard about doing that before but never tried it myself. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make on a mostly stock street car, but I'm sure there is some performance gain to be had. I just wanted to get a fresh set of plugs put in before it got too cold. Of course it was still only about 35 degrees out today, so it was still pretty cold out to be wrenching on stuff haha!

If you don't already have the tools or a place to work on the car, you're better off just going to the dealership. Otherwise you'd have to buy all the tools, a place to keep your tools, etc. Buying a set of tools and a nice tool chest is going to cost a lot more than $300. Even just buying a few sockets, extensions, ratchets, torque wrench, swivels, and other stuff like anti-seize, dielectric grease, etc will all add up to quite a bit if you don't already have it. I already had most of the tools from years ago and just bought a few extra things last time I did the plugs just for the Challenger (i.e. magnetized socket).

Skill wise, it's not very hard to do at all. I'm not an overly mechanically inclined person, but I'm not a total novice either. Here's a basic step by step for anyone that want's to give it a shot:

1.) Buy new plugs from dealership
2.) Gap plugs to .043" (stock they are a little tighter than that, maybe .040")
3.) Make sure engine is cold.
4.) Remove engine cover, half covers, etc from engine
5.) Use 1/4" ratchet and 10mm socket to remove two bolts on coilpack
6.) Remove coilpack and set on workbench
7.) Slide magnetized socket (5/8" I believe) into hole and use combination of short extension, swivel and another short or long extension to 3/8" ratchet and loosen spark plug slowly.
8.) Pull spark plug out and set on bench.
9.) Remove the next spark plug next to it for that cylinder.
10.) Dab some dielectric grease on the bottom tip of the two new spark plugs you're going to put back in.
11.) Dab some dielectric grease on the tip of the coilpack boots, smear around with finger inside boot as best you can and smear some on the tip of the boot itself.
12.) Dab some anti-seize on threads of both spark plugs.
13.) Slide new spark plug in using magnetized socket to hold it in place as you lower it down.
14.) Use combination of socket, extension, swivel, extension and then use a torque wrench set to 13 ft/lbs to tighten the new spark plugs.
15.) Place coilpack back into place, sliding the boots into each hole until they are attached firmly.
16.) Put both coilpack bolts back into place and tighten. Some say to use a torque wrench on these too but I just snugged them up until they felt tight and didn't push it too much after that. Worked fine for me last time. They are small bolts so don't go crazy on those or they might snap.
17.) Repeat the above steps another 7 times for each remaining cylinder.
18.) Fire up vehicle and make sure everything runs right and no check engine lights come on.
19.) Pat yourself on the back.
20.) Go out and enjoy the nice crisp throttle response you now have from your new spark plugs as well as the extra $250 in your wallet!

 

[Dodgeguy]

Plug gap is .043" per the manual so that's what I gapped mine at. I did the same thing on the last set and they were fine.

I called a few dealerships last time at 30,000 miles. One told me $250 and one told me $300. This time I called and they said $275. Seems like $250-350 is about the norm depending on which dealership you call. Some are better than others.

The plugs are $80 from the dealership at regular price. If you know a Chrysler employee you can get 35% off of all Mopar parts. I used my father in law's info so the plugs were only $55 which isn't too bad at all.

I've never indexed plugs on any of my vehicles before. I've heard about doing that before but never tried it myself. I'm not sure how much of a difference it would make on a mostly stock street car, but I'm sure there is some performance gain to be had. I just wanted to get a fresh set of plugs put in before it got too cold. Of course it was still only about 35 degrees out today, so it was still pretty cold out to be wrenching on stuff haha!

If you don't already have the tools or a place to work on the car, you're better off just going to the dealership. Otherwise you'd have to buy all the tools, a place to keep your tools, etc. Buying a set of tools and a nice tool chest is going to cost a lot more than $300. Even just buying a few sockets, extensions, ratchets, torque wrench, swivels, and other stuff like anti-seize, dielectric grease, etc will all add up to quite a bit if you don't already have it. I already had most of the tools from years ago and just bought a few extra things last time I did the plugs just for the Challenger (i.e. magnetized socket).

Skill wise, it's not very hard to do at all. I'm not an overly mechanically inclined person, but I'm not a total novice either. Here's a basic step by step for anyone that want's to give it a shot:

1.) Buy new plugs from dealership
2.) Gap plugs to .043" (stock they are a little tighter than that, maybe .040")
3.) Make sure engine is cold.
4.) Remove engine cover, half covers, etc from engine
5.) Use 1/4" ratchet and 10mm socket to remove two bolts on coilpack
6.) Remove coilpack and set on workbench
7.) Slide magnetized socket (5/8" I believe) into hole and use combination of short extension, swivel and another short or long extension to 3/8" ratchet and loosen spark plug slowly.
8.) Pull spark plug out and set on bench.
9.) Remove the next spark plug next to it for that cylinder.
10.) Dab some dielectric grease on the bottom tip of the two new spark plugs you're going to put back in.
11.) Dab some dielectric grease on the tip of the coilpack boots, smear around with finger inside boot as best you can and smear some on the tip of the boot itself.
12.) Dab some anti-seize on threads of both spark plugs.
13.) Slide new spark plug in using magnetized socket to hold it in place as you lower it down.
14.) Use combination of socket, extension, swivel, extension and then use a torque wrench set to 13 ft/lbs to tighten the new spark plugs.
15.) Place coilpack back into place, sliding the boots into each hole until they are attached firmly.
16.) Put both coilpack bolts back into place and tighten. Some say to use a torque wrench on these too but I just snugged them up until they felt tight and didn't push it too much after that. Worked fine for me last time. They are small bolts so don't go crazy on those or they might snap.
17.) Repeat the above steps another 7 times for each remaining cylinder.
18.) Fire up vehicle and make sure everything runs right and no check engine lights come on.
19.) Pat yourself on the back.
20.) Go out and enjoy the nice crisp throttle response you now have from your new spark plugs as well as the extra $250 in your wallet!

Carl great write up with pics. Looks like the plugs could go longer if they had to. I did mine at 30k and they looked the same even the gap was not that far off. Will be doing mine in 12k more miles.

 

[MommaBetty]

Very nice detailed post Carl! Now that is the detailed "accountant version" I would expect from you!

 

[dodge boy]

When i saw how much the dealers were charging to do a spark plug change i was totally mortified!! Its a perfect DIY job.

 

[ChristinaRTClassic]

Carl, great post all around. Dealerships in my part of Virginia want close to $400. Sad that the "maintenance contract" with the car does NOT cover spark plugs. That is the one thing I do miss from my BMW/Mini days. Maintenance was covered 3yr/36,000 as part of the purchase price on my Mini. (extending was extra $). That includes plugs, brake pads, fluid changes, air filter, etc). I found out the hard way that plugs weren't covered by the maintenance contract on my Challenger. My mistake, but I'm not using that dealer again.

 

[cdahl383]

I would call around, I bet you could find a dealership that would do it for $275-300 or so. It's still not cheap, but better than $400. That dealership is just ripping people off, that's $55 for parts and then $350 for probably 1-2 hrs of labor. It took me 2 hours and I took my sweet time doing it in the garage. A mechanic that does it all the time can probably do it in 1-1.5 hr. No way they should be charging $300+ for labor on that job.

 

[cdahl383]

I agree, the plugs didn't look too bad. They can probably go 35-40K miles realistically, but it can't hurt to change them out at 30K or a little sooner. These modern cars run so efficient with the computer controls and everything.

You should see my plugs in my Nova when I was still tuning my carburetor, yikes! Haha! They looked nasty after 200 miles! Once I got the carb/timing dialed in then they looked much better. I'm the computer on that car though haha!

Thanks Betty, I thought I should provide an "accountant" type breakdown of it all haha!

 

[Drewcrane]

Yea very easy ,much easier than an old challenger for sure and yes throttle response improvement , and again a very easy job, not worth paying someone to do it

 

[Icefire]

Everybody has made this sound so easy I tried it today. First problem is the rear coil pack on passenger side. The bottom bolt is almost impossible to get to on my 11 R/T due to large coils of wire above it. Finally got that bolt out, and the elctrical connections will not come off the coil packs, I cannOT get it unplugged. Then, that rear cool pack will not clear the wires to come out, I tried for hours and gave up, even watched Speedys garage video. No one mentions this, what am I doing wrong?

 

[jkelly16]

Everybody has made this sound so easy I tried it today. First problem is the rear coil pack on passenger side. The bottom bolt is almost impossible to get to on my 11 R/T due to large coils of wire above it. Finally got that bolt out, and the elctrical connections will not come off the coil packs, I cannOT get it unplugged. Then, that rear cool pack will not clear the wires to come out, I tried for hours and gave up, even watched Speedys garage video. No one mentions this, what am I doing wrong?

Not positive but almost every electrical connector has a locking device that has to be slid back and then a tab that has to be pressed before the connector will come loose. Sometimes when you get to the part of pressing the tab you will need to push the connector on before trying to pull it off to get it to come loose.

 

[cdahl383]

I'm assuming the 2011's and 2010's have a similar setup, but it's possible they are slightly different. But assuming it is the same as my 2010, it shouldn't be too hard to remove them.

The coilpacks have wire connectors on them that have two tabs on each side of them. You have to press them in hard enough so they release and then pull up on the connector and it will come out. Some of mine were harder to do than others. It's even harder if it's cold out and your fingers are all frozen haha!

If you have shallow sockets you may need to use those to clear everything with a smaller 1/4" ratchet. I was able to get them all off using that. I only needed the swivel joint to get the spark plugs out when using a 3/8" ratchet.

Can you take some pics of the coilpack you can't get out? I'd like to see what you're talking about because mine were all relatively easy to get out. I think one or two of them were a little harder since there was stuff to clear like you mentioned, but it wasn't too difficult. Post up some pics if you get a chance.

 

[Icefire]

I'll post pix tommorow when I get off work, the connectors don't seem to have 2 tabs, they are all black, I'll take a pic of that too. My car is a 6-speed and has a round item above the rear passenger coil pack and a bundle of wire loomed wires over 1" diameter. If I pull straight out to get the pack off it will hit that large loom.