I was just quoted 450 dollars to change out all the spark plugs on my 430 by the dealer. I am thinking about doing this job myself but not sure if i can handle it...Are there any DIY's floating around or anyone who has done the job before have any tips??

 

i changed the plugs myself on my 320. i paid about 80 for plugs. but it ending up costing me 1,000 dollars i changed the plugs at 100k mi and one of them broke. so cylinder head had to be removed. its not that difficult if u have the tools. check the diy thread, its on there. good luck!

 

I probably broke 7 or 8 plugs when changing my plugs. All I did was unscrew the plugs and then retrieve them with a stick+gummy stuff combination that I put together.....I can understand if the plug or head's thread got damaged, but if the white connector part breaks while unpluging the wires....just do as I did and save yourself the G......

 

no i dont think what you mentioned would work. this is the plug that broke.

 

How the hell did you manage to do that? You're right...it wouldn't work. I'm talking about the opposite side.


P.S. Was it broken, attached to the metal nut? or was the other white end (the one not stuck to the car) attached to the metal nut?

 

I just changed the plugs on my 99 CLK430. It wasn't impossible. It took some universal joint adapters and some different extensions to get into the tight spots. I used an open-end wrench to get the spark plug wires off the plug. I took each coil off. I put anti-sieze on each plug and torqued them to 18 I believe. The hardest part was putting the plug wire back on the plug. It just wasn't easy to get them on at the right angle and then I wasn't sure if they were all the way on so I used a couple wrenches to push/leverage them on as hard as I could. The gap was set at 40 from the factory (got the plugs from Phil at Fastlane). I could really tell a difference in the acceleration after the plug change.

 

On mine:

I had to pull the headlamp washer tank.
I used a sparkplug wire puller. They're only about $20.
Anti-seize on the new plugs.
The sparkplug wire ends loosen up if the plugs are slipped on and off before reinstalling them.
The engine was cold (sat over night).

 

Took me about and half to 2 hrs to do it... It's kind of a pain, because there isn't a lot of space and you do need spark plug puller to get the wires off. Other than that it's not bad, but you will scrape up your hands doing it.

 

so i'm going to pick up ngk iridium IX plugs today finally. On the website it says they are pre-gapped. Can i just screw them in or do i need to do something special

 

I just did an instructional on this.

Alway, always, verify the gaps.
I didn't have to remove the washer reservoir, or anything.
It's tight. Engine compartments on V8's are tight.
Next time get a 4 banger and you'll have plenty of room.
Kidding, guys. V8's are a love affair. They're worth it.

LinK:
http://www.panchogun.com/FVWebPhotos...lugs-6x100.jpg

 

i agree gap is super important. more important is when using plat or iriduim plugs be super careful or you will wear the super thin layer of these precious metals, leaving expensive spark plug = to copper autolight plugs. Well maybe not that bad...

 

I'm interested in this too.

 

On the forum, in this (W208 CLK) section, the second item listed is called "W208 How to's". That is a long running post with tips on how to do things. Changing the spark plugs is the first item listed.

IHTH