Does anyone knows if there are special tools, etc. to change the #6 spark plug in the VG33E engine (2000-2004 model). I heard the dealers only change 5 plugs and leave the #6 in. There is an old post on this subject, i just want to know if there are new tools or techniques on how to change it

Its A Bitch And A Half, But I Changed Mine, I Used A 3/8 Drive With 2 10" Extensions(1 Wobble). Be Careful Though, I Had To Place A Board Across The Engine Bay And Get On Top Of It In Order To Reach(be Careful Not To Stay In One Position Long Enough To Cause Your Feet To Fall Asleep To The Point Where Someone Has To Help You Out The Engine Bay), Then I Cracked One Plug Trying To Get It In, Then I Lost My Spark Plug Socket... It Fell Off Just After I Tightened The New Plug, Never Did Find It, Not On Top The Tranny, Not Under The Intake Manifold. I Believe It Ell Thru A Worm Hole Into Another Dimension. I Have Very Thin Hands/arms With Thin Bones And Can Fit My Hands Nearly Anywhere In That Engine Bay. The Socket Is Nowhere To Be Found.

Its Possible, And Difficult

i changed them myself and it was a pain, i dont know if i will do it when the time comes agine

i changed them myself and it was a pain, i dont know if i will do it when the time comes agine

JUST LET ME KNOW AND ILL HELP... I LOVE A CHALLENGE

I changed mine too. It was a bitch, but I did it.

Here is a link I used --http://www.nissanoffroad.net/how_to/plugs/plug.asp

On #6 most of the work was done by feel alone. I have small hands.

OK - I have pics of the elusive #6...taken of the rear of the engine, w/o that pesky firewall in the way.

(I was doing an engine swap in the driveway...and it occurred to me that it might be the ONLY time I had a clear view of that plug from hell...)

:D

http://xterrafirma.com/albums/TJs-X-Winch-Stuff/new_engine_on_stand_so_shiney.sized.jpg

http://xterrafirma.com/albums/TJs-X-Winch-Stuff/6th_spark_plug_boot_in_natural_habitat.sized.jpg

http://xterrafirma.com/albums/TJs-X-Winch-Stuff/6th_spark_plug_in_natural_habitat.sized.jpg

http://xterrafirma.com/albums/TJs-X-Winch-Stuff/6th_spark_plug_exposed.sized.jpg


If you are trying to get your bearings back there...the rear two boot guide pins, on top of the engine, make a line that is perfectly aligned with the plug below.

:D

Why were you doing an engine swap? Did you put in a bigger/better one?

Regarding the original post:

The shop I take my wife's Honda to has done some Nissan work. The owner told me they use a 10" extension with three u-joints in it. I didn't ask if it was custom or a Nissan shop tool. He said the techs hate changing them, but they hate the ass-chewing they get if they ignore the #6 even more...

Woody

I had to use 4 3/8"' 3" extensions and 2 u- joints. still had a hard time getting it out and the new one in. lost my spark plug socket. The other five plugs took me 20 minutes. that one took an hour and a half. next time i'll probably get somebody els e to do it.

Excellent pics. I think we've all experienced the plug from hell.:biggrin:

thanks for the pics TJTJ

Why were you doing an engine swap? Did you put in a bigger/better one?

Don't you remember one of his posts from earlier this year? He did the USS Squalus routine with his X.

Yeah, I just changed the plugs in mine and it took me about 15-20 mins to remove and replace that plug alone. It sucked.

I changed mine last summer - using the guidance someone posted here - was a lifesaver to reco the knuckle to get in there. Another trick that may be helpful - use electrical tape to hold the plug in the socket if you dont have a rubber insert to hold it in. Don't use too much - just enough to hold it in the socket until threaded.

If it slips out - fish it out with a magnet extension.. after 30 minutes of pissin and moaning cuz I couldn't get my hands in there to find the plug that fell out of the socket -I figured this out...

learning the hard way...

Jesus, what a screwy (ha ha) place to put a spark plug! And to think I used to complain about replacing the plugs on my old 'Yota 3.0L.....:aufkopfhauen-big:

ok, so whats the general consensus? pay someone to do this or do it yourself and enjoy the pain and pissed-off-ness of it?

I'd say unless you're doing it yourself you'll never know if it got changed...unless maybe you watch but that usually costs more.

yeah doing it yourself is an all day project of laying on top of the engine, you wake up the next morning with sore ribs and sore everything else, but hey, its your X gotta put a little sweat and blood into her

I changed all the plugs on my supercharged 3.3.l engine and it took me 35 minutes to do all six plugs. I honestly dont understand why someone with a decent set of tools cannot accomplish this. I used two extensions and a universal joint at the end of the extensions. I was dreading the day i changed my plugs and then when i did it i could not believe how easy it was. DO IT ITS NOT HARD

Changing the plugs on the S/C engine is different than the N/A motor due to having to pull the S/C to get to the plugs.

With the regular manifold on it, it's harder.

I've had people come to me and pay me to change the #6 plug out. I've also had one guy come in with the engine misfiring, and I had to remove the cross threaded plug, rethread the hole (without removing the head!) and stick a new plug back in there.

Some folks don't have it. Some do. It's nothing to be ashamed of if someone doesn't know how or physically can't do it. I'm not a good cook, but my wife doesn't belittle me if I try. Some can only change their own oil, I can still cook toast like none other!

If someone can't do it, pay someone, but don't ignore it.

mine was a pain too......but with enough patience it can be done. I needed extensions and a mirror i stole from the wife's collection of bathroom things.

I think it wouldn't have been so bad had there not been sand BAKED around the plug!!!

the socket wouldn't even go on and i thought it was never gonna come out!
chiseled at it with a tiny screwdriver for 20 minutes though and cleaned it out with compressed air.

makes me wonder what the owner before me got that por thing into!

Changing the plugs on the S/C engine is different than the N/A motor due to having to pull the S/C to get to the plugs.

With the regular manifold on it, it's harder.

I've had people come to me and pay me to change the #6 plug out. I've also had one guy come in with the engine misfiring, and I had to remove the cross threaded plug, rethread the hole (without removing the head!) and stick a new plug back in there.

Some folks don't have it. Some do. It's nothing to be ashamed of if someone doesn't know how or physically can't do it. I'm not a good cook, but my wife doesn't belittle me if I try. Some can only change their own oil, I can still cook toast like none other!

If someone can't do it, pay someone, but don't ignore it.

You dont have to remove the S/c to change the plugs. that would be ridiculous

How'd you get to #4 plug? Hell, #2 is hard enough.

It takes all of 10 minutes to pull the S/C off.

Unless you're a magician, fess up.

How'd you get to #4 plug? Hell, #2 is hard enough.

It takes all of 10 minutes to pull the S/C off.

Unless you're a magician, fess up.

Ill be doing my plugs again in about two weeks(there on there way from courtesy) If you want i will take pictures of everystep of the way that way you can guys use the exact tools i use and do it with ease. I will also see if i can video record the process as well

When you do, pm me and start a new thread. I might make it a sticky as well. Those with the S/C engine will love it!

No problem! It really isnt hard i swear, i was so mad that i was worrying about doing it after reading horror stories about it.

aww man now this is scaring me when its gonna come to changing all the plugs, and i gotta do it soon :(

aww man now this is scaring me when its gonna come to changing all the plugs, and i gotta do it soon :(

why? Its easy just make sure you use a universal joint so you can loosen and tighten at the silly angles! no biggie!!!

eat rice z33, did you ever get around to writing up the 'how to' on the plugs? Its about time for me to do mine on my VG33ER and it would really come in handy. Looked around for it, but didn't find it.

OK, here's a clue on #6 (Look at the pics)...


When you have your hand down there to pull the boot PAY ATTENTION TO WHERE THAT IS.

:D

BRING the new plug, etc with you up there....and, here it is...DO NOT LOSE YOUR POSITION.

If you simply unscrew the old plug and re-insert the new plug, all while still in position, it takes the guess work out.


Most people make it a two part process, and lose the position.

I needed only one universal joint and a 3" + 6" extension on it, to get positioned to take off, and re-seat the new one.

I can do the #6 in about 5 minutes total.

The FIRST time I did a #6, I used a remote robot camera from work, one we used for HVAC and pipe interior inspections....pretty easy really with that.

:D

After that, just did it all by feel.

Good info from TJTJ. I changed my #6 last sunday, and a good point of reference after you take the boot off is that the plug lines up about an inch to the right of the screw right behind the engine (the one on the body of the car). Just line up with that and stick the extension at a slight angle and down. will naturally fit into place. Took me about 15 minutes.

Good day All

I just finished changing my plugs (75 minutes)...it does take some patience to find the correct angles, but it is easily done. I expect my next change to take less than 30 minutes, now that I know what angles to work at and the right tools.

This diagram really helped with the #6 plug: http://www.nissanoffroad.net/how_to/plugs/plug.asp

Tools:
3/8" Ratchet
10" Extension
6" Extension
Universal/Elbow Joint
5/8" Spark Plug Socket with Rubber

Note: I threw a piece of cardboard and a towel over the engine for comfort while working on the #6 plug.

Although the angles are difficult, changing the plugs and wires is definitely a DIY job.

Cheers to those who provided info and positive motivation.

Ryan:anbeten-big:

im a pro at the #6 now, lol

i think im going to need this soon. starting to feel a miss every now and then... car has 90,000 miles and i dont know when it was last done.

well i just got done changing the plugs last night. #6 wasnt as bad as made out to be. The hardest part was getting the wire off and i lost my socket down there for a min not sure how that happened beacuse my extensions are locking extensions you have to push in on a small pin to release the socket, O well. 20-30 min for all and now my misfiring is gone.

aww man now this is scaring me when its gonna come to changing all the plugs, and i gotta do it soon


Lol. i was just thinking that very same thing. But by reading thru the end of this thread i think you guys have given me the ballz of steel i need to attempt it. thanks.

best of luck. its not that bad.

Changing the plugs on the S/C engine is different than the N/A motor due to having to pull the S/C to get to the plugs.

With the regular manifold on it, it's harder.



Who pulls the s/c to get to the plugs? I know I didn't.


#4 was a bigger PITA than #6 for me.

:( My hands were too big to even get close to finding the #6 plug. I had to have my step-dad help me.

Holy crap, I did my plugs 2 days ago. Reading the forums, I thought #6 couldn't be as bad as everyone said but it was and far worse than written about lol. I had all the necessary tools, extensions, socket and duck taped everything together so no socket pieces were lost.

1-5 were cake and done in less than 30 minutes. #6 took approx 4 hours, I had a mirror to help me visualize where it is and the mirror slipped on top of the transmission about mid way to the center of the truck. So i had to slide underneath and try to pull the mirror out. After pulling it out I still fought to get the plug where it needs to go, finally got it in and torqued properly. After that nightmare I had another one with the wire itself.


All this to try and track down my very poor mileage issue with the truck. One of the plugs look fouled badly, while the rest looked decent, what I would expect with only 40k but figured I replaced everything else lets try this. Natta. I'm good for awhile now though, piece of mind.

Going in on #6. At least its not raining! My motivation is the cold beer that awaits me when I finish.

Done. Not so bad, The mirror helped lots. Time for beer.

This might sound crazy, but I'm gonna pull #6 again for the 3rd time in a week. I can't get the engine to idle properly. I'm going to check ALL the plugs AGAIN just to make sure that there is no cracked porcelain. This is getting crazy. I am FAR more pissed about the idling than having to pull #6 for the 3rd time. It is now my mission in life to get this fucker to idle properly. If someone really wants to know what i've done to get this right and has any ideas, let me know and I will list them. #6 is gravy.

post pics of your plugs.

Was that directed at me DK?

Ok got my plugs done too. Thanks for the advice, pics and words of encouragement to all in this thread. TJTJ's pics helped me visualize it prior to the actual installation.

My two cents:
If you are having trouble pulling the boot off o the plug I'd recommend spark plug pliers which you can get an any auto parts store. As for getting a look at the actual plug nothing beat one of those small mirrors and a mini mag light. If you don't have someone helping you, you will have to put the light and mirror down when you actually go for contact since you will need both hands to "feel." If you think your socket has met the plug, that is a good time to pause grab your mirror and light and double check. Then proceed with the removal. Same thing when threading the new one. I threaded the new one using the spark plug socket with extensions to hold it. Just ease it in. You will notice the wobble progressively go away as you continue to thread it. However, if your threading jams within first 1/2 to 1 1/2 turns you are probably in danger of cross threading. Back off and try it again.

Thanks again to all who helped.

Btw, my plugs were soooooo bad it's embarrassing. 92,900 miles on original set of NGK's. Got the pics to prove it.

Was that directed at me DK?

yes post them up

Actually going to attempt #6 again this week. I pulled the other plugs because I had to gap them correctly(didn't have a gap tool at the time). 1-5 were cake and gapped within the .39-.44 spec range. #6 i'm going to try and get done in less than 5-10 minutes. I have a piece of wood for the firewall to get some leverage this time.

what kind of plugs are you guys using?

i did mine 10000 mile ago it sucked... I basically got under the hood with the motor.... anyhow i was on the way home from VT last weekend.. get to about 50 miles down the road and the cel turns on (wtf) my x starts vibrating has completly no power then all of a sudden it comes back to life and cel goes off.. so i get home pop the hood turns out somehow the #6 spark plug has been slowly backing out, running the #6 really lean, destroying the sparg plug.. luckily the cylinder/piston are fine (after stealing dads LED milwakee scope) just burnt some of the carbon off the piston, popped a new ngk in it for now truck runs great... I guess that was rookie mistake but just a heads up for everyone contemplating changing themselves.

I dont get what the big deal is with #6 its not that hard to get to you just need to take your time.. when i did mine i had more trouble with #1 and #3. the drainage isnt very good in them and i had so much dirt in them that it took me over an hour to get them both out. take your time do it right. so you dont have to do it 3 times

Hi all. This explains a lot on my mine. I bought it a couple of months ago with 160k on it. I noticed that it doesn't purr, so i checked kv and found #6 runs about 16k lower than the others. Now I know why. What a great forum to belong to.

Ok, thanks for the horror stories. I will take mine to the shop for new plugs.:damn:

Timd it's not that bad everyone just makes it sound worse then it really is. If you take your time. You shouldn't have a problem

its not that hard if you know how to use tools. if you cant chang your own oil take it in.

i did mines a few months ago, ill admit it was a bitch cuz it was my first time changin out on the x. im pretty sure next time itll be a little easier since i know where its at now :D

just did mine tonight and #4 was by far the hardest. plus mine is a s/c so abit more tougher. i actually thought #6 was the easiest one. i used a 3" extension to the spark plug socket then a universal wobble adapter and then the 6" and didnt even have to get close to the firewall at all. hardest part was getting the plug boots off.

Hmmm. First post on this board. Couldn't get that darn #6 plug wire and plug off. Tore up my hands trying to get it off. After a cut wrist and weak hands I finally threw in the towel. So I'll be rolling with 5 new plugs and 1 old.
I'll give it a go later once my hands heal up.

Hmmm. First post on this board. Couldn't get that darn #6 plug wire and plug off. Tore up my hands trying to get it off. After a cut wrist and weak hands I finally threw in the towel. So I'll be rolling with 5 new plugs and 1 old.
I'll give it a go later once my hands heal up.

Prop the hood all the way up(use one of the holes in the hood) kneel in front of the radiator now reach down as far as you can and pull the boot off,(small hands help) use some boot lube so next time they come right off.

If you need reference pics for S/C try this (http://www.clubxterra.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19228).

Couldn't get that darn #6 plug wire and plug off.

I feel your pain - I just did the same. A classic 5-plug change, apparently. This is my first plug change with the Xterra, and from all the info on here, I'm sure I can do it as long as I can get that #6 boot off. I was running out of patience and light so I packed it in. I have a long drive coming up soon (1000+ miles), so I'm hoping to get it done to get the best gas mileage possible. At that distance, each MPG is worth about $12 over the trip (comparing 15 to 16 mpg).

I'll give it another go tomorrow a bit earlier than I started tonight.

My #3 plug didn't look so hot... I'm curious if the #6 going to be one of those "never changed" stories once I get it out...

Anyone know what a plug looking like this means? FYI they're NGK double platinum PFR5G-11 (I'm replacing them with the GP platinum bkr5egp that cost 1/4 the price of what was in there. That's #3 on the left and #5 on the right - the other 3 look like #5 (I haven't gotten #6 out yet).

http://i212.photobucket.com/albums/cc5/mattdocs40/plug.jpg

They were in way to long 1,3,5,2,4, are the easy plugs to get to, I would change the double platinum plugs at 105 k miles,and 5 years,on single platinum.and stick with ngk.

#6 done... Easy, once I figured out how to get two gloved hands back there to rip the boot off. The arrangement of 3/8" socket and extensions I used was:
1. spark plug socket
2. 6" extension
3. universal joint
4. 6" extension + 3" extension (longer would work if you had a 12" or so)
5. ratchet
I torqued it to a little below the torque range... It's 14-22 so I set it to about 12. I've done some experiments with angle of attack and torque wrenches at work, and I'm pretty confident that's a good way to do it.

FYI, the relevant experiment I did was with a 100 ft lb setting, 16 degrees of wobble w/ 15" of extension gave an output of 104 ft lb. Once it got worse, we stopped, because our calibration tolerances are 4% and we wanted to find something that keeps us in it. More angle/length increases the output before the wrench clicks. This guy (http://home.jtan.com/~joe/KIAT/kiat_3.htm) did some experimenting of his own and found the relationship is exponential. Scroll down to (or ctrl+f to) the "Torque Wrenches and Accessories" section about halfway down.

My 2000 Xterra has 204,000 miles. I changed the plugs at 104,000 miles about five years ago and had the most problems with the #4 plug. This time, at 204,000 miles, I had a lot of problems with #6 and #4. Getting #6 out is not difficult if you can find the right combo of extensions and universal joints. I used a Husky 5/8" socket, a 3" extension, a universal joint, and then a 10" extension. The boot wasn't a problem and the plug came off easily although my left hand got scratched up pretty bad. The hardest part about changing number 6 was getting the new plug thread started correctly. I could find the hole OK but I had a really difficult time trying to turn the plug once you stand it in the hole since you can't get your fingers around it. I didn't want to use the extension/universal joint to start the threads because of the danger of cross-threading it. I persisted by standing the plug in the hole and trying to spin it by "pushing" lightly with one finger on the side of the porcelain part. After about ten tries, I was finally able to get the thread started about an eight of a turn. That was enough for me to put the socket/extensions/universal joint on it and start turning the combo with the socket wrench. The #6 plug went in fine but it ended up taking me about an hour for just that one plug.

I read some of the posts here where some people skipped the #6 plug and did a five plug change only. Not a good idea! That plug will eventually fail. My second set of plugs (the ones I changed this time at 204,000 miles) lasted about 100,000 miles. My first set lasted about 104,000 miles. I was going to wait until I got to 208,000 miles before changing the plugs this time, but I got a flashing "check engine light" at 204,000 with a P302 code (2nd cylinder misfire). Fortunately it happened when I started the car at home one morning. A steadily flashing check engine light with cylinder misfire code means that you can destroy your three-way catalytic converter if you drive with the misfire. A regular (non-flashing) check engine light with a cylinder misfire code is OK to drive with and supposedly won't harm your cat converter.

One last thing, (I mentioned this in a different thread) the #4 plug was really difficult to remove this time. The socket wouldn't go all the way down the shaft to grip the plug. The shaft seems to get narrower as you go down further towards the plug. I remember the first time I changed the plugs at 104,000 miles I had the same problem. I allowed the engine to cool down completely and then the socket fit all the way down the shaft. This time that didn't work and I ended up having to file and sand about .04 inches around the socket to make it fit. This worked perfectly and the plug came off easily after I "shrunk" down the outer diameter of the Husky socket. The Husky socket started out with about a .865" outer diameter. After filing and sanding, it was .825 outer diameter. Checked it with a caliper before and after.

Good luck!

I didn't want to use the extension/universal joint to start the threads because of the danger of cross-threading it. I persisted by standing the plug in the hole and trying to spin it by "pushing" lightly with one finger on the side of the porcelain part.

Just the opposite really. I did this for the first time this past weekend. Since I could not even reach my hand in far enough to thread the plug bare, I used the 6" extension with the plug socket. Seated the plug into socket and guided it in, keeping the socket snug to the engine side, which is formed to the shape of the socket really...once it is seated, gently turned the top of the extension a turn or 2, and then gently pull up to see if it catches. Mine caught first attempt. It kept turning so I knew it wasnt crossed (usually you know this by first turn). once snug, hooked up remaining extensions and tightened up. I used the socket to seat all the plugs. They all threaded first try except #4. Use duct tape on joints when putting new plug in, since you leave the socket behind when you try and remove your tools!