I just purchased a 2005 Mazda6 wagon with 96K miles, and replaced the spark plugs thanks to this writeup. What is the "4th hidden hose" that is attached to the bottom of the manifold? When trying to remove it I cracked it at the connection to the manifold; I'd like to know what it is before I replace it. I looked through the forum, but couldn't find anything.
DIY: How to change spark plugs (3.0L V6)
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vac line to the purge valve solenoid. I would highly recommend getting that replaced ASAP.
hose is 1/4" ID on the solenoid side and 3/8ID on the plenum side. If you go to the ace you can get 4 vac clamps and a hose splice that is 1/4" to 3/8"(usually about a buck).
Go to auto parts store and get heat resistant hose as you do not want your new hose to melt. I usually end up buying fuel line pieces because it is pretty cheap and last longer.
hose is 1/4" ID on the solenoid side and 3/8ID on the plenum side. If you go to the ace you can get 4 vac clamps and a hose splice that is 1/4" to 3/8"(usually about a buck).
Go to auto parts store and get heat resistant hose as you do not want your new hose to melt. I usually end up buying fuel line pieces because it is pretty cheap and last longer.
No anti sizethose plug threads could be could be in trouble.
Check your coils for a thin crack on top, near the label with the numbers on it. The crack usually starts from the coil connecting part and snakes toward the label as a sign of failure. I had one and a possible failed coil that I replaced. No more hesitation or bucking!
I've not used antisieze compound on sparkplug threads in the past and not had a problem. Below is Autolite's procedure for the plugs I used and it does not call for thread compound.......not to say that experience of others might suggest its a good thing to do
.Autolite® XP Xtreme Performance® Spark Plugs
These spark plugs are one of the brand's most technologically advanced spark plugs ever. With an iridium-enhanced .6 mm finewire design and proprietary platinum sidewire technology, these spark plugs provide better durability* and a more focused ignition for better overall ignitability** and optimum performance.
Replacing spark plugs can be a simple job, if you take things one step at a time. Given a basic understanding of mechanical matters, here's a guide to the proper procedures in changing spark plugs.
1. Carefully remove the spark plug wires. Grasp the plug wire boot, twist about one-quarter turn to break the seal, then lift straight off. Use plug boot pullers if the boot doesn't break free easily. Number plug wires with tape as you remove the to avoid crossing them. (illus. 1)
2. Loosen each spark plug so it can be removed. Clean the seat area with a blast of compressed air, or by blowing through a soda straw. This prevents dirt from falling into the combustion chamber when the old plugs are removed. (illus. 2)
3. Remove the plugs and line them up in cylinder order. Inspection of the firing ends of the plugs can identify a number of engine problems that may need correction. (illus. 3)
4. Gap new plugs as recommended in your owner's manual or a Spark Plug Catalog. Use a feeler gauge to measure the gap between the center and ground electrode. The gauge should pass through snugly but easily. If it's too loose or too tight, reset the gap.
5. Screw new plugs in by hand until tight. If the plug starts to go in hard, use a thread chaser to clean the threads. Use a torque wrench to tighten the spark plugs following the manufacturer's recommendations, or refer to a torque chart in the Spark Plug Catalog. If you don't have a torque wrench, see the bottom of the torque chart for hand tightening recommendations.
6. Replace spark plug wires in the correct order. Check to see if the boots are brittle or cracked, and if there is corrosion on the connector inside the boot. If any of these conditions are present, the spark plug wire should be replaced.
7. Start the engine. If it misfires or idles roughly, the wires are crossed or not connected to the plugs correctly. Check the firing order and connections closely.
These instructions were very useful. Thankyou so much for having laid them out well. This job is not a good one for a novice. I have changed sparkplugs on other configurations but never on a transverse V6. I was surprised that I had to remove the intake!
Torque values might be wasted because the screws are all small but I agree that pics would help. However I didn't take any to supply.
I did find that there is no need to cut the tape on the while clips of the harness. I used an allen key and screw driver to pop out the clip retainer on the right of each white clip and then pulled/slid them out of their tapered slot.
One plastic clip for the EGR harness broke but my biggest dumb action was to split the "flex" hose from the air intake by trying to over flex it. I duct taped the inside and its air tight so I don't know how much a replacement costs.
My spark plug change occured at 62000 and I used Bosch 4+ platinums. The transformation was FANTASTIC! Even my AC cools better, better mileage and better acceleration.
This thankyou took a lot of effort. I had to register and post and jump through hoops. I don't know if im threading, sticking, posting, blogging or just old.
Many thanks for taking the time to put up these instructions.
Torque values might be wasted because the screws are all small but I agree that pics would help. However I didn't take any to supply.
I did find that there is no need to cut the tape on the while clips of the harness. I used an allen key and screw driver to pop out the clip retainer on the right of each white clip and then pulled/slid them out of their tapered slot.
One plastic clip for the EGR harness broke but my biggest dumb action was to split the "flex" hose from the air intake by trying to over flex it. I duct taped the inside and its air tight so I don't know how much a replacement costs.
My spark plug change occured at 62000 and I used Bosch 4+ platinums. The transformation was FANTASTIC! Even my AC cools better, better mileage and better acceleration.
This thankyou took a lot of effort. I had to register and post and jump through hoops. I don't know if im threading, sticking, posting, blogging or just old.
Many thanks for taking the time to put up these instructions.
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they are ~130 at the dealer or 80 for the dormat one last I checked.
I do have a spare OEM one off my 03 with ~5k on it for 70shipped if need be.
Ok, I changed my plugs and here are the pertinent pics.
Spark Plug Change - a set on Flickr
FYI you may want to disconnect the coolant hoses from the throttle body before you move it around too much. the 3-way and hose for the lower costs about $40 and is only available at the dealer. Also, while you have it out you may want to just bypass the TB.
Spark Plug Change - a set on Flickr
FYI you may want to disconnect the coolant hoses from the throttle body before you move it around too much. the 3-way and hose for the lower costs about $40 and is only available at the dealer. Also, while you have it out you may want to just bypass the TB.
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I found a great detailed video on changing the plugs on the 3.0L Mazda6. This video allowed me with confidence to proceed with the plug change. Never have I owned a car that required so much work for such a basic DIY job! I hope this helps others that may have been apprehensive as I was. Good luck.
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Yeah I found this video very helpful when I changed my plugs. It was the first thing I had ever done on a car - I hadn't even changed the oil before! Honestly, It's a pretty straightforward job. I hope no one is deterred by how complex it seems, because it's really not.
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any tips for getting the tubes off the throttle bottle? I want to take it off completely and give it a good cleaning while i have everything apart.
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Great Vid Thanks for Loading teh Vid.
Man your Right, I never seen so much steps on a Spark plug, change than on these 6's.
The mechanic changed them for me......
My mechanic charges $75.00 per hour, where the dealer charges $90.00 per hour. At 98,400 miles, I decided it was time to change all of the ignition coils and the spark plugs just to be safe. The car had been idling slightly rough at start-up, anyway.
He bought the OEM ignition coils and NGK "Uranium" spark plugs...those were $23.00 each. Kind of pricey. I noticed the original ones were platinum Motorcraft ones. He also replaced all of the air intake gaskets. He said the coolant bypass hose cracked while he was moving the air intake, so he replaced that also. By the way, the hose is a dealer-only item, so you may want to make sure you can get one of those if you need it. He couldn't get it until the next day, so I took the bus to work the next day.
Anyway, when all was said and done, the bill was about $1,100.00. I figured it would be about $800.00 since the ignition coils alone are $90.00 each from the dealer, so I guess I was close to the "correct" price. He did not charge me labor to change the coolant bypass hose, so I appreciated that.
My mechanic said "your car hauls ass!" when he was telling me how it performed when he took it on test drive after all was done. I'm not sure I agree with him completely since I'm already used to the power of the V6 engine, but it does run smoother and it's pretty quick when it's cold at least. We'll see if it gets better gas mileage now.
He gave me all of the old parts as I requested. Remarkably, the old ignition coils have no cracks on them, and they looked really clean! So did the spark plugs. So I'm saving those for spare parts. He agreed I should do that also.
I would have tried working on the car myself, but I'm not mechanically inclined beyond changing the oil and light maintenance.
My mechanic charges $75.00 per hour, where the dealer charges $90.00 per hour. At 98,400 miles, I decided it was time to change all of the ignition coils and the spark plugs just to be safe. The car had been idling slightly rough at start-up, anyway.
He bought the OEM ignition coils and NGK "Uranium" spark plugs...those were $23.00 each. Kind of pricey. I noticed the original ones were platinum Motorcraft ones. He also replaced all of the air intake gaskets. He said the coolant bypass hose cracked while he was moving the air intake, so he replaced that also. By the way, the hose is a dealer-only item, so you may want to make sure you can get one of those if you need it. He couldn't get it until the next day, so I took the bus to work the next day.
Anyway, when all was said and done, the bill was about $1,100.00. I figured it would be about $800.00 since the ignition coils alone are $90.00 each from the dealer, so I guess I was close to the "correct" price. He did not charge me labor to change the coolant bypass hose, so I appreciated that.
My mechanic said "your car hauls ass!" when he was telling me how it performed when he took it on test drive after all was done. I'm not sure I agree with him completely since I'm already used to the power of the V6 engine, but it does run smoother and it's pretty quick when it's cold at least. We'll see if it gets better gas mileage now.
He gave me all of the old parts as I requested. Remarkably, the old ignition coils have no cracks on them, and they looked really clean! So did the spark plugs. So I'm saving those for spare parts. He agreed I should do that also.
I would have tried working on the car myself, but I'm not mechanically inclined beyond changing the oil and light maintenance.
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I've got the exact same problem, minus the going through the water part, I think. And my coils seem fine. But the oil in the tb and on the plugs, and caked egr. My PCV seems fine, so I'm not sure whats causing this issue. Maybe something to do with the egr being so caked?OK well I went through some flooded streets yesterday and got a CEL, it was P0300 & P0305 misfiring cylinders, multiple & #5. Car was hesitating badly especially above 2500RPM. Car has 132K on it and I've never changed the plugs so I thought this the perfect opportunity to do so. I went to AutoZone and was kinda surprised that there is no "wireset" for this engine, only the coils/wire & boot sets. So I got the boot sets with the little coiled spring looking thingy in them(4.99 each) and a set of Autolite Platinum plugs.
I took the small metal rods that were in the stock spring thingys and put them in the one I bought at AZ, anyone know what these are and what they do? I should have taken a pic but forgot about it. Here's a pic of the boots/wires I bought at AutoZone, they didn't come with the little metal rods in them.
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When changing the plugs I was surprised to see some OIL in the Throttle Body and also around the seals for the IM! Is this normal?? In this pic you can see the oil dripping out of the TB
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Also the EGR was super filthy on the nozzle part that sits inside the IM so I cleaned that off with some acetone.
The plugs on the front cylinders were really good looking but all 3 rears #123 all looks bad to me. Here's a pic of the rear plugs.
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how long does this generally take for a first timer? A local shop quoted me $580 to change all 6 plugs which include $304 in labor because they have to take off the intake plenum. Also included in the $580 is 6 plug at $26.54 each and 6 intake plenum gasket at $14.94 each. I think they are bunch of monkeys and this is total rip off. but want to hear your guys' take on this.
Thanks a lot guys, thinking about doing this myself if the shop was bullshitting me.
Thanks a lot guys, thinking about doing this myself if the shop was bullshitting me.
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for the firs time it took me 5-6 hours, now i do this in about 15-20 min.. if you have a TB bypass mode its easier.
they want to charge you 2 much.. 26$ for a plug..lol
its really easy and it is good for you too know how 2 do that.. you should not pay for it ..diy.
btw before i changed them i asked about 5 places and the price range for it was 180-220$.
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First off you shouldnt be paying more the 60 for sparklers. live in canada and didnt even pay that much...
Second the plenum gasket is probably fine ive had mine off like 6 times and its still mint condition. There rubber rings around each cly port,not your typical one piece gasket they last pretty good.
Third do the egr mod and maybe the coolant bypass and this job will be pretty easy going. putting it back and any future times u take it off....
Forth you dont even need to take it off completely just undo all the hoses at the back ,move the wire harness back a lil and undo the egr from the plenum, disconnect the throttle wire and disconnect the intake obviously. You should be able to move it around enough to do the plugs.I just did my buddies last weekend and didnt even disconnect the coolant lines or the TB for that matter JUST BE CAREFULL OF THE PLASTIC T THE COOLANT LINES GO TO . Its been known to break just looking at it funny lol. Even the first timer shouldnt take longer then an hour if youve had previous car experience.
oh and just incase you dont now cover up the IM holes as soon as you start to lift it up or bad shit can happen.
Second the plenum gasket is probably fine ive had mine off like 6 times and its still mint condition. There rubber rings around each cly port,not your typical one piece gasket they last pretty good.
Third do the egr mod and maybe the coolant bypass and this job will be pretty easy going. putting it back and any future times u take it off....
Forth you dont even need to take it off completely just undo all the hoses at the back ,move the wire harness back a lil and undo the egr from the plenum, disconnect the throttle wire and disconnect the intake obviously. You should be able to move it around enough to do the plugs.I just did my buddies last weekend and didnt even disconnect the coolant lines or the TB for that matter JUST BE CAREFULL OF THE PLASTIC T THE COOLANT LINES GO TO . Its been known to break just looking at it funny lol. Even the first timer shouldnt take longer then an hour if youve had previous car experience.
oh and just incase you dont now cover up the IM holes as soon as you start to lift it up or bad shit can happen.
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