[JeDiHemi]

sup folks?!?

i finally tackled changing my sparks on sunday afternoon. it took me about 2 hours, but i wasn't rushing, especially since i was doing it for the first time and dealing with the "brains" of the car.

i followed a how-to i found right on the forums to a T, and i must say that it was perfect. it was this one: Spark Plug Replacement 2005 5.7L * - LX Forums Modern Mopar Muscle

the only discrepency i could find was the picture shows a 3/8" spark plug socket wrench, but it's actually 5/8" like they state in the "how-to" on step nine. and, i had to use an extender to get to a couple of the spark plug sockets.

i know it was bad of me to do, but i hadn't replaced my plugs to date, and i have over 100,000 miles, as the 5.7's have a 30,000 spark plug maintenance schedule that the v6's and srt8's do not have... i just wasn't going to pay $199 at the dealer, and i hadn't experienced any real problems, but it was bugging me that something "might" go wrong because i waited so long. i can say that i truly do feel a better idle and she purrs again... i began to feel a rumble of sorts, and i heard a knocking sound... i won't go that long without changing them again that's for sure.

it cost me $1.77 per plug ($28.32) for all 16... i bought some anti seize for $0.98 and the spark plug adapter for $2.09 from advance auto parts... take that dealer!

here is how they basically all looked compared to the new ones:

i was just curious to see how much gap i had lost in my old plugs since i had waited so long to do this, and they were all gapped around .058 instead of .045... i did check each new plug, and was happy to see that they were all gapped at .045, but it IS smart to check. u never know what can happen...

all in all, i am very happy that i did these myself finally... and, just take your time and do one set of plugs at a time, and anyone can do this. i will be doing this every 30,000 miles, and yes, i stuck with the champion (copper) plugs because i spoke with four different dealerships, and the techs all said that you would eventually harm your MDS system b/c of the different spark points of iridium or platinum plugs. i was going to get NGK's or these, and these were the cheapest and were available at my local store.

 

[2005_300c]

I just did mine too, its really is pretty easy
nice job,

 

[Tinstar]

I think you did good. I am glad to know it is easy. I am into saving money if there is something I can do. The local car wash charges $20 to wash a vehicle. So every time I wash mine I do it with a smile on my face thinking of what I can do with the $20 I am saving.

 

[Northern300c]

Go get some Redline SI-1 Complete Fuel system cleaner and pour it into your tank before you next fill and it will take care of any cylinder deposits from the worn out plugs.

 

[JeDiHemi]

Go get some Redline SI-1 Complete Fuel system cleaner and pour it into your tank before you next fill and it will take care of any cylinder deposits from the worn out plugs.

thanks... i'll have to go look for that... autozone carry it?

 

[Northern300c]

thanks... i'll have to go look for that... autozone carry it?

They should. Make sure you add it before you fill your tank so it will be mixed properly.

Stuff works magic on buildup.

 

[ReppinTheSouth]

From what I've gathered on this site, dealers charge a wide range to do this and I don't know if I've seen any price for less than the $199 you quoted. For that much money, it's a no brainer to do it yourself. I had never changed plugs before and I did mine with no problems at all after viewing a few threads on here. GOOD JOB!!!!!!!!!

 

[LSCto300C]

I did mine with a buddy of mine who also owns a 300c and we did them together. My car has about 22k miles and his had about 31k miles. Did your plugs show any kind of compression leakage? My car was showing early signs that the plugs were getting stressed and his looked horrible.
How were yours looking around the collar (or whatever) where the plug is white?

 

[newbee]

My stealership wanted $250.00 to change plugs! I printed the instructions from the LX forum and did mine for $27.00 after I bought what I needed.
We have to change them so often because of the corrosion from the copper core plug. Mine were fine because I did them on time. If you notice yours have a corroded look. They fired fine all that time but began to corrode I guess. If you run a different plug you run a certain amount of risk to the MDS and whatever, is what I heard. That debate goes on here on the forum if I recall, but anyway.. Its great that we saved that money.

 

[UkNoWmEhFo]

good job. runs better huh

 

[nofear365]

Do you feel a difference?

 

[2005_300c]

I think I do, it may be in my head

 

[JeDiHemi]

I did mine with a buddy of mine who also owns a 300c and we did them together. My car has about 22k miles and his had about 31k miles. Did your plugs show any kind of compression leakage? My car was showing early signs that the plugs were getting stressed and his looked horrible.
How were yours looking around the collar (or whatever) where the plug is white?

there was only some small white residue on some of the collars. it was chalky. i think it was the anti-shock that they probably put in there for the initial install. i guess u can also add anti-shock to the collar's of the new ones as u replace them along with the anti-sieze on the threads on the other end, but i asked a couple techs, and they said it wasn't necessary.

good job. runs better huh

Do you feel a difference?

yes, i can feel the difference in both my shifting from gear to gear and when she's at idle. i used to hear a slight knock and feel a vibration during idle. i don't hear or feel either anymore. i also used to have some lag during shifting at high rpms, and i got my shifter reprogrammed at the dealership under warranty, so i could tell that had gotten worse... well, it's back to how i like it now.

 

[nofear365]

I'm ordering mine tonight. My brother just ordered a ton of parts for his car and Rockauto gave him a "5% back on your next order" code in return.

Hopefully I can get some time to change them this weekend.

 

[JeDiHemi]

I'm ordering mine tonight. My brother just ordered a ton of parts for his car and Rockauto gave him a "5% back on your next order" code in return.

Hopefully I can get some time to change them this weekend.

good luck mang! seriously, 2 hours is all you are going to need to set aside for this...

 

[AlexDestructive]

my torque wrench doesn't go down to 105 in/lbs it stops @ 140 in/lbs then only goes higher, how important is it to torque the coils down to 105 in/lbs?

also, about how tight (approximately) is 105 in/lbs? like hand tight?

 

[JeDiHemi]

my torque wrench doesn't go down to 105 in/lbs it stops @ 140 in/lbs then only goes higher, how important is it to torque the coils down to 105 in/lbs?

also, about how tight (approximately) is 105 in/lbs? like hand tight?

i read many articles on this as well. it is important not to over torque is what i generally heard, so just going to one click on the torque wrench or just hand snug tight is a good rule of thumb to follow i found. basically, if it stops moving, stop tightening.

 

[Chase300]

my torque wrench doesn't go down to 105 in/lbs it stops @ 140 in/lbs then only goes higher, how important is it to torque the coils down to 105 in/lbs?

also, about how tight (approximately) is 105 in/lbs? like hand tight?

Yes, you just need to snug down the coils. The important thing is to properly torque the spark plugs.

 

[AlexDestructive]

alright awesome i guess i have my work cut out for me tomorrow :fing02:

 

[JeDiHemi]

Yes, you just need to snug down the coils. The important thing is to properly torque the spark plugs.

i think u mean the important thing is to properly gap the spark plugs...