plugs/wires/coilpack - engine needs to come out?
 

engine running rich, likely misfiring especially noticeable while idling, talked to a subaru mech, and he suggested plugs/wires/coilpack, but wanted 300$ to do it, as apparently the engine must be removed to do so. True or false? (plllleeeeease be false). i paid 600$ for the car, and i didnt think id have to spend 300$ so soon, and if i DO have to take the motor out, im gonna wait till i get back home, and my friend can prob do it for 1/2 what suby wants :)

No, plugs can be done in the car.

<<talked to a subaru mech, and he suggested plugs/wires/coilpack, but wanted 300$ to do it, as apparently the engine must be removed to do so. >>

yeah, time to get a mechanic that knows what he's talking about. no wires or coilpack in these cars. he must think your in a Loyale (XT) or something. do the plugs yourself, without removing the engine, plenty of posts on the subject if you search it out. see if the plugs fix it then go from there. these cars have a coil going to each cylinder. no need to replace them until you need to.

False. :D Check the how too section on plug replacement. Not easy and is awkward, making it frustrating if you don't keep your cool and take your time.

In particular pay attention to the the rubber boots on the coils. If these are cooked HT shorts to ground occur, regardless of all else being OK.

ill try to dig it up and give a read through tomorrow, thanks guys! sorry for my terrible grammar etc, its late here and i worked all day, about to pass out :). hopefully its something that i can accomplish w/out too much trouble.

it can be done it takes a cool head and read the walk-thru as said above the plugs are ngk or bosch but must be platnium ( i know starting a war suggesting 2 kinds) personally I used NGK and have had awesome results

A passed over idea that I have made is to unbolt the nuts for the motor mount to cross member. This has allowed me to jack the motor up several inches and makes the process of removing the coils and plugs really easy, not to mention vcg's.
Why unbolt both mouunts at the same time? Cause it is easy and you are down there anyway. So if the mounts don't line up when going back down, just shake the motor a little. It will fall back in place.

Just my $0.02 take on it.
When you are there inspect the coil, and coil to plug boots or traces of arcing.
White spots and white lines are your visual cue here.

good luck

Yes, be careful with the coil packs. They are about $85 or more each. :eek: Just take your time and you can do it. :)

well i have no way of pulling the motor out two inches (so i wont be doing that lol) i have a parking lot at a ****ty appartment, and probably 60$ to buy the plugs and tools i need to get em in. ill be having a bud help me who also has decent knowledge about cars as well (mostly ford, but meh, his ford and my honda experience should help somewhat) ill try to get er done this weekend, worst case is that i can't do it, and ill just live with ****ty gas mileage till i get home and have it done by my friend in his shop.

Flat rate on these I think is 2.4 hours to do the plugs but I'm not sure. You do NOT have to pull the motor, and the only one that's really not fun is the rear plug on the driver's side, the rest of them are pretty easy. There is a seal around each coil pack that you might want to think about replacing, especially if they are hardened, they aren't that expensive. Don't use Bosch plugs, they have a very small electrode and foul easily, better off to use NGK or Denso platinum. Or you can go with the Iridium plugs since those don't have to be replaced for 100,000 miles, but are more expensive. It is okay to use regular plugs, however they only last 30,000 miles so work-wise you're better off with the platinum, and NGK = OEM.

ill go with NGK plats, as i use the NGK's in my honda, and they work a treat. for the seals you were talking about, would any "decent" automotive store carry these? and it sounds like ill need alot more knowledge that i have to do this, but perhaps not. Also, i couldn't find a how to section on this website, am i missing it somewhere?

from memory
 

short write-up:

1: you need a floor jack to push the motor up (lift on oil pan or balancer w/ 2x4)

1.5: if you are scared you can just lift up one side at a time by jacking on the head/ cam covers, that way you don't have to wory about the motor getting out of place.

2: a 14mm socket, short (3") extension and a ratchet to remove the 2 motor mount nuts

3: 12mm (or was it a 10mm?) wrench (gearwrench if you can get it) for the coil pack bolts

4: spark plug socket, short (1") extension and ratchet to remove the plugs

If you feel like it you can remove the batt to get more room on the drivers side. You need to remove the air intake stuff for best access on the pass side. that's basically it.

Buy the ngk plat's and they come pre gapped.
Give yourself a good hour or more to do them, depending on what all you take apart.
Svxfiles talks about removing a plug in the unibody to access the drivers rear plug i believe (I didn't do it), but would be good to look into.

Never use the crank pully to lift the motor
and moving the motor in any way is more than entirly not required and only adds complexity!
Yes, there is a plug in the fender well that you pull out and slide a rachet extension through to remove/install the plugs nearest the firewall!

I bought a small gear ratchet set for like 25 bucks a long while back.. similar to this one:
http://www.gearwrench.com/catalog/xl...sp?part=893823

which has been very useful in tight places like loosening the bolts on the coils.
Also, another tip I have for the plugs is to get your deep socket in first and then attach your small extension or ratchet to it.

also I used bosch +4, and can say I was less than impressed with them over my tired NGKs... so i'd also have to say replace with the stock NGKs!