DIY: Spark Plug Change - 2008 E92 M3

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by 65fastback

I just bought 8 plugs from amazon and only got 6.... 1 full box and another box with 2 in it.
They gave me a refund however in the reference email it was called a "goodwill" refund as if i was lying about only getting 6 instead of the 8 I actually paid for & ordered.

BTW...EASY job! some of you guys worry to much haha don't be intimidated just go slow.. and that extra puller tool thing is a total waste of money. a flat blade screwdriver is all a person needs. basic stuff guys.

Hey fastback. I'm going to change the plugs on both of my cars. I have half read the basic horror stories about the rear plugs or that it's difficult to pull the rear coil out as their is minimum room. I plan on reading the actual DIY but are you suggesting that this is (pick one please) a piece of cake, easy Peasy, a can of corn, nothing to it, nothing to sweat about, like taking candy from a baby, it's a cinch, a walk in the park, it's child's play, it ain't rocket science, easy as pie, you could do it with your eyes closed, easy as ABC, like falling off a log, like shooting fish in a barrel, no sweat, easy as pie, duck soup, a job for my left hand, downhill all the way, a bed of roses, clear sailing, an open book or like sitting ducks? If you would be so kind as to pick one of these so that way I will know the level of difficulty before I get started. Thanking you in advance, BOOF.

[65fastback]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

Hey fastback. I'm going to change the plugs on both of my cars. I have half read the basic horror stories about the rear plugs or that it's difficult to pull the rear coil out as their is minimum room. I plan on reading the actual DIY but are you suggesting that this is (pick one please) a piece of cake, easy Peasy, a can of corn, nothing to it, nothing to sweat about, like taking candy from a baby, it's a cinch, a walk in the park, it's child's play, it ain't rocket science, easy as pie, you could do it with your eyes closed, easy as ABC, like falling off a log, like shooting fish in a barrel, no sweat, easy as pie, duck soup, a job for my left hand, downhill all the way, a bed of roses, clear sailing, an open book or like sitting ducks? If you would be so kind as to pick one of these so that way I will know the level of difficulty before I get started. Thanking you in advance, BOOF.

UUUM thats funny!... how about i buy you a beer next time your in seattle? i am not as big of an ass as you might think, heck... Ill even change cyl 4 & 8 if you bring your E9x. Cheers!

[EnVe46]

The back two cylinders are fun but here's what I came up with to get em out

[BOOF-M3]

Hey 65fastback, thank you for the response and the hospitality offer. Never been to Seattle but the funny thing is I happened to be reading about your long time radio announcer Dave Neuhaus just this morning. Back to your invite I would be bringing the E92 & E93 and will Be taking you up on your offer of free hotel room and meals while we are there for the plug change. Might as well change out the oil while we are there also. You never did make a selection as to the difficulty level of the plug change. I'll go with Easy Peasy if it's all the same to you. On a serious note what was the end result of your RB issue? Hoping you worked that out with minimal issue.

[65fastback]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

Hey 65fastback, thank you for the response and the hospitality offer. Never been to Seattle but the funny thing is I happened to be reading about your long time radio announcer Dave Neuhaus just this morning. Back to your invite I would be bringing the E92 & E93 and will Be taking you up on your offer of free hotel room and meals while we are there for the plug change. Might as well change out the oil while we are there also. You never did make a selection as to the difficulty level of the plug change. I'll go with Easy Peasy if it's all the same to you. On a serious note what was the end result of your RB issue? Hoping you worked that out with minimal issue.

Easy peasy...perfect!

AHHH man Dave Neuhaus i truly miss his voice.. the voice of summer for me and many others! what you were reading about him?

Got the RB's done awhile back, no real issue other than i had to pay $1700 out of pocket... my warranty covered only the cost of 'some' labor and 'some' parts. ( Long story ).

[dreamspeed]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

Hey 65fastback, thank you for the response and the hospitality offer. Never been to Seattle but the funny thing is I happened to be reading about your long time radio announcer Dave Neuhaus just this morning. Back to your invite I would be bringing the E92 & E93 and will Be taking you up on your offer of free hotel room and meals while we are there for the plug change. Might as well change out the oil while we are there also. You never did make a selection as to the difficulty level of the plug change. I'll go with Easy Peasy if it's all the same to you. On a serious note what was the end result of your RB issue? Hoping you worked that out with minimal issue.

After reading through the posts about changing the spark plugs I thought it was going to be super difficult....but it's actually super easy. You don't need that special puller tool at all. Just get a wide flat blade screwdriver and wrap the tip with some electric tape.

You just need to gently wedge the tip in and twist. On some of the plugs you might have to stick another screwdriver under for leverage. When I changed the plugs the second time i was actually able to just twist and pull some of the plugs out with my hand.

This tool and some wobble socket extensions makes removing and installing the plugs a cinch

https://www.amazon.com/GearWrench-80.../dp/B0014ZVSVK

I was even able to pretty easily get a torque wrench in there to tighten all 8 plugs to spec.

[SEMOM3]

Originally Posted by BOOF-M3

Hey fastback. I'm going to change the plugs on both of my cars. I have half read the basic horror stories about the rear plugs or that it's difficult to pull the rear coil out as their is minimum room. I plan on reading the actual DIY but are you suggesting that this is (pick one please) a piece of cake, easy Peasy, a can of corn, nothing to it, nothing to sweat about, like taking candy from a baby, it's a cinch, a walk in the park, it's child's play, it ain't rocket science, easy as pie, you could do it with your eyes closed, easy as ABC, like falling off a log, like shooting fish in a barrel, no sweat, easy as pie, duck soup, a job for my left hand, downhill all the way, a bed of roses, clear sailing, an open book or like sitting ducks? If you would be so kind as to pick one of these so that way I will know the level of difficulty before I get started. Thanking you in advance, BOOF.

Hey BOOF, do you still have plans to do DIY this? I did these last night. I wouldn't call it "no sweat", mostly because it was hot up here last night. Maybe just "nothing to it". The 4th ones on both sides were the hardest, but nothing a single swivel extension couldn't solve.

I did it since I didn't have any maintenance history and I'm at ~57,000 miles (I really wish there was a good way to look that up). From what I can tell so far the car was very well maintained given the circumstances. Plugs didn't look too bad, but they were close to needing a change anyway.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by SEMOM3

Hey BOOF, do you still have plans to do DIY this? I did these last night. I wouldn't call it "no sweat", mostly because it was hot up here last night. Maybe just "nothing to it". The 4th ones on both sides were the hardest, but nothing a single swivel extension couldn't solve.

I did it since I didn't have any maintenance history and I'm at ~57,000 miles (I really wish there was a good way to look that up). From what I can tell so far the car was very well maintained given the circumstances. Plugs didn't look too bad, but they were close to needing a change anyway.

Possibly this weekend I'll do both cars. I really prefer to watch someone else do it so I'll park under a shade tree, roll my sleeves up, have the old lady make a pitcher of iced tea and then guide her through the process. I mean someone has to read the DIY while she turns the wrenches right? I mean I can't leave her alone out there all by herself or god knows what she would do. Anyway it's good practice for her to do the first car that way the 2nd car should go much smoother.


Edit: And nothing to it has been duly noted, I will let her know and then update you guys on how she rates it.

[BOOF-M3]

Originally Posted by SEMOM3

Hey BOOF, do you still have plans to do DIY this? I did these last night. I wouldn't call it "no sweat", mostly because it was hot up here last night. Maybe just "nothing to it". The 4th ones on both sides were the hardest, but nothing a single swivel extension couldn't solve.

I did it since I didn't have any maintenance history and I'm at ~57,000 miles (I really wish there was a good way to look that up). From what I can tell so far the car was very well maintained given the circumstances. Plugs didn't look too bad, but they were close to needing a change anyway.

Just realized that the E92 just had the plugs changed before we bought the car only a few thousand miles ago. That will make it easier only swapping plugs on one car, whew! I do have an extra set now though.

[Ab28]

Can also be purchased through Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Division-DM-E...ler+m+division

[BOOF-M3]

The spark plug swap is a breeze. Even plugs 4 and 8 are not that difficult. They key is that you can actually see them. It's just a slight angle to get to them. As long as you don't break the top off of any of the plugs it's a 3 on level of difficulty. Break a plug off in cyl 4 or 8 and then it's a 10. If you do happen to break one of the tips off of 4 or 8 then Hubba Bubba gum may be your new best friend. Any questions?

I have an excellent mobil mechanic in the St Petersburg area who was able to remove the broken tip if anyone is in need of a Mobil Indy.

[DreamTime]

Thank you to everyone who posted their advice and suggestions on this thread! Changed out my spark plugs and coils over the weekend, the engine feels great now! A couple of notes from my experience:

1. Removing the plenum was not necessary. I helped a buddy do his plugs a few months ago and we removed it, but when it came time to do it myself, it just didn't seem like the little bit of extra clearance it would provide was worth it. Cylinder 4 is a b**** no matter what...

2. The cool little coil pack removal tool was really useful, I am happy I had it. But, it didn't really work at all on the rear coils on each side, so I'm glad there was so much extra advice in this thread about how to remove the coils w/o the tool. That was very helpful for me

I found this project to be moderately challenging, EXCEPT for f***ing cylinder 4. Removing that ignition coil almost broke me as a human lol. It is the only one that I popped the top off of when trying to remove it (of course), which made it even more difficult. I had to get creative on that one. It was also hard for me to get used to using crazy ass extensions with a universal joint so that I could change the back two plugs, I had never done that before. It was a lot harder than it looks. Props to you guys who just breeze through this like it's nothing, you guys are my heroes

I don't know if you will see it, but huge thank you to ham_sammich. Thanks for answering my messages, you and a couple other friends of mine helped me get through this when I had questions I didn't know the answer to. Love my BMW community!!

[Richbot]

Extension issue goes away with the Schwaben long spark plug socket, just drop it in and use a small wobble, if you feel like it, but there's clearance to just plug the ratchet in directly if you hate your knuckle skin

[DreamTime]

Originally Posted by Richbot

Extension issue goes away with the Schwaben long spark plug socket, just drop it in and use a small wobble, if you feel like it, but there's clearance to just plug the ratchet in directly if you hate your knuckle skin

Cool, I will check out that other spark plug socket for sure. Thanks Lol, I'm quite fond of my knuckle skin tbh! I prefer your first suggestion

I actually look forward to doing this again. It will go much smoother next time now that I know how to do the hard parts myself.

[Sammy82]

I changed the spark plugs today at about 32k mls (516xxk km).
Removing the ignition coils is no that big problem as it is here sometimes posted
A flat screwdriver, a little bit feeling and power in your hands, „plopp“
No special tool, no wire hanger, no nut and crowbar as an extension.

The biggest headache gave me that damn 8th plug on the passengers side That‘s no fun
But I did the job and I‘m happy the car is still running

[edsonreds]

Hi guys! I changed my spark plugs today as well. A couple of things that may help those about to do it as well:

1. No special tools needed to pop out the coils. Just a flat screwdiver and some touch.
2. I do recommed having a special socket for taking out the plugs. By special I mean a socket that has already incorporated an extension.
3. When putting back the coils, make sure the coil goes all the way through. I did not do it and the 8th coil was some way loose. I got a CCID 29 error code and had to figure out what was the problem. I would say this is VERY important.

Here ls my question now for you guys: I have a 2011 E92 M3 with only 16k miles. I did a spark plug change given that its been 7 years since I got the car, so it may have not been need, for peace of mind I did it.

When I took out the old spark plugs I noticed some burned oil along the thread, by that I mean that the thread was no clean. As I said before, I misplaced the 8th coil and just to make sure I did not do anything else wrong I uninstalled the new plug. Here came my big surprise, the thread was NOT clean! It contained some burned oil. I am VERY confused.

I drove only 10 miles before unistalling the new plug.

Have you experienced the same? I did my oil change 3 months ago and no funny noises or smoke through the exhaust either.

Should I take the car to the stealership? I have no error codes and my car has been a “garage queen”.

[TX]

Originally Posted by edsonreds

Here ls my question now for you guys: I have a 2011 E92 M3 with only 16k miles. I did a spark plug change given that its been 7 years since I got the car, so it may have not been need, for peace of mind I did it. I have no error codes and my car has been a “garage queen”.

I'd just like to know why you have a car 7 years and only have 16K miles on it? That poor car needs to be driven. Some oil on the threads seems to be pretty normal, I've changed plugs twice and for the most part the plug threads are clean. I'd only be concerned if you noticed you started burning more oil than usual. I tend to add about a half liter of oil a year on a 5 or 6K mile oil change interval. What would not be normal is oil above the plug past where it seats, or as I said excessive oil consumption.

[edsonreds]

Thanks TX. That gives me peace of mind (I mean the advice related to spark plugs residuals).

[notouching]

Did this job today.
Took about 3 hours, nothing terrible.
The coil puller tool (https://www.amazon.com/Division-DM-E.../dp/B00J9P0US4) was definitely useful and I used it for all 8 coil packs. For the rears I combined it with a pickle fork I had for suspension work (https://www.harborfreight.com/16-in-...tor-63420.html).
Had to combine the swivel spark plug socket (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0014ZVSVK) with a couple of extensions and a u-joint to screw in the plugs in the rear cylinders.

[Ngilbe36]

I did mine yesterday. Probably took about 3 hours of slacker level work. As everyone else has said, the job is no problem besides the two rear most cylinders. I used a combination of copper wire and a taped up screwdriver. I bought my plugs from FCP Euro, so I plan to do this every other year from now on.

[brettcp]

Just did this today.. my first time, took about two hours total. Didn't break anything!

Picked up a set of 8 plugs on eBay for $67 shipped. I used the CAT-5 network cable method on the two closest to the firewall which worked well. I did loosen the coolant tank to provide a bit more room to slide off the spark plug cover on the passenger side.

7 of them were a piece of cake.. but that last one on the passenger's side.. I think I invented a few new curse words on that one.. the hardest part was getting a torque wrench back there - just have a few various sizes of 3/8" extensions and you'll be fine.

This was definitely a necessity: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[sibhusz06]

Curious are you guys using anti seize on the threads or is it a no no due to grounding concerns

Thanks