Edward

Done....yesss!!!

Misc rambling thoughts:
Man, it has been a long time since I did my plugs, around 35k or so miles ago, which for me equates to around 5 or so years ago?!! I had forgotten what a PITA it is. Not the plug change itself, but everything on the right bank that has to be removed. Once all the necessaries were out, the plug change was easy, even the dreaded upper one. But what a pain to put it all back, ugh! Not difficult, just silly in how time consuming for what amounts to just a plug change (IMHO).

And here's the kicker: my old plugs look great!!! So with around 35K miles on the plugs, they seriously look amazing: gap is still in spec, center electrode is "square" at the top, and color is nice and even gray/tan with almost zero deposits on them. Believe me, if I had looked at a plug before I pulled apart all that crap, I would have left it alone. But since it was all apart ...oh well!

Then the oil change just is what it is. Suffice it to say, I'm done, she fired right up, is topped up properly, and I'm good for another bazillion miles...at least that's what I'm going to do before I replace these plugs again
Oh, and the air filter, also nearly dirt free ...weird!!!

BTW, huge kudos (as always) to Robin's p-car site! It was a good refresher to remind me of my process. Man that guy deserves royalties

Despite the PITA work (for simple tuneup crap, sheesh!!), misc cuts, and getting seriously greasy, I am reminded of how amazing these cars are! At nearly 20 years old, she still looks like a supermodel and drives like a champ. Tomorrow, I think I'll go drive. Be well, all!!

Edward

djantlive

I always start with the easy side to see the condition of the plugs. Then assess if I want to change them

AOW162435

Edward,
I completed a laundry list of maintenance items in June. I too found my plugs in pretty good shape after 30,000 miles and nearly 10 years. Nevertheless, new ones went in.



Andreas

LimeyBoy

Nice job, both can be a PITA but nice when everything is buttoned up good to go.
Just after i took delivery at 50K miles I checked the service history and saw the plugs had been done at 30k'ish but it was a few years back.
I started with the left bank spark plugs and they looked good. I had everything ready and was up for it so I proceeded to the right bank.
The PITA right side one eventually came out - and it was way older, a different brand and far more fouled than all the others.
So if you know for sure that all 12 were done then ok, but otherwise you need to make sure the last service actually did what they said on the invoice. Lesson learned for me.

Edward

Sage advice, this ^
This mirrored my experience when I first bought mine many moons ago, and coincidentally also at 50k miles. The "major service" was done (on paper, anyway), but since it was my lifer dream car, I had to make sure all was right from the get go. And it is all tooooo easy for a shiester-wrench to charge for a full plug change and actually do only 11 of them given the time/labor that's involved. I can only imagine how many times owners have paid for this false sense of security. Which is why I suspect many of us here put up with these "mini ordeals" of maintenance

But from this point on, I will certainly check an easy plug before committing to a plug change. I figured I was being fastidious in my maintenance (since it was 35k since, after all), but in truth, I feel I've just wasted money and time here. And at my more "mature years" I am now literally feeling the ramifications of a day under the car in my back and neck this morning after the melee. Oh well, the price one pays for the automotive dream!


Edward

mpruden

I'm all for over maintaining, but I'm starting to agree. I consider myself a pretty durable guy, but getting those right-side spark plugs kicked my butt and left me with a nice scar on my hand.

When I dropped my engine, I was sore for a week, but at least I didn't have to go to the doctor for stitches. I guess this is why the pros have lifts, air tools, years of experience, and interns.

pp000830

Yes on the 993 the plugs only really need to be changed about as often as having the clutch replaced. For most owners that is a once in the life of the car event. In the old days when plugs ran at 6K volts, ignition and mixture were not well controlled and plug wire had short service lives plugs were a constant issue. On a modern computer controlled system running at tens of thousands of volts plugs are a lot more stable.
The OBDC is rather sensitive , so if you had a plug related ignition issue the light would probably be on.

Andy :-)

Edward

Excellent points, Andy.

And if I may add, not only did the plugs look amazingly good, but when remounting the muffler and exhaust tip, son of a gun were they clean inside! Sure a light patina of exhaust, but you can see the bare metal underneath the film and it shows how efficient/clean these cars are while still producing prodigious power (for 1990s standards, natch). I'm ok with over maintaining some things, like oil changes, but there are other things like plugs (and clutches, to be sure) that really need replacing only when they need replacing.

Edward