Replacing plugs on your alloytec( Not dial up friendly)

[SLIVZ]

Things Youll Need.
Music
10mm Socket
13mm Socket
16mm Plug Socket
Multi Grips or Pliers
Phillips head
Flat Blade screw driver
6 Spark Plugs(i got mine from holden but you can get them from Autobarn aswell)
1 pair of inlet Manifold Gaskets



First things First, You have to pull of these 2 Vaccum Hoses


Undo this Bold with your 10mm socket


Undo the 3 screws holding the Airbox lid on Using a Phillips head


Remove radiator Cover by using your Flat bladed Screw Driver


Now Unplug your AFM


Undo the Clamp on your Induction pipe with a small shifter, Unplug the Throttle body(underneath), And take off the vaccum hose on the left hand side



Use Pliers to squeeze the clamp on the Master Cylinder vaccum hose and pull it off, Unplug the to plugs just behind the manifold and undo the 6 13mm bolts holding down the manifold


You are now faced with this


Start by undoing the 6 10mm bolts Holding down the Coil packs, they should now just pull out and now use your 16mm plug socket with extension to remove the plugs




Now clean the Runner gasket area with some Metho or petrol and a razor blade( WARNING: TRY NOT TO DIG THE BLADE INTO THE SURFACE AS IT WILL CUT GROOVES INTO EASILY AS ITS ONLY ALLOY) once that is done Place new Gaskets and reverse all the steps and your done

[Haydz]

good how to mate.

would come in handy for alot of people who have no idea if they upgraded from ecotec to alloytec.

[eirkal]

when replacing the inlet manifold gaskets, do you use sealant before putting the manifold back on??????

[VKCOMMO]

when replacing the inlet manifold gaskets, do you use sealant before putting the manifold back on??????

Wouldnt hurt, Since it is like $5 for a tin of it

good write up

[Sabbath']

Wouldnt hurt, Since it is like $5 for a tin of it

good write up

There's no need for sealant as the gaskets have locating lugs to stop them moving around and once the bolts are in, they wont move.

[acarmody]

God bless my Ecotec. I remember trying to change the plugs on my brothers Camry, wasn't that a royal PITA.

[satos]

Excellent tutorial,will save a lot of time when the time comes to change the plugs.
Thanks

[edals]

Good How to Mate,

I Had no clue with these and doing a service. No wonder i have never seen the plugs cause did not know you had to pull the whole air intake off lol

[VzVzVz]

You make it look too hard mate, just undo the plennum bolts and shove a couple of blocks of wood in between the plennum and manifold. Doesnt matter if you mess up the old gasket, coz it gets replaced anyway. Dont remove the whole thing.

[airstyle]

You make it look too hard mate, just undo the plennum bolts and shove a couple of blocks of wood in between the plennum and manifold. Doesnt matter if you mess up the old gasket, coz it gets replaced anyway. Dont remove the whole thing.

He didn't say it was the quickest way, just a way he's done it without hassle. A full R&R makes you learn a lot more than just prying away what's in the way in the hope you'll have space to actually work in.

And I'm pretty sure he was commenting on the lower intake manifold, not the gasket, the gasket is probably paper based, the lower plenum is alloy!

Does anyone have the part numbers for the inlet manifold gaskets? Are they the same between the 175, 190 and 190 '05 update?

Cheers and thanks SLIVZ for the how-to, pictures always make doing shit in the engine bay alot easier
Greg.

[azza221]

HMMMM i followed this tutorial and now the engine is idling very roughly....not sure what to do...?

[azza221]

Ok turns out i didnt tighten the spark plugs to the correct tightness (between 16Nm - 20Nm). After getting a decent torque wrench from Autobarn I pulled everything off again and tightened to the correct torque and took it round the block...Feels really smooth now and can definitely notice the extra power the new plugs have given me back...(the old ones were in quite poor condition).

[airstyle]

Glad you worked it out and saw an improvement!

The instructions on the plugs are pretty straight forward but in case you missed them, the easiest way to make sure you get a proper seal without a torque wrench particularly on older cars is to do the following:

Do this one plug at a time and don't leave the plug holes in the block open too long.

1. Pull the spark plug out and clean the thread of it with petrol or similar cleaner. You can use this same plug for the rest of the cycle.

2. Use a proper plug socket to thread the plug back in and out a few times of each cylinder to clean the threads in the block, as if there is debris or excess oil in the threads, that can give you a false torque 'reading'. Debris will obviously also wreck the threads if coarse enough, as most blocks are made of softer metals.

2. Once you're happy with the cleaned thread on the block, using only the shaft of the socket extension thread your new ones in with one hand and tighten it as much as you can. Unless you've got rubber for hands and are built like a truck then 'hand tight' is pretty standard between most people.

3. Then use your socket wrench to further tighten the plugs using the instructions as a guide. Most of them say 3/4 of a full turn, some say 1/2. Depends on the plugs.

Doing that should ensure you get more or less the correct torque on the plugs and prevent leakages and snapped threads / heads.

Just some FYI cause I feel generous tonight
-Greg.

Ok turns out i didnt tighten the spark plugs to the correct tightness (between 16Nm - 20Nm). After getting a decent torque wrench from Autobarn I pulled everything off again and tightened to the correct torque and took it round the block...Feels really smooth now and can definitely notice the extra power the new plugs have given me back...(the old ones were in quite poor condition).

[Weeds]

is there a torque setting for the 6 13mm bolts holding down the manifold at all? im assuming the coil packs are just by feel, just wondering about the manifold bolts themselves

[Shooter03]

Good stuff mate. Thanks for the how too.