DIY Spark Plug Replacement on 2.7L V6 Engine
 

My '01 Sebring sedan is nearing 100K miles. Don't know if spark plugs were ever replaced. It's probably time for a change. I recently had air filter, PCV valve and coolant changed.

I bought a set of plugs recommended by Chrysler for my engine -- platinum Champion 3032 RE10PMC5. So I'm part way there. ;) But I've never replaced spark plugs before. I'll have a friend of mine help me. He's better than me with cars but not too familiar with Chryslers.:) I wanted to ask what you'd recommend by way of
1) tools
2) supplies and where to apply them
3) instructions of removal of old and installation of new plugs

I read online that front are easy but rear are hard -- can see why by looking at it. Some suggest to remove and others to leave the intake manifold alone. I'm just trying to put it all together and in the right order to get the job done right the first time.:rolleyes:

Thanks in advance!

You don't need to remove the intake manifold. You'll need a spark plug socket and a 3/8 in ratchet wrench with two short extensions and a u-joint. You'll need a 1/4 inch ratchet wrench and the proper socket to remove the coil on top of the plugs.
Do the fronts first to get comfortable with removal of the coils and plugs. Do one cylinder at a time.
To remove the rear plugs, assemble the plug socket with the u-joint between the two short extensions. You'll then be able to roll the socket down into the plug tube. There's just enough room above the engine to swing the wrench.

If you have bought platinum plugs, don't gap them. They have a coating on them that can be damaged by the gapping guage/tool. DO apply anti-seize compound to the threads of the plugs so they'll come out next time. Carefully start the new plugs into the threads by hand using a rubber tube or hose slipped over the end of the plug so as to be sure not to cross thread the plug and potentially damage the cylinder head.

Looking forward to doing this over the weekend. Thanks for the help.

Will I need dielectric grease? I'm planning on getting anti-seize for sure.

The label under the hood says the gap is to be 1.27 mm. According to Champion's web site, RE10PMC5 plug has 1.1 mm gap. (That's the plug suggested by Chrysler for my engine.) Is there going to be a problem?

When I did mine I didn't bother with dielectric grease. The boots still had some grease on them and it seemed to be enough. Likewise I went with the gap that the plugs came with and the car ran fine. The computer actually can compensate for variances in the gap. That's why you can go 100,000 miles on a set of plugs nowadays.

Got it! Thanks, dcotter0579. Resetting ECU is not required, right? I assume it will "adjust" to new plugs by itself.

Correct. Realize that as the old plugs deteriorate, the ECU must continually adjust for the gap changes. Likewise, it will adjust all by itself for the new plugs.

Success!
 

All done now! Big thanks to my buddy with skills and tools and to dcotter for simple yet helpful directions and tips.

So far after about 40 miles of driving I sense no change in performance, fuel economy, noise, etc. I was hoping for a boost beyond 19-20 MPG in the city but that's pretty average for this motor and it's middle of winter in the Great Lakes anyway. So maybe no news is good news because I haven't really had issues before the "surgery".

About the job. Front plugs were pretty easy. Some coil screws wouldn't come out so we had to pull them out but boots and spark plugs were easy to work with. The old plugs looked, well, used but nothing out of the ordinary from my understanding. Gap still seemed OK, a little greater than the new ones. I wouldn't say they were shot. One plug did have a little bit of oil on the threads which might mean that a seal or valve cover is starting to leak.

The rear three plugs were a pain... in the rear.;) Got cuts and scrapes on my hands from those! :mad: But we got them done without removing the intake manifold or anything else. We also didn't have a u-joint (to our disadvantage). Used several extensions and a magnet which was helpful. Applied dielectric and anti-seize on plugs where necessary.

The whole process from opening the hood to starting the car back up again took about 3 hours. Pretty long but feels good to have done it. Next target will probably be transmission filter as it's likely still original. More on that later in a separate thread.

Coil boots
 

I just tore a spark plug boot on my daughter's 06 Sebring Touring 2.7L because of the lack of clearance on the rear plugs. It happened just due to the length of the coil to boot extension. I did the front plugs pretty easily...

Any one know of a way to drop the engine, perhaps? I have tried to remove the firewall cladding, which also limits access height, held in by two round push tabs, but that was not removable, or at least not easily. I have seen vehicles that required the engine to be lowered to access all the plugs(Ford Aerostar '95 and virtually all Corvettes) but this has me stymied. Any help would be appreciated. It is expensive to replace all the coils/boots!

just get back there and use a pick to get it out

I am not that concerned about the torn boot, and it did not come all the way apart, just tore about three quarters of the way through, so it is not stuck in the spark plug hole. This was the passenger side one, which has the most clearance, so I can only guess at how the others will be destroyed! I did find the replacement boots at O'Reilly's for $7 each, by the way...

I just wanted to know how Chrysler techs did this operation? There must be a trick to it, versus using multiple short locking extensions (I now have two 3" ones), a flex coupling plus the spark plug socket...

Thanks for the feedback, in any case.

In examining this engine, there is a front engine mount that looks like it might be used to rotate the engine towards the front of the car, if that would not cause a myriad of other problems! Could one remove the bolt from the mount and then lower the front part of the engine, causing the engine to move away from the cowling and create a good bit more room to work on the spark plugs?

I would hate to damage other components just to change the plugs, but it cannot be this hard to do!:confused:

No you cannot rotate the engine around the motor mount. It's connected to the transmission and drive line. Forget that. A 3/8 ratchet with two short extensions and a u-joint between them will get the rear plugs out. I've done it. It works.
You'll need to remove the coils first obviously, but once you've done the front ones you'll be able to do the rear coils too. Then "roll" the spark plug socket down into the hole using the above combination. You'll be able to swing the handle of the wrench between the engine and the cowl.

Give up on Efficient Methods, I guess...
 

Thanks for the feedback. I guess I will have to try the tried and true way, but the boots on the coils seem to break off when bent, and I cannot find a replacement locally for these. O'Reilly's shows them on their website, but tells you to contact the store. When I did that, they had no listing for the part on their computer!

I just thought that if the bolt in the front mount were to be removed, then the front of the engine might drop 2-3" and allow for better accessibility.

This is indeed a poor design, as a few others that I have seen are also. It took two technicians on a lift two hours to replace the back three spark plugs on my old '95 Ford Aerostar van a good while back. Amazing! Yet, I just changed the 6 NGK plugs on my wife's Honda Odyssey in about 30 minutes, saving myself about $260 in the process. Too bad Chrysler cannot make it easy!

Rear Spark Plugs on a 2.7L V6 on 2006 Sebring Touring
 

I lost a part of the magnet used to pull the loosened spark plug out of the valve cover on the passenger-rear spark plug hole. Is there a magnet small enough to retrieve it out of the cylinder without removing the head?

Rear Spark Plugs on a 2.7L V6 on 2006 Sebring Touring
 

I just lost a piece of the magnet I was using down the passenger-rear spark plug hole. Is there a magnet small enough to grab it from the cylinder without removing the head?

go some place and find one I have small ones that work for something like that and there are bigger ones as well just haft to go look around

Okay this helps ALOT but i was looking last night and a bigger concern for me is how do I get the coils/boots out without breaking them. Is there a trick to this because there is not enough clearance to pull them straight out. I got the front ones out no problem, and the bolts on the back wont be a problem but the coils and boots will. Can someone inform me on this. a video would be fantastic or pictures would be too. Any help is appreciated!!

the boots bend look at the front ones

Alright guys, it was alot more simple than I thought. The only one I had a problem with was the rear one closest to the drivers side, I had to get a mini socket wrench to do it. The fronts were a breeze, The rears I had to drop the socket down, then an adapter, a second adapter then attach the wrench. I also changed the transmission solenoid because it had a leaky gasket there. All I have left to do on the car is a transmission filter, transmission pan gasket, valve cover gasket, thermostat/coolant housing, and front and rear rotors and pads.