How To: Spark Plug Change 3.0T

[saxon]

well i decided to change out my plugs at 35k miles and i was looking around for a how to on this forum and couldnt find one .
updated Nov 4th 2017 - updates are underlined and in bold

this is assuming you have taken off the intake box already (many how to's on that)

these are the tools you will need:
small pry bar
flat head screw driver
needle nose or small plyers
1/4 ratchet
t20 socket for 1/4 ratchet
3/8 ratchet
6" extension 3/8
spark plug socket
update: Nov 4th 2017- i used a duralast spark plug socket 75-499 which is magnetic and a swivel extension. this made getting the old plugs out and new plugs in very easy even on the drivers side.
10mm socket

estimated time: 1 hour- updated November 4th 2017, i just changed plugs on a car with aftermarket intake in 30 minutes
difficulty: 3 out of a scale of 1-10, 10 being difficult (the hardest part for me was loosening the coil pack wiring clips)
update- NOv 4th 2017 video on how to loosen coil pack clips https://youtu.be/r4JP0Y6byxc

20140605_183524 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr



spark plugs- i bought NGK part # pfr8s8eg, i bought them from europa parts
update November 4th 2017- for dual pulley i am running NGK bkr8eix gapped to .024 NGK part number 2668
http://www.europaparts.com/spark-plug-101905611g.html im sure they can be bought cheaper elsewhere but i was buying a charcoal cabin filter, oil filter and a couple other parts at the same time.



updated plugs for dual pulley-



1) first start by letting the car cool down

2) take off either your intake or stock airbox/intake

3) i started on the passenger side
- remove the 2 t20 torx bolts holding down the wiring for the coils (circled in blue)

2014-06-05-20-24-34 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

4) unclip the 2 clips for the sensors shown here (arrows in red), to do this you pull up the gray part of the flip and squeeze the top part where the gray is
update- this is not needed Nov 4th 2017

2014-06-05-20-24-34 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

20140605_175348 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr


5) push down on the clip with the flat head screw driver and wiggle the clip off the coil
update- Nov 4th 2017 watch youtube video on how to remove https://youtu.be/r4JP0Y6byxc

2014-06-05 20.27.55 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr



6) pull away the wiring from all of the coils

20140605_175329 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

7)use a pry bar to gently pop out the coil packs

20140605_182435 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

8) use the 3/8 ratchet , 6" extension and spark plug socket to remove the spark plugs
update- Nov 4th 2017, use the duralast spark plug socket/extension
(take good pictures and send them to your tuner to see if the tune needs any adjustments)

20140605_182234 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

9) install new plugs and tq to 22 ftlbs

10) put everything back in the same order making sure the coil plugs clip into place securely


passenger side:

1) use the 1/4 ratchet with the t20 bit to remove the 2 bolts holding the wiring harness down

2) un bolt 2 10mm nuts from radiator reservoir

20140605_180437 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

3) undo the clip for the hose going into the top of the reservoir

20140605_180658 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

4) undo the 3 sensors that are at the end of the sensor - the 2 blue are visible, the red is buried a little bit and i used needle nose pliers to unplug it
Update- Nov 4th 2017 this is not needed

2014-06-05 20.47.05 by saxonbrian2, on Flickr

5) same as the drivers side, you will need to unclip the coil packs, this is a bit more difficult because the coolant reservoir gets in the way

6) move the coolant reservoir as needed, it has a black plug in the bottom that if you pull up on will allow the reservoir to move around just enough to get the ratchet and extension down into the spark plug

7) install new plugs

8) check all connections and make sure the coolant line is hooked back up and all coil packs are connected securely to the wiring harness



if anyone else has any tips let me know and i will edit the post, i hope this helps!