This would be a 6.1 liter Hemi V-8 Engine. This engine has "Twin Spark", so we need 16 Spark Plugs... (how awesome is that?!?!?)
First off, you need Spark Plugs. NGK LZTR5AGP is one you could use.... The previous owner had NGK PLZTR5A-13 in there... which is a double platinum plug. Probably a better plug than I put in there. I bought my plugs a few months ago, and were told they were the right plug. I was having trouble finding platinum or iridium, but I see now they were very available.... You will also need the narrower style plug wrench, and a 10mm 1/4 inch socket and drive handle.
And this:
That is anti-seize, and dielectric grease. I am not endorsing a particular brand... These are very available at the typical auto parts store, is all.... So, to start.
That's the driver's side of the engine. The beauty cover that says "Hemi" on it will pull straight up & off. It presses in place in two rubber mounts. That is removed so we can see what we're doing....
A closer look. See those 4 boxes?? That's what we want. The spark plugs are under there. Now, if you don't see the "familiar" wires, and rotor & cap, or distributor, that's because this car has what is called Coil On Plug. Many cars & SUV's & Trucks have this now. Instead of the ignition coil being placed in the distributor, and having a rotor spin on top of it and distribute the spark, they just put the coil right on the spark plug now, and let the computer "fire" the spark plugs. So, we will remove those,
one at a time....
10mm socket, on a 1/4 inch ratchet. Use whatever extensions or elbows make you comfortable. Remove the two bolts that hold it down, and then you should be able to gently pull it out. Pull it straight out towards you, as there are spark plug boots on the bottom, that extend into the plug holes....
And there it is off. Note in the previous picture, there were 4 boxes. In a V8, there are 4 cylinders on each side. 1 box per cylinder. 2 spark plugs per cylinder, which you won't see that often. Just so we're clear, what we are looking at.
Those holes you are seeing are where the spark plugs are. Now we have to pull those out....
Something like this will do nicely. 3/8ths inch drive ratchet, with a plug socket on it. I like the plug sockets with the rubber thing inside, to protect the plug. I have a big plug socket and a narrower one.
This is the narrower one. If you're not sure, try it on one of your new plugs. You will have to turn counterclockwise HARD. The existing plugs may be a little stuck. Sometimes the aluminum heads, and the steel plug will not play nice with each other. Be prepared to crank hard to crack them loose. Once they crack loose, they should come out real smooth.
The old plugs actually didn't look bad. Not terribly worn, gap was still correct.... I probably could have let them ride, but, I just bought the car used, so... I like to make a start on this maintenance stuff, so I know for a fact when it was last done..... That's just me. By rights, you could pull a plug, examine it, and if it looked good, run it for 10,000 miles, and re evaluate....
Speaking of gap, and gapping....
That's what is called a Feeler Gauge. It tells you how much space is between 2 things. You can (hopefully) see the numerical markings on each "leaf" of the gauge, tells you how thick each one is. The gap we want for THIS car is .050. You might notice your feeler gauge pack does not have a .050 in it. But, it probably has a .028, and a .022... Hold those tightly together, ta-da, that's .050.... This is the gap between the electrode, down the center, and the "ground" bar, that's shaped like an "L", that comes around and sits below the electrode. The "spark" is going to be an arc of electricity that creates a nice fat spark between the two....
Now, do not be jamming and forcing the feeler gauge into the gap... Do this gently! Don't damage the electrode! Now, if .050 won't "go", or pass in there, but .048 WILL, that's probably good enough, leave it. If neither goes, carefully adjust the position of the ground bar. Do NOT pry against the electrode to open that area up! There is a whole bevy of tools made to do this. Use whatever you are comfortable with. If the gap is too large, press the electrode closer. The brick wall outside your garage will work for this. Gently press it in. Use patience. It may take a few adjustments. You are looking for the .050 gauge to JUST BARELY go in. It should be snug, but fit, without forcing.
Now you have your plug gapped. Now you need anti-seize....
Like so. The anti-seize will come out of the tube like a silvery paste. Just put a dab, and smear it into the threads with your fingertip. Some say that excessive application of anti-seize can cause carbon tracking and other problems. Just a dab will do you. Don't go crazy. In 20+ years, this amount has never caused me a problem....
And, if you can get the plug out someday, that's a plus too.... Using a big breaker bar with a cheater pipe on the end to crack loose frozen spark plugs is a real drag.... I'm speaking from experience....
Now, to install the new plug, I would normally say "start it with your fingers". But, as you can see, the hole is WAAY too deep and small for that. so, take the RATCHET HANDLE off, but keep your whole plug wrench & extension setup together. Put the plug in the plug wrench, carefull insert it into the hole, ease it carefully down to the bottom. Don't bash it on the bottom and screw up your carefully gapped plug.
Now, with a finger & thumb only, slowly and gently rotate the socket. Keep spinning it. You should be able to feel it start threading. It should start real smooth & easy. If it's stuck, or you're forcing it, something is wrong, back it out and start over. Once it starts, it should run smooth almost to the bottom. Patience.
Do NOT cross-thread this puppy! Don't do it! Patience. Now, these are tapered bottom plugs. That means they seat, and that's it. Don't do this by feel! Use a Torque Wrench.
Seriously. Don't even think about the whole "When it bottoms, go 1/16th of a turn" nonsense. The threads you destroy may be your own. Just go get a torque wrench. The torque spec on these plugs 12-14 pounds, or foot-pounds. With special warning NEVER to exceed 15 pounds. You sure you wanna try that 1/16th of a turn thing??? I didn't think so....
12-14 pounds is NOT a lot of force.... Any sort of hard cranking, you will be at or over that spec.... (Now, if you are a smaller individual perhaps, and that feels like a lot of force to you, I mean no disrespect or insult in any way. Maybe I should say "Relative to most of the other bolts on your car, that is not a lot of force.") Anyway, set your torque wrench to 12 or 13 pounds, like so....
I don't know if that shows up real well, but that is set to 13 pounds. This wrench in the picture is the kind that "clicks" when the torque setting is reached... If you are more comfortable with a different kind, hey, whatever, do what works for you. Now you will place the torque wrench on your extension-plug socket setup, and crank clockwise until it "clicks"...
Like so. Torque both of those plugs to spec. Now the dielectric grease....
Those are the bottoms of the boots, that are attached to the coil box.... Just put a dab of the grease in the opening, like so, before your press that back down onto your new plugs...
You don't want moisture in there, and you want some dielectric grease present on the connection between the clip at the top of the boot, and the top of the spark plug... The dab of grease should accomplish both. And now, carefully take the coil box & boot assembly, carefully press that back down onto the New Spark Plugs, and replace the 2 10mm bolts you removed earlier.... And you're done! Uhh, with one, anyway.... Seven more to go....
As you go along, you may find it easier to ditch the extensions in areas where you have more room, or different surrounding parts... whatever works for you.
Moving right along to the passenger side... that's the oil dipstick you see there.... You can work around it, don't panic. Just keep doing the same thing... Pull the coil pack. Remove the old plugs. Gap the new plugs. Put a little anti-seize. Install & torque new plugs. Put a dab of dielectric grease. Reinstall boots & coil pack assembly. Move to the next one....
Do these ONE AT A TIME. And don't yank & crank on those little wires coming of out the coil pack. Be very gentle with that little assembly... If you keep at it, you'll end up with this....
Bunch of old plugs out of the car, bunch of new plugs in the car.... Now, specific to this car in particular, you're supposed to:
1. Pull Fuse #2.
2. wait 30 seconds
3. Replace fuse #2 (This supposedly will clear the memory for the closed loop operation, thus causing your car to "re-learn" it's optimal fuel air trims, which probably is a good idea, now that you have new plugs....)
4. Turn ignition to on (do not start car, just ignition on)
5. Turn headlights on
6. Turn headlights off
7. Turn ignition off Again, this is part of setting it up to re-learn... At least, that's my understanding....
This is Celebrity Puppy Fireplug, sitting on top of the fuse box where you will find Fuse #2. This is under the hood, passenger side, forward of the wheel well.... That box has a latch on the left, and the cover will flip open left to righ on a hinge....
This is looking into that fuse box. The "point" of the needle nose is pointing at fuse #2. On the inside cover of the box, there is also a diagram of what number fuse is where....
After you do those 7 steps, you can start the car. My car fired up and seemed to be running really nice. Now you can enjoy the smug satisfaction of a job well done!
