I have yet to replace plugs on the MB since I've owned it, which is about 10 months ago, give or take. I purchased the Iridiums, IK16 from Denso.

What's your experience with these? Is this what these vehicles came with? The car has 84K miles on the clock now and figured they're overdue since I perused the service records and could not find record of when the plugs were replaced/changed. As always, thanks in advance for your observations.

 

i originally wanted to get the iridiums, but instead opted for the oem plugs from the dealer, i still want to try out the iridiums so i'm also curious. my original plugs were oem bosch, they just had the mercedes logo on them. but if you are going to change the plugs yourself, i HIGHLY suggest you run to the hardware store and buy an angle plier that are about 18" long or else you are going to have a hell of time getting the plug wires off and yanking them by the wire will only ruin your wires, and i'm talking from experience give youself about 2.5-3 hours for all 16 plugs.

i purchased these two set of pliers and they were pretty cheap and does the job.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=38598

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37909

 

Thanks for your take Pete! I did order an extended set of pliers in anticipation of removing those sleeves...they look like thay are gonna be a pain in the *** to remove and I can already see that it's gonna take a while to remove all sixteen plugs timewise.

 

with the extended pliers, they are easy! good thinking ahead.

 

Yeah Pete, I've read ahead on it so hopefully it'll be painless....we shall see. The starter was not too bad once the the mount was out. I found a Bosch Premium rebuilt starter for $145 at drivewire.com by the way.

 

use an old spark plug boot to help you screw in new plugs or unscrew the old ones after you break torque.

 

Got it done.....about a two hour job. Cleaning and using anti-seize in the process. The Champion 3701's I took out looked fair, I however am glad they were changed so I know what's in the car now. Thanks to everyone's input...the harbor freight tools, specifically the middle ones in Linuxfoo's prior post are a MUST have esp for the plugs closest to the firewall.

 

glad to hear a success! so how are the Denso's ??? any noticeable difference?

 

I gotta tell you, it runs like a top!! I have not taken it out on the highway yet....but I'll get back with you on it....I also have to add, the quality on the Denso's, fit and finish wise, blows away the Champions too!

Just for everyone's 411: I obtained the sparkplugs through a seller "allsparkplugs" on ebay, for $32.99 per four pack, you'll spend $132 + shipping, since you'll need sixteen (16) plugs, that's about $8 per plug versus $11 per at www.denso.com - that's close to fifty bucks you're saving. Also, you can verify application at www.denso.com I used IK16 for 1998 C43.

 

Frank, I thought that BOSCH was the OEM plug that came with our cars.If I am correct that means someone must have changed the OEM's out to the champions.What was the condition of the Champions?How is she on the highway now? Did you do anything with the wires?

 

I have to peruse the previous owner's records...I think they were done by her at some point in time, must have been an 'indy' shop perhaps. The Champions looked like they were burning fine...lean/rich wise. However, it looked like they were scant on the anti-seize - read, if any. Also, some of the plug's bases had some corrosion, others were fine. It did not run bad previously, per se, but I'll let you know how she does on the road - either today or tomorrow. She launches great off of the line, with a touch of wheel spin before the traction control kicks in. The plug wires are in fine shape, looks like a coil pack was replaced previously. Only thing I did was clean them up, I only used compressed air to blow off debris and clean up the torx screw mounting holes.

C43AMG - Never heard from your source BTW on that mirror.

 

PM sent