TJay74

Has anyone changed their plugs in their garage themselves?

I am doing some preventive maintenance on my new to me C7Z. Based on the crap junk oil filter the previous owner used on the car I am going to move forward to changing the plugs next. I see the fuse box is going to need to come out, is that all that needs to come out on the passenger side to get to the plugs?

I replaced the 8 rib supercharger belt with the Gates K080852RPM belt in hopes it would quieten down the marble/growl I am hearing in the cabin at idle, I notice the noise especially when going in and out of V4 to V8 mode while driving on the highway. It seems the new belt has made the noise worse due to it being a tighter non-stretched belt, so now I am going to pull the belt and check the 3 or 4 idler pulleys and the supercharger jackshaft and see if any of those bearings seem like they are defective. If not the dealer will get the car on 12/4 and I will let them find the noise along with looking at both of the front headlights that have condensation remnants in them and a windshield that is getting scratched from the wiper just running across it.

Thankfully this is the winter months so not much driving right now, just hoping that the "growl" noise doesnt turn into anything major.

Harbgrogan

When I changed my plugs this video helped a lot:

atljar

You can do in the garage without lifting the car. The fuse box needs to come loose, as well as the coolant tank on the passenger side. The brake vacuum pump on the drivers side makes life easier. Easy enough job if youre handy at all

TJay74

I watched the above video, it helps answer my question. I pulled the fuse panel, just didnt know I needed to get the base out and the coolant tank out. I will probably do them this weekend. Next goal is to try and locate the casue of my "growling" noise. Hoping it is just one of the supercharger idler pulleys and not one of the rotor bearings.

gve

I would eliminate your engine going from 8cyl to 4cyl with the Range module. You just plug it into your diagnostic port and it will stay in 8cyliner. Its not good to have your high performance engine run on 4 cylinders plus it sounds like crap when it does.

BrunoTheMellow

Don't need coolant tank. Just buy;
90° bent needle nose plyers. The 12" long ones or so.
Swivel head 3/8" rachet wrench.

And just go slow and patient.

GeorgeR_Zed06

I changed mine in my garage. It wasn't too bad, just take your time though! Make sure you gap them correctly, use a hint of anti-seize and DO NOT over tighten them...... good luck!

0JUICED1

Changing the plugs isn't to bad but yes, if you can get the fuse box out it helps immensely. If that is intimidating you can usually free up some room by taking the coil packs off. A smaller set of hands can usually get in there just fine.
If you have a "marble sound" coming from your blower I would keep an eye on it. You might need a new isolator or possibly new bearings in the snout.

TJay74

Thanks, I pulled the new belt last night and checked all of the pulleys the 8 rib belt rides on. The supercharger tensioner pulley had some lateral side to side movement to it, about 2-4 mm of wobble side to side. I rotated the jackshaft pulley and every thing in it seemed very solid and smooth with no front to back or side to side or up and down play in it.

I am not a fan of the range devices and for what they charge for them you can tune the ECM. I already have HP Tuners, if it becomes that big of an issue I will just license the ECM and turn the AFM off. My plan next summer is to put headers, E85, upper pulley and tune the car and call it good for a bit.

phalse

tuning/flashing a 2019 car is pissing away alot of warranty, just something to consider. Just buy a range, no big deal =)

need-for-speed

normally I would agree, but he’s going to void his warranty next summer anyway.

tjay, here’s to not beating up your knuckles on the spark plug swap LOL.

p.s. what oil filter was it that the previous owner had? Did it fail!?

TJay74

Again paying $200+ for the Range that can cause issues with the CANBUS system isnt something I will do, it works for others just not me. Especially since I own HP Tuners already and just have to order $200 of credits to tune the ECM.

The previous owner used some cheeseball filter with the name "Mighty" on the car. My jaw dropped when I saw it as the dealer told me the car had just had its oil changed and was good.

phalse

"can cause issues" like how? Are there any known cases of such a thing? That seems uh, concerning to say the least

PHILLIP YOUNG

Great vid. Thanks HabG

Vegas1500

IMO never use anything on the threads of spark plugs. Changed more than I could count in my career and never put anything on the threads.

ronsc1985

For your future reference https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b...533414/4368699

need-for-speed

It’s an age old argument that’s never settled . I guess the “don’t use” crowd is concerned about the electrical return path to ground. IMHO, the crush washer on the shoulder of the plug should do that just fine.

Vegas1500

Not concerned about that at all.... a 19Z will never see winter and salt. There will be zero issues pulling the plugs. Now maybe a 2010 F150 in the oil patch where plugs get left in for 200000 miles...fill your boots. literally installed and removed thousands over my career and the only issue i ever had is where someone cross threaded the plug.

GeorgeR_Zed06

All the big name shops I've used all use it!! I have always used it on my vehicles with aluminum heads. To each their own, if you don't want to use it,that's fine but its recommended though...

NGK doesn't really require it, but I always put on a light dab anyway. No harm will be done.

TJay74

New plugs are in along with a new supercharger belt (Gates 080852RPM) and a new supercharger tensioner. Plugs took 1h:15m from start to finish. I removed the coil pack covers which made it easier. I use anti-seize on the threads as I've had a plug threads get galled before and had to repair it.

Car runs great now, the start up is smoother and the idle is smoother. Bad thing is the new tensioner didnt fix my noise, even though the OE one was bad. Gonna pull the supercharger belt today and fire it up and let it idle and see if the noise is still there. If the noise stops it will mean the issue is in the supercharger. If no noise it will rule out the supercharger. If that doesnt locate the noise I am going to jack up the car and remove the tunnel brace and make sure nothing is rubbing under the brace from the x-pipe install. If the noise is still there is will mean its in the engine or drivetrain somewhere. Then it will be off to the dealer on Friday for them to locate and fix the issue.