Is this more than I can handle?

Howdy, all!

I know this time of year is typically ripe with bike repair advice, but my cage has some issues that need handling if it's going to make it to bike season.

I have a 2001 Hyundai XG300 that just crested 100k miles.

It recently developed a spark issue where there is a visible spark at the ignition coil within the engine compartment - scarey! The car still runs once I can get it started - local mechanic said there was enough spark for it to run, but potentially not enough spark (on the effected cylinders) for ignition to be smooth.

The task at hand is to replace the 3 ignition coils, spark plugs and plug wires, as long as I'm in there. Local shop quoted $800+.

I found that my local NAPA carries the coils for $65 each (3 needed) and wires + plugs can't be more than another $100 or so.

Now before you assume that the plugs are easy to get to on this car, there is a ton of labor involved in that process. THIS PAGE details that the plenum will have to be removed, and a new gasket applied after.

If it doesn't work, I'll hang my head and have AAA tow it to the shop, and they can use the newly purchased coils, so there doesn't seem to be much to loose, except some pride.

Now I have enough technical experience to be dangerous, but need convincing that this is a worthwhile adventure - for the $500+ savings, should I give it a go?

 

Yes yes and again yes if you KNOW that you have
the proper tools and skill.

If you lack the tools (and you know as an xj owner we
need the right tools) then you've come to a stop before you
even began.

As far as skill-resources are all over the internet if you get into
a jam.

Good luck

ron

 

This is a job that their techs are supposed to do in just a few hours. If you have the tools and the ability to have your ride in some downtime, I would go for it. The money saved will be well worth the effort.

Strangely these new coils were supposed to be better than the old, but they don't seem to last as long. I had to replace 1 on my Expedition ($200+), but lucky for me it was under warranty. The only nice thing about the Ford is that the coils are sitting right on top of the plugs and are easy to get to.

 

Not too long ago, I did several things to my car that I would never have considered doing on my own before -- timing belt, front crank seal, camshaft seal, belts, drain the tranny/swap the strainer and exchange the tranny fluid...

You can't get experience without doing. If you've got backup transportation, then get thee to wrenching.

 

Thanks for all the encouragement, guys - I'm going to give 'er a go and see what we come up with.

 

This sounds all to familiar for a modern car. On my Chevy Lumina the Manuel states to undue the rear engine mounts, put a jack under the engine, and tilt the engine forward to get to the rear plugs. A long and involved process with potential for broke wires, hoses and, crushed arms if the jack should slip. I Looked around and thought for a minute I came up with a better plan. In less than five minutes I had the alternator out and with it gone more than enough room the get my hand and arm behind the engine and swing a ratchet. Had the whole job was done in twenty minutes. The manual states to charge two hours of labor for that job.

So there are plenty of ways around the manual that was written so the dealer could charge you by the labor hour. I bet there is another way to get at the plugs in your car without pulling major components off the engine.

 

Haha, bastards. That just gives me more reason to go poking around, and see if the back plugs really are that difficult to access. Why did the auto repair industry decide that it was acceptable to screw the customer? I mean there are some industries that rip people off, but should (like pay-day loans/title loans).

 

He's right though, sometimes replacing a simple plug requires crazy stuff. My Expedition says to lift frame from chassis to remove #8....NUTS!!

I recently bought a coil for my Expedition off fleabay and paid a whopping 13.95 for it!!! I laughed all the way to the bank. Heck, I bought 3 just for the heck of it since my truck has 218,000 miles on it. I've only replaced one previously so I figure I'll need the others one day. Its a piece of cake job once you get the partsand you'll save yourself a ton of cash!!

jeff

 

This doesn't look that bad Let us know how it goes.

 

Have you thought of cleaning the suspect coil, applying Liquid Electric Tape, and gapping the suspect plug a bit tighter??

$5.00 fix 8)

 

TTR is right, my sons Maxima has the same plenum which is a ROYAL BIT** to remove.....I like TTR's idea of reaching in with something, cleaning and sealing with liquid tape bought at your local HF store. Big sales this time of year, might get it for 2 bucks instead of 5<LOL>

jeff

 

Well, I can finally declare victory!

I ended up replacing one of the ignition coils ($30) and that cleared the check engine light error, but allowed me to discover another - a coolant temperature sensor.

I used my multimeter to determine that the sensor gave me ZERO resistance whatsoever, so I replaced that ($15), and consequently needed new coolant ($10), but now my car is running as great as ever!

The shop had quoted the ignition issue at $800, and the sensor at $250. I took some of those savings and bought a $15 OBDII USB scanner for my laptop and boy is it sweet! LINK

Thanks for giving me the encouragement.

 

Thank you for that link! my daughter has a BMW, (not a new one but new enough to be a pain), and we have a '06 focus. just got rid of an '02 caravan and an '01 explorer. I hate working on all these.
My truck is an 86 f150 4x4, when you open the hood you see an engine,
All the newer ones are a pain to work on, why do they put something like a spark plug in a place that requires all this anyway??
Common sense is dying

 

Before you begin, ... make sure you informed.
Know about anything that is a pitfall which might get overlooked causing you to go back in.

Buy THE Book.
Find someone who will let you review a Factory Book.
Buy a Composition Notebook. Use it as your "Job-Book"
Take NOTES as you go.

Use a Red Sharpie to Note things you need to ORDER.
Back-up the Notebook with Photographs.

Prepare for storage of small parts.
Brown Lunch Bags and Marker.
Get as many Plastic Bags as a bribe to the SuperMarket Bagboy will stake you.
Tell him not to come back with less than 50.

If you have to lean into the Engine Compartment:
Fabricate a platform to make it a comfortable reach.
Pad and cover fenders.

Ample light.

Take that long list and divide it into STAGES.
1 through 6.
7 through 12.
13 through 20, ... etc.

Stay fresh.
Don't overdo it.
Fatigue causes discouragement and mistakes.

Document the adventure.
Lots of pics.
After its done; do a photo essay.

 

Engineers are being paid more to squeeze the same parts into a smaller space, and be lighter weight, as well as use strange bolts to become less user-serviceable.

When the dealership sells a new car on financing, they sell that financing for approximately $1200 per vehicle. When they get you to take a lease, they sell that contract for an average of $700 per vehicle. But if you do the sensible thing and actually pay cash for your car, the typical profit a dealership makes is $70 per vehicle.

That being said, the first four or five trips to the shop will run you more than all those numbers combined. They make the money in the back end, so they make stuff hard to figure out from home.

 

I'm glad it turned out well for you.

Sometimes even having the proper book doesn't help. Example, my wife's 07 compass. I had to change the exhaust header because it has a catalytic converter in the header and the CEL was on for that converter being bad. Book says undo the bolts and pull it out the top. It does not come out the top with the valve cover on the engine. Can't go out the bottom because of the transmission.

Or my truck 99 7.3l f350. IF the oil pan leaks you have to remove the over 900lb engine, or pay someone about 10 hours labor to do it, to spend the 30 minutes changing the $130 oil pan.

I miss my 80 mustang with the 4 cylinder I could change the oil without crawling underneath as there was enough space between the fender and the engine to reach all the way down to the oil pan for the drain plug.

 

I have a 83 3/4 ton GMC pickup that I use for the bikes and around the property. I have replaced ALL the body parts except the cab, hood, box bead and front panel on the box. I have replaced head gaskets and timing gears and chain. This truck has nothing under the hood except a 454 ci motor. The only thing I need to do now is replace the gas tanks. The only thing I didn't do myself was paint the truck.
I also have a 03 Grand Am that I just replaced the intake manifold seals on. $800 dollars if I took it into the shop. I cost me $100 in parts plus about 3 hours of my time.
I bought a Haynes manual and searched online for a forum. I did a lot of reading and asked a lot of questions before I started and was able to take care of it myself.