Where are the plugs?

That should read '2' litre! Sorry

Wind-up?...nope, I'm serious.

Last time I had call to change a spark plug they were staring straight at me when the bonnet was opened.

That was over a decade ago, had my cars serviced at the garage since. However a change in circumstances / attitude / £££'s of garage encouraged me to return to 'home servicing and armed with oil, filters and a set of expensive (£15.50!!!!) spark plugs I set about the job only to be thwarted when I could not locate them. I assumed they would be below the fancy aluminium plate that covers the engine top but that revealed only a large black plastic blocking with a couple of metal plates that prised off to reveal more black plastic blocking without any obvious sign of attachment.

I didn't want to prise too much for fear of busting something!

I've since been told that plugs don't require changing for 50,000 miles so I've got 15,000 to go. But I'm still curious as to how to get at 'em.

they are in the top of the engine under the aluminium plate and under the coil packs which sit on top of the plugs, they are bolted down (the coil packs) however if you are unsure, and not want to risk breaking something then let the garage do it. its not rocket science but i would question your ability to service your own vehicle if you are stuck on the spark plug stage.

assuming he's not driving a diesel.....

in which case if he is looking for spark plugs then he's in big trouble.

I think we are past the clockwork wind up stage

Cars usually run on petrol or diesel these days

Tony R

I think we are past the clockwork wind up stage

Cars usually run on petrol or diesel these days

Tony R

your point being???????

So gentlemen, the plugs (and any HT wiring) are hidden in the top of the engine beneath the coil blocks beneath the metal coil block protectors beneath the fancy aluminium plate and I'm sure no one would disagree, well out of view.

They are not, it seems, tucked away in the side of the block under any of the masses of other plastic covers that surround the engine.

Plugs in the top of an engine, well........................ I'll be.

Though I must say I was a little surprised not to see 'em (hence my request for information on this user group) as my '59 Bedford CA, '63 Ford Classic, '70 Vauxhall Viva, '69 Sunbeam Rapier, '78 Chrysler Alpine, '82 Citroen Visa, '83 Talbot Alpine, '84 Fiat Uno, '85 Ford Escort, '96 Ford Mondeo, '97 Ford Ka and even the '03 Ka all had / have plugs and leads clearly visible into the side of the engine!

Our '81 and '89 Ford Granada's even had 'em on both sides of the engine! Though the '87 Ford Escort the '93 Fiesta and the '95 Peugeot 806 didn't have any on account of 'em being diesel.

(There has been a dozen or so motorcycles with all including my latest

But here we have a '00 406 with hidden plugs, amazing!

So you see it seems, some folks know it all and some, such as I, even at 52, have still got things to learn.

My thanks to the 3 users who contacted me 'off group' with information and guidance.

BJ Nottingham

correction, you had a ford mondeo...........did you not? the plugs (assuming you didnt have a diesel) are in the TOP of the engine, in fact the only difference between all of the cars/engines you mention (apart from the mondeo which i have corrected you on) was the fact that they were all single camshaft engines, and where a twin camshaft setup is used the plugs are "generally" in the top between the 2 camshafts. as far as the coil packs are concerned, now commonly used in place of a wet coil and distributor unit they are much more reliable and do away with moving parts, no more rotor arms and dizzy caps... situating them directly on top of the plugs also elimintaes the need for HT leads, although some setups still use 2 short ones as each coil pack will feed 2 plugs.

...........see I'm still learning.

I bow to your knowledge Steve. The fact is from about 1985 all my vehicles have been regularly serviced at the main dealers but a change in my circumstances (and £200 odd for a service, how much? the parts at full price from Halfords cost £44!.) had prompted me to do my own service on the 406.

i admire anyone who wants to service thier own vehicles and save some cash, fair play to you, and hey, if you dont ask, you wont find out. just bear in mind that sometimes nowadays for the "novice" home technician, or DIY mechanic, whichever way you want to put it, there are a number of jobs that can be best left to those who have done the job before, straight foreward servicing isnt an issue here, but do you plan to renew the cambelt yourself when its due? i'm a full time technician and speak from experience when i say that "certain" DIY mechanics can do more harm than good when they try to save a few pounds and attempt the job themselves. example : a young chap had a misfire on a mazda 323 16v, thinking he knew a bit about engines he messed around with it a bit, butchered the distributor to advance the timing thinking it might run better, fitted a new cambelt and got the timing 3 teeth out, and then after giving up ran it for a couple of months with the misfire until finally bringing it in for us to repair..... result : 4 burnt out pistons where the engine had been running so hot they had detonated and melted, 12 burnt and cracked valves, suffice to say it cost him a new engine....he's given up on home DIY now.

I too am a full time technician and I fully endorse your comments. I have seen some horrors come into the workshops on the back of a trailer, where the owner has tried to "do it himself". They end up paying a lot more than if they had brought it to us in the first place. Know your capabilities, and work within them.

hey in defense, spark plug changing is not rocket science, he only wanted to know where they were. Some of the replies were a bit wanky. nobody knows everything.

he was told where they were, the discussion was about whether or not DIY mechanics should or shouldnt be playing with things they might not understand. and reasons for and against were both given.

yeh but some of replies originally were of the kind that suggested if he can't find the spark plugs he shouldn't be touching cars.

well its his car, only he can make that decision, all we can do is advice...and i don't know the chap personally, he might be a reasonably good DIY mechanic, but i've met hundreds that arn't and just want to save a few bob. its these that sometimes end up making more work than was originally there. we all know cars are becoming more and more technical these days and we don't like to encourage people to start ripping them to bits if they are unsure, i think that applies to pretty most everything in life. anyone that used to repair and service cars 30 years ago, and now wants to return to doing it themselves after having a garage do it for the last 30 years will find, as this chap did, that things have changed...

What's all this *Technician* stuff nowadays First Mechanic then Fitters next Gods you're all Monkeys get over it ;-(