Taught myself how to change sparkplugs!

[Sin]

Never worked on a Kia before, so I had no idea what I was in for. Mother in laws van was acting up, and even though she has 2 other sons that live right next to her, none of them offered to fix it for her. (it is a 2005 Kia Sedona, NEVER had the spark plugs changed in it)

I love tinkering, I love fixing computers, I love anything that I have to figure out. My father was a mechanic so he had me out there in the garage in my teen years, so I learned a bit.

So I bit the bullet today, and I drove her van (sputtering and all, 2nd and 4th cylinder was misfiring) down to my house, looked up a diagram, and went to work on her motor. I have taught myself how to dissect a Tryex and my husbands Chevy silverado, but a Kia was a whole different beast.

But after 2 hours of researching, going slow, numbering the parts, I did it!! Her van purrs like a kitten now. So kinda a small victory for me, because I learned something new today. =)

(Also reason it made me so happy, is that I felt like for once in the past few months I succeeded at something. It gave me a self confidence boost that I really needed. Small thing I know)

Old spark plug compared to the new one.

[wildross]

Congrats!! That is a pretty seriously used plug. No oil though, which is good and no fouling, which is also good. Gas mileage should go way up!!

Did you change the wires out too? Good test is to open the hood with the engine running in a dark place and see if there is any arcing on the wires.

4 and 8 cylinders (at least the older bigger ones) are not too bad. The cross mount V6's are a royal pain. A few models require you to pull the engine to change the spark plugs (don't remember which)

[Sin]

Congrats!! That is a pretty seriously used plug. No oil though, which is good and no fouling, which is also good. Gas mileage should go way up!!

Did you change the wires out too? Good test is to open the hood with the engine running in a dark place and see if there is any arcing on the wires.

4 and 8 cylinders (at least the older bigger ones) are not too bad. The cross mount V6's are a royal pain. A few models require you to pull the engine to change the spark plugs (don't remember which)

Oh it was a pain in the rear. It was a 6 cylinder Kia Sedona. The first three in the front was a breeze, but the 3 in the back (It was a V6) was a royal pain it in the rear. Had to remove the intake manifold, to even get to the plugs, and all the wires that I had to unhook. I swear if I ever meet the engineer that came up with that bright idea of a design, I can't promise I won't beat him senseless with a nerf bat! lol

[Guest Snake McClain]

WOOOO! Great job!

That is a Level Up if I've ever heard of one.

[Laureleye]

I'm officially impressed!

[maggerson]

Man, I know EXACTLY what you mean about that second row of spark plugs. I'm fortunate enough to have a 4-cylinder 2002 Dodge Neon, but my girlfriend drives a '95 Buick Skylark. It's almost physically impossible to get those stupid plugs out.

I think next time, just as a car nerd, I would recommend using some E3 plugs - they're glorious and have a killer warranty on them. They're a skoche pricier, but you also don't have to adjust them with the little size wheel. It's one less irritating thing to do on an already irritating project.

I second the part about the wires, too - that will also help fuel economy.

Oh, and WOOT!