Changing rear sparkplugs on 1998 Grand Voyager 3.3

My friend has that vehicle and he tells me the dealer accesses the rear plugs from underneath, after letting the engine cool.

If you have appropriate swivels, sockets, and extensions, you can get one of the rears from the top. Another you can also get from the top if you remove the top alternator bracket (not the entire alternator!) Now the middle one is the last and for that I jack up the vehicle, get underneath and if you have long, somewhat thin arms, you can reach that one from there.

No doubt about it that these are not easy, but they are doable if you spend the time and don't mind a few scrapes on your arms/hands.

Good luck.

Bob

I have a 3.8L 1999 so this is the same basic vehicle as yours. Change the wires too when you do the plugs!

Christ on a bike what a nightmare just to change plugs. I'll have a crack at it once I've psyched myself up.

This isn't quite as bad as it sounds. But then again, it is certainly no picnic either. This takes me about 10 minutes for 4 plugs and another 2 hours to do the other two. With wires, it is an afternoon's work.

Good luck...

To compare, my son has a '96 4-cylinder Saturn and I can remove, gap, and install new plugs and wires too in a total of about 10 minutes. I also own a 6-cylinder '91 Mitsu 3000GT and it requires complete removal of the air intake manifold to access the rear 3 plugs, then installation of a new gasket. Those plugs only give 60K miles service, unlike the T&C minvan that actually is supposed to give 100K miles. So the van is roughly in the middle of the difficulty factor.

I've changed the plugs on my '97 Caravan several times.

Here's how:

1. Remove the windshield wipers......yes you read that correctly, start by removing the windshield wipers.

1. Remove the cowling cover.

2. Remove the cowling.

1. With the cowling removed you should be able to reach the rear plugs just fine, although the one beside the alternator might be a bit of a challenge.

2. Go to the fridge and get a Bud.

1. Put everything back together in the reverse order. Remember to attach all the hoses, including the windshield washer hose.

2. Finish the Bud.

It sounds like a helluva job, but it's actually not that bad. I can do mine in about an hour and a half, including the Bud.

Good luck.

Ed

Me too. I only do one plug (the middle rear) from underneath.

Ed ( snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.ca) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying :

How's the total job time compare if you have a proper beer instead of pisswater made with rice?

Some time ago, someone posted something here about how difficult it was to change the spark plugs on various cars. As I recall, there was one car which required the removal of the exhaust manifold for this procedure!

Which is that then?

Plenty of V6's require the inlet manifold / plenum to be removed which can be a nightmare...

Tim.