stereophoney
Active Member
- Joined
- Dec 10, 2012
- Messages
- 179
- Car
- SLK32, Clio Diesel
Had my oil changed by MB a couple of weeks ago, with a plan to do the rest myself. I had this weekend off, so started off a 9am this morning. Got all the bits together - Spark plugs, air filters, fuel filter, brake fluid and tools. Engine cover and airbox came off easily. That was about as good as my day got!
Looking at the coil packs, it seemed that the drivers side had better access, so i decided to tackle the ones which looked the hardest. My spark plug boot puller tool was pointless and not suited for this engine, so out came a 17mm spanner. For some reason it was slipping, so i used a 19mm and the lead came free. Unfortunately half the spark plug was still stuck inside having snapped off! The end of the plug in the lead did not want to come out, until eventually some needle nosed pliers did the job, however the plug had to be bent back into shape.
I then set about removing the broken plug from the head. Got my spark plug socket attatched and the smallest extention i had, but it was not small enough, so i had to Halfords to buy a slim ratchet. Got it on there, and with a fair amount of resistance the plug came loose. As the space is too tight i disconnected the ratchet and the extention, however the spark plug socket wouldn't come out, no matter what i tried. I tested another socket on one of the more accessible plugs, and the same thing happened, the plug got stuck solid in the socket.
The only way to get around this was to re-attach the stuck plug and use a normal 16mm deep socket which worked fine. Removed the ratchet, went to remove the extention and now that was stuck solid, and so the plug couldn't be removed due to the tight space. Eventually i managed to prise it free, and I got the remains out of the head, and other than being snapped in half, the plug was not in bad condition.
On inspection of the leads, they were quite discoloured and look like they are original, however i noticed another issue. The plugs weren't the right ones, with a 'G' plug being where a 'K' should be. Due to this and the fact that they're a bit worn i ordered a new set. £86 from Eurocarparts (£110 normally but 25% off until tomorrow). That was the end of messing with the plugs today.
Decided to change the air filters. The airbox came apart fairly easily, and revealed a bit of a mess!
The filters were a state and there were lots of leaves and debris which i didn't really want there! Cleaned the box with some meths and got the filters out of the box, and they were the wrong ones!
Don't think the day could have gone much worse! Will remove the rest of the plugs, leads and coils tomorrow. If that goes as planned will tackle the cabin filter, brake fluid and fuel filter, what could go wrong?! New leads should arrive on Tuesday, so until then i'm back in the MGF!
Looking at the coil packs, it seemed that the drivers side had better access, so i decided to tackle the ones which looked the hardest. My spark plug boot puller tool was pointless and not suited for this engine, so out came a 17mm spanner. For some reason it was slipping, so i used a 19mm and the lead came free. Unfortunately half the spark plug was still stuck inside having snapped off! The end of the plug in the lead did not want to come out, until eventually some needle nosed pliers did the job, however the plug had to be bent back into shape.
I then set about removing the broken plug from the head. Got my spark plug socket attatched and the smallest extention i had, but it was not small enough, so i had to Halfords to buy a slim ratchet. Got it on there, and with a fair amount of resistance the plug came loose. As the space is too tight i disconnected the ratchet and the extention, however the spark plug socket wouldn't come out, no matter what i tried. I tested another socket on one of the more accessible plugs, and the same thing happened, the plug got stuck solid in the socket.
The only way to get around this was to re-attach the stuck plug and use a normal 16mm deep socket which worked fine. Removed the ratchet, went to remove the extention and now that was stuck solid, and so the plug couldn't be removed due to the tight space. Eventually i managed to prise it free, and I got the remains out of the head, and other than being snapped in half, the plug was not in bad condition.
On inspection of the leads, they were quite discoloured and look like they are original, however i noticed another issue. The plugs weren't the right ones, with a 'G' plug being where a 'K' should be. Due to this and the fact that they're a bit worn i ordered a new set. £86 from Eurocarparts (£110 normally but 25% off until tomorrow). That was the end of messing with the plugs today.
Decided to change the air filters. The airbox came apart fairly easily, and revealed a bit of a mess!
The filters were a state and there were lots of leaves and debris which i didn't really want there! Cleaned the box with some meths and got the filters out of the box, and they were the wrong ones!
Don't think the day could have gone much worse! Will remove the rest of the plugs, leads and coils tomorrow. If that goes as planned will tackle the cabin filter, brake fluid and fuel filter, what could go wrong?! New leads should arrive on Tuesday, so until then i'm back in the MGF!
