DIY: Spark Plug Change - 2008 E92 M3

[MerchantSailor03]

So as I was pulling the second to last coil the damn thing broke, it looks like just the 'handle' part broke off. And the puller tool fell some where in the engine bay as well. The coil didn't dislodge at all, any one know of the car is still good to drive?

Now I have to wait for a new coil to come in and I don't want to be stuck without a car

[Amirsm3]

Originally Posted by MerchantSailor03

So as I was pulling the second to last coil the damn thing broke, it looks like just the 'handle' part broke off. And the puller tool fell some where in the engine bay as well. The coil didn't dislodge at all, any one know of the car is still good to drive?

Now I have to wait for a new coil to come in and I don't want to be stuck without a car

The coil missing the top isn't a big deal in terms of drivability, but I would absolutely try and locate the puller tool. Not only could it be lodged somewhere important, but you'd have to pay to get another one if it fell while driving

[Datka]

Originally Posted by MerchantSailor03

So as I was pulling the second to last coil the damn thing broke, it looks like just the 'handle' part broke off. And the puller tool fell some where in the engine bay as well. The coil didn't dislodge at all, any one know of the car is still good to drive?

Now I have to wait for a new coil to come in and I don't want to be stuck without a car

Same thing happened to me. Not a big deal. Coil should still be functional, but you need to remove it to change the spark plug.
I was able to remove the damn thing with two flat screwdrivers. After changing the plug I reinstalled the broken coil.
Will have the new one ready for the next spark plug change. Car drives fine, no problem.

[Millie]

I've changed the plugs twice now (on two different S65s) and both times I didn't need a special coil puller tool. Just wiggle it back and forth a bit while pulling. Pops right out.

[VictorH]

Same here, twice on my car and just used a piece of insulated 12 gauge wire about 2 feet long, thread under the connector end of the coil and pull (hard). Works every time.

[kamber]

Originally Posted by Millie

I've changed the plugs twice now (on two different S65s) and both times I didn't need a special coil puller tool. Just wiggle it back and forth a bit while pulling. Pops right out.

I can second this. I performed a spark plug change for the first time ever today and, while I did use the M-Division coil-plug puller for all but the rear passenger side coil, I found it's absolutely do-able without ANY kind of pulling tool (as in just using your hands, no coil-plug puller or even coat hanger). I tried using the 21mm wrench + long socket method detailed on the previous page of this thread in order to leverage the M-Division coil-plug puller on the rear passenger side coil, but ended up breaking the circular handle off the coil pack itself without actually moving the coil out of the tube at all. I basically thought I was fucked at this point, but actually managed to get it out in under 15 seconds with NO tools, JUST my hands. All I did was exactly what Millie said; wiggle it back and forth while pulling.

[okusa]

Originally Posted by kamber

actually managed to get it out in under 15 seconds with NO tools, JUST my hands. All I did was exactly what Millie said; wiggle it back and forth while pulling.

You must have an iron grip or something! I did my plugs this weekend and used the M Division tool and even with that thing every single coil pack was a struggle.

Anyways, I have an ESS 625 kit and the driver's side was insanely difficult to change. Just getting the damn cover off took forever. I will NEVER do this job again!

Also, getting the passenger side plug out was a real struggle. There is NO room to get your hands in there and I had just about every tool suggested in this thread.

[kamber]

Originally Posted by okusa

You must have an iron grip or something! I did my plugs this weekend and used the M Division tool and even with that thing every single coil pack was a struggle.

Anyways, I have an ESS 625 kit and the driver's side was insanely difficult to change. Just getting the damn cover off took forever. I will NEVER do this job again!

Also, getting the passenger side plug out was a real struggle. There is NO room to get your hands in there and I had just about every tool suggested in this thread.

It wasn't a matter of grip strength, I promise! I too used the M-Division tool to pull 7 out of 8 plugs, and the ones that I did use it on required quite the pull so my experience was no different on that front. When I used it on the rear-most passenger side coil (the super pain-in-the-ass one), I managed to break the circular plastic piece that the M-Division tool hooks onto clean off the coil pack. Like I said, I thought I was fucked at this point, and was about to call it a day; I'm glad I decided to give it a shot on a whim with my bare hands, just wiggling/rocking it back and forth many times, all while spinning it upwards. The only thing that holds it in there and creates tension is that rubber piece that acts sort of as an o-ring/grommet, so it makes sense that while it takes significant force to unseat it if you're trying to pull it straight up and out, it's much easier to wiggle/rock it loose while spinning it and pulling upwards on it. Think of it like getting a stuck cork out of a bottle; rock that bad boy back and forth as you pull up on and spin it and it comes out way easier than just hulkishly pulling up on it in one linear direction.

[INDCISV]

Ordered the NGK plugs and the coil puller tool, all thanks to this thread. Appreciate the community!

[J-Suo]

Originally Posted by aussiem3

The best way to remove is to loop a wire under where the harness plugs in and force it upwards and trapping the wire against the coil body (as per the picture). It's very easy. It happened to one of the coils against the firewall, and that's what I did. You can glue the top back, if you still have it and continue to use, but use the method I told you to remove in the future. The top is only there to attach the BMW special tool and Peter's plug remover. Under it is all protected. But super-gluing the top will keep the dust off. Good luck!

I just did my first spark plug change on my new-to-me E92 M3, and it seems the shop that worked on it last borked it pretty good. All coils had misaligned rubber sleeves that made them monstrously tough to pull out, and all the plug threads were coated top-to-bottom in a sticky black tar (presumably from ill-advised use of lots of anti-sieze compound).

At any rate, like many here I bought the sweet Division M coil puller tool, but the backs snapped right off the coils. So I rigged up a little tool of my own using a couple heavy-gauge guitar strings and a threaded rod. Not as quick or simple as throwing a fat loop of wire under the wire harness plug, but for the amount of force needed I'd wager this works a bit better as it pulls evenly/straight out, instead of from one side. Hopefully I'm the only one unlucky enough to ever need this, but if you drew the short straw like I did, this works perfectly.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/0tqe9w8dw1..._3258.JPG?dl=0

Edit: Nothing against the Division M tool—it works great now that the new coils are installed correctly. Will come in handy in another 37,000 miles.

[aussiem3]

Originally Posted by J-Suo

I just did my first spark plug change on my new-to-me E92 M3, and it seems the shop that worked on it last borked it pretty good. All coils had misaligned rubber sleeves that made them monstrously tough to pull out, and all the plug threads were coated top-to-bottom in a sticky black tar (presumably from ill-advised use of lots of anti-sieze compound).

At any rate, like many here I bought the sweet Division M coil puller tool, but the backs snapped right off the coils. So I rigged up a little tool of my own using a couple heavy-gauge guitar strings and a threaded rod. Not as quick or simple as throwing a fat loop of wire under the wire harness plug, but for the amount of force needed I'd wager this works a bit better as it pulls evenly/straight out, instead of from one side. Hopefully I'm the only one unlucky enough to ever need this, but if you drew the short straw like I did, this works perfectly.

Another innovation

[dreamspeed]

I think it's YMMV for pulling out the coils.

I was really concerned about not being able to get them off with out the special tool but all 8 actually came off easily.

I taped up the tips of various length flat head screwdrivers and was able to pry out all the coils easily without marring anything

[INDCISV]

Was able to get this completed in 3 hours, working slowly and taking a few breaks! Thanks to OP and other members for providing valuable input, would highly recommend the M division puller tool to make the change easier. As expected #4 was most difficult followed by #8.

[e92zero]

YMMV is very true. If you don't pull straight, you will snap the top of the coil off pretty easily. And it's very easy to not pull straight on the inner ones. I ended up modifying my pvc one for the inner most plugs. Instead of screwing a door knob on there, I losely mounted it to the end of a pipe so it can wiggle. In effect, it's very similar to the oem one. The inner ones pop off easily, no fuss. So I am using the tool for the outer ones and my own pvc for the inner one now. The job is so easy this way. I will try to take a pic of what I have next time I am in town.

[Richbot]

I'm cheating because I have the manifold off for this change but I also used the Schwaben long magnetic spark plug socket for the first time and it's the perfect size to fit into the #4 and #8 holes without losing the socket down the hole etc. I had been using a locking extension with a standard plug socket and this made life a lot easier near the strut towers. Just drop the socket in the hole and then figure out extensions without worrying about losing it and you can pull it out with some needle nose pliers in the square drive hole if t comes off the ratchet/extensions

Btw if you leave the passenger side coil cover off there's no need to move the expansion tank for future plug changes

Plugs are still $9.15 or so per plug on Amazon right now too

[msan]

Ok, just finished my first spark plug change. Used the division M tool on 1-2 and 5-8 but had to use cat5 cable on 3 & 4. I also dropped the division M tool three times lol but I'm a pro at getting it out from the bottom now.

Question for all of you. Pulling the coils was challenging but the thing that is bugging me is I couldn't get that firm suction feeling from the #4 coil pack, passenger side closest to windshield. It's on tight, but no suction feeling. Any suggestions or leave it alone?

[msan]

My plugs. Passenger side is dark and some oil on threads (possible this is where my oil consumption is happening?) while drivers side are pretty dry but "rusty".

[Locksmythe]

I used the Division M tool on all 8, no issues. It is clearly much safer given the surface area it covers. The real advantage of the tool for me was actually on reinstall, as it gave a safe surface to push against, especially for cylinder 4 and 8 where I needed to use a tool to push. After trying several different tools i found pushing straight on the head with an 18 inch breaker bar handle held in place like a pool cue did the job.

[msan]

Originally Posted by Locksmythe

I used the Division M tool on all 8, no issues. It is clearly much safer given the surface area it covers. The real advantage of the tool for me was actually on reinstall, as it gave a safe surface to push against, especially for cylinder 4 and 8 where I needed to use a tool to push. After trying several different tools i found pushing straight on the head with an 18 inch breaker bar handle held in place like a pool cue did the job.

Thanks, I'll give this a try when I get a chance to go back in there.

[Richbot]

I jam my hand in there and use the heel of my hand to get enough pressure on 4 and 8. Agree the tool is very helpful to make sure you don't bleed trying to get them seated priperly

[kimiraikkonen]

Originally Posted by Locksmythe

I used the Division M tool on all 8, no issues. It is clearly much safer given the surface area it covers. The real advantage of the tool for me was actually on reinstall, as it gave a safe surface to push against, especially for cylinder 4 and 8 where I needed to use a tool to push. After trying several different tools i found pushing straight on the head with an 18 inch breaker bar handle held in place like a pool cue did the job.

I bought the Division M tool....and it was useful for the front cylinder coils. Completely useless for coils 4 and 8. For those, I ended up using this trick.....very easy and coils popped right off (with no damage).

(around 3:00 mark)

[chamba002]

Originally Posted by kimiraikkonen

I bought the Division M tool....and it was useful for the front cylinder coils. Completely useless for coils 4 and 8. For those, I ended up using this trick.....very easy and coils popped right off (with no damage).

(around 3:00 mark)

That actually works very well!