2004 Spark Plugs and Wires Guide w/ Pictures

[jriggs87]

I just completed my first ever tune-up. Like myself, I know there are automobile novices who are not only worried about working on their daily driver in fear of breaking something and being out of a car to drive, but are very much visual learners. I decided that when I change my plugs and wires, I want to take alot of pictures to explain as much as possible, whether it be for reassurance or as a step by step guide. I will be doing a write up soon, but for now you can go to my youtube account and see my before and after videos of a start up of my car. There is not much difference in how the car sounds of course but it runs soo much more smooth!

My youtube account name is italnkicbxr and the videos are titled 'Before Tune-up' and 'After Tune-up'

Stay tuned in the next month for my write up with pictures! Thanks!

JR

[FyrFytr]

Still staying tuned...lol

[thehunterooo]

[jriggs87]

I would like to apologize and thank all of you. I know it has taken me a while to post this how-to and your patience is appreciated. I will not be posting pictures on this page becasue I frankly took too many to post, but if you go to my page on this forum I have an album that you can follow along with if you need to see what I am speaking of and referring to. For example when the (img 13) shows up, that is me referring to picture number 13 in my album! Take note that I am not a mechanic and if you have a problem with your car before or after you tune it up, although you can ask me I probably won't give the correct answers. If I made a mistake let me know so I can edit it! Thanks!
This took me about 1 hour and 15 mins while getting a beer half way through and with a bum finger. I am sure anyone can do this job within an hour.
Without further adieu....


1. With the bonnet of the car up (img 13), you want to remove the four 3/16ths allen wrench screws that hold the engine cover down. If you live near the coast or in a wet climate area, your 4 screws are probably a bit rusted and very difficult to get off. Spraying some WD40 and using a longer wrench or breaker bar for leverage should do the trick. I dont know if you can go to a chevy dealer to replace the screws. I suggest using a sandwich baggy to keep track of the four screws. In img13, above the Words E-TEC II on the engine cover, there is a coolant line that is held in place by two plastic hooks. These two hooks are a part of the engine cover. In order to remove the engine cover, you must simply release the coolant hose from those hooks. you need no special tools, you just pull up on the hose. Before you remove the engine cover, you need to take off the oil cap. simply unscrew and place it so no debris gets on the cap (if paranoid, put it in a plastic/ziploc bag) with that done you are able to take the cover off the eninge.

2. See img 12 Since you do not want anything to fall in your engine, remember to put the oil cap back on the engine to cover up the whole. Before removing anything, I suggest drawing a diagram of how the wires are connected to the Plugs and Coil Pack. Img 8 shows what I did. I retraced what I wrote using a Paint Programm on my laptop to clearly show which wire goes to which port on the coil pack and spark plug. The order is imperative to have your car run right or even at all. I apologize for the terrible handwriting, I was using a laptop mouse pad that follows where your finger goes and it is not too smooth. lol I also took a picture (img9) that helps you give a clue as to where the wires go in accordance to the coil pack.

3. Imgs 10 and 11 show the products I used to replace the old Plugs and Wires. There are tons of threads in the forums of this website with opinions on what to use. I personally feel like most of us bought this economy car for... economy! With that said, I am not trying to bash others for what they used. You are performing a tune up yourself to save money, so why not save money! There are 'performance' wire sets out there for almost 80 bucks, the Value Grade 7mm wires I bought at PepBoys were 17 dollars, which is as reasonable as you are gonna get, and probably what the mechanic would use if you paid him a ridiculous charge to do something you yourself can do. As for the Spark plugs, it goes the same way; although copper is just fine, they are not as durable and if you are one to procrastinate oh, lets say about 8o,455 miles... you may want to upgrade to more durable plugs. Notice how I said durable, not more expensive. Remember just becasue you bought an inexpensive set of wires or plugs, that doesn't mean they are "cheap." (that word is so often used in the car world it makes me ill). I used Autolite platinum plugs and bought them from Advance Autoparts for a little under 9 dollars for a set of 4 plugs. As I said, its your preference about what plug material you go with, and I could write a whole bunch about the pros/cons of each one. I will state again though, if you want to save money, go with something that does not cost you 15 dollars a plug.

4. With all of the politics out of the way, you are ready to start removing the wires and plugs. You can do this two ways; by either removing all of the wires and plugs at the same time or going one after the other. Being new to tune-ups, I decided to go one at a time, left-right. In order to remove the wires, start at the coil pack on the right, and simply pull up on the rubber boot of the wire- do not pull on the wire (remember in science class LOL). Proceed to remove the boot off of the spark plug buy doing the same thing; Pull up on the rubber boot. This may take some force but you need no tools other than your hands. After that, you are ready to remove your spark plug(s). While at Advance picking up my spark plugs, I bought a spark plug socket for $1.50. Which is a socket for a standard sized ratchet with a rubber gromet down the socket. These come in a couple of sizes, but the Aveo as well as many other cars use a 5/8 spark plug. Since the Plug is down in a tube/valley, that gromet grabs hold of the end of the spark plug in order for you to pull it out safely and neatly. (You can use this socket to install you new plugs as well but thats further down the road.) You can view img 1 for an example of how the spark plug fits in the socket. To remove the spark plugs, just use the Spark Plug socket along with your ratchet set, loosen and remove the plug. the plug should come out without and problems and with the gromet will not fall out and back down the valley. Img 2 and 3 shows the old plugs and wires. note the oil on the plugs. This is due to a number of things from bad to worse and should be checked on by a mechanic. Also note the wires; Although they might look great on the outside, unless the wires are only 10k miles old they are worn and tired on the inside and they should be replaced (dont judge a book by its cover). Img 6 shows what the valley/tube where the spark plug goes into. As you can see, you cannot stick your finger down there which is why you need the spark plug socket with an extension. If you have oil in the valley as did I in the picture I suggest cleaning it before you put the new plugs in. My wife being a veterinarian, had the long wooden q-tips which worked well and didn't leave lint or dust behind as would a towel or tissue. Afterwards, you are ready to install your new plugs and wires! Img 7 shows the difference between an old and new Spark plug. I know the picture is deserves an F, but you will see for yourself just how much metal has gotten burned off the tip of that spark plug over the years.

5. Installing new plugs and wires is just as painless as removing them, but should still be done with care. First of all you need to put the provided crush washer on the new spark plugs (Img 5). There is a certain way to do this. of course you simply screw them on, but they need to be on the right direction. There is a thinner perforated side of the crush washer thich needs to point towards the tip of the plug, not the back end that the rubber wire boot attaches to. I know the photo sucks, but thats because my camera sucks. The reason for the crush washer is to make a perfect seal between the plug and the cylinder head. without that the air/fuel mixture can leak out and can cause problems. So if you spark plug boxes have jingling in them, they arent broken, thats the crush washer!

6. Reverting back to img 1, Place the spark plug in the socket without the ratchet attached. you want to hand tighten the plug into the threads in order to feel the plug threading properly (img 4). You can also use a a rubber hose on the end of the plug, as long as you can twist it so the spark plug threads right. I fyou were to go in and just wrenching the plug down you might cross the threads in the cylinder head to the threads on the plugs and can get you in serious trouble. Using the method in the picture insures you feel exactly how the spark plug threads onto the cylinder head. If you feel any resistance, unscrew the plug and try again. If you are wearing gloves, take them off for this part in order to have a better feel for the plug. After you have hand tightened the plugs, attach your ratchet and give the plug 1/4 to 1/2 of a turn depending on how much you hand tightened it. You do not want to over tighten the plug, you do not want to tight the plug until you cannot tighten anymore, the plugs can break and so can the crush washer. The plugs just have to be very snug. To help when you change out your plugs thousands of miles later on, use some dielectric grease on the threads. This helps keep the plugs from rusting and also helps conductivity when your spark plug.. sparks!

7. With your spark plugs installed, you can put your new wires on as well. Or go have a beer and then come back. Since the Wires I bought were more for a universal 4 cylinder application, they are a bit longer than the old wires. when installing, if there is some slack in the wires, just makes sure they are not touching anything that could be hot. A burnt wire is a usless one. With that said, just use some force when pushing the wire boots back on the plugs and coil pack. They will need some convincing, but as long as you feel them click (you might hear it) then they are on! Use your diagram drawing (or use mine) to make sure they are in the proper order. Also, make sure you use the spacers that the car has to help separate the wires, they provide a neat organized look, but you also cannot put the engine cover back on if they are all clumped up and standing everywhere. (Basically put you things back as you found them!) LOL

8. For the most part you are done. If you did everything right, feel free to start up the engine. I remember the first start for my car was like night and day from when the old plugs were in the car. It should kick over well. after it is started, check your connections and if everything sounds and looks great Then grab your engine cover!

9. Turn you car off after your inspection and unscrew your oil cap. Place your engine cover back on followed by you oil cap. do you oil cap first not your screws or else your screwed if you drop a screw in the oil hole! Screw the 4 allen wrench screws back on and if you are worried about them rusting and siezing, put a tiny bit of antiseize lube on each threading. reattach the Coolant hose onto the hooks on the engine cover and guess what... Done.

I dont drive my car alot but after 1000 miles or so, the car starts up perfectly. A couple of days ago when it got down to 5 degrees, it started with no problems and barely any cranking. Make sure to watch my videos I have on youtube. you can find my username at the top of this thread in my first post!

I hope this has been informative and fun. I know its a novel to read but I wanted to be as in depth as possible so I wouldn't raise any questions. If you have questions or comments or things I should add let me know! good luck and drive safe!

[thehunterooo]

Ty Op, you would be surprised on how many people have trouble doing this, good write up.

[jriggs87]

Fanks! and hunter i love the 'the shining' picture!