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How hard is it to change out coil pack/spark plug wire?

21K views 34 replies 18 participants last post by  wilson0x4d 
#1 · (Edited)
So I finally figured out what my rough idle at stat up was. Yesterday after starting up my GXP on a cold night, I got a check engine light come on, code P0301. Misfire in cylinder #1. The light stayed on but was not flashing and the car was running fine. I drove it home with no problems and it had plenty of power. I cleared the code when I got home. I searched the forum and people have said to change the spark plugs and the coil wire for spark plug #1 to solve the problem. So hoe hard is it to change these new electronic type coil wires on modern cars. I'm only used to old school coil packs. Also, would this be covered under the power train warranty? Found another member say that there is a service bulletin about this too. Say to do the exact same thing to fix the problem, something about a bad connection on the female part of the wire.
 
#3 ·
That's what I was thinking, but do i jiggle it and pull up at the same time like traditional spark plug wires? Do i need to turn it counter clock wise when pulling up? I'm always afraid of breaking that black piece of plastic.
 
#4 ·
Nah, it not a big deal. Just remove bolt ,then twist and pull up and there you go. Why you have pack off. Pull the plug and take a look.
 
#5 ·
This may sound stupid, but which one is cylinder #1? First closest to front of car bumper or 1st closest to rear of engine and front windshield? I don't see any numbers on them at all. Can any of you guys recommend the best spark plugs for performance? Don't tell me platinum anything because I know that copper is the best for performance and platinum is the best for longevity/life. Needs to be for the 08 2.0 turbo GXP. Anyone use iridium plugs?
 
#7 ·
I would use stock plugs.
 
#8 ·
Plug #1 is the one at the front of the engine. BTW, make sure there is nothing sitting around the coil pack to fall into the hole.
And, I believe, the stock plug is iridium; that's what I use in all my vehicles, vintage and new.
 
#10 ·
If you know how to change spark plugs, the coil pack sits right on top of it....one bolt, give it a gentle tug and off it comes. If you have never changed plugs, have someone that has there with you (if you're changing the plugs too). Otherwise the coil pack is probably the easiest thing you will ever do! You can easily re-thread the head if you don't get the plug back in correctly. re-thread = bad!
 
#11 · (Edited)
I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry to change the plug. I had a single incident a few years ago under hard acceleration where the car stumbled and threw the same code. Never had an issue before that time nor has it done it again since.

I'd wait for a bit before I changed anything.
 
#13 ·
Good idea.

Guys, I must be getting old because I just remembered that I switched out my spark plugs when I had my 2.4 Red Devil back a few years ago. I remember it was very easy. :lol: And I went with NGK Iridium spark plugs. They come pre gaped. I also remember that they ran very well and I had them in my car when I traded it in for my new GXP just last year. Never had any problems with them at all the entire 4 years I had the car. So I think I am going to use them again. :thumbs:
 
#14 ·
But you have a turbo car now, and they are extremely hard (and finicky) on plugs. The guys on the hptuner board said change the plugs every 2nd or 3rd oil change. I just did mine about a month ago....I went with the stock ac delco 41-408....
 
#15 · (Edited)
If the stock plugs are so great, then why am i having problems with them? Car only has 25k miles on it.

The stock plugs are made of platinum, which anyone will tell you are made for longevity/life, not performance. Since I used the NGK before and others have used these on their GXPs with no problems, I see no reason not to switch. DDM Works also sells these same plugs with their 2.4 ltr supercharger kit. They are a hotter/cooler running plug. There are NGK plugs for both egines, 2.0 and 2.4 cars. Once I use a product that works, I usually stick with it. They also come pre gaped which I like.
 
#16 ·
Do a forum search for spark plugs. A bunch of different types have been tried, but more often than not the stock AC Delco seem to work the best. Gap does make a difference. .032 seems to be the most common gap with the most success.
 
#17 · (Edited)
So the other night I had a misfire again and then a check engine code came on. P0301. Which was a misfire in cylinder #1. So I decided to pull the plugs and check them. WOW! They were all pretty bad. I replaced them with NGK Laser Cut Iridium OE plugs. The are recomended as OE replacement plugs for the Solstice GXP. The factory plugs are crap! Autolight plugs are around 2-$3 each. The NGK Iridium plugs are good because they are a hotter running plug, better for the turbo LNF-5. They cost around 9-$10 each. So basically you get what you pay for. After installing these plugs, the engine started right up with no hesitation. Rough idle is gone and car runs great! My boost went from 14-15psi to 16-17psi. I understand that the turbo 2.0 goes through plugs pretty fast, but after only 21k miles the durability of the stock plugs just doesn't last. Seems like Iridium and copper are best for high performance engines and turbos.
 
#19 ·
Well.....I've had to many times at the track with no issues, but probably a good rule. And never fail to install plugs in any alloy head with a dab of antiseize!
 
#21 ·
Guys, I waited a few hours for the engine to cool down before I pulled the pugs. I even disconnected the battery before I began. Not sure if that part was needed, I was being safe. And yes, I always use an anti seize lubricant when installing new plugs.:thumbs:
 
#24 ·
Yeah, I know what you mean. :brentil:

It really P's me off when someone gets a super deal that I didn't find and paid WAY less for them. :woo: Especially when it's items such as spark plugs that the factory used when they dyno'ed the lump after designing it.

Plus they will keep any questions about my warranty out of any discussions at the dealer. :cheers:

YMMV! :driving:
 
#27 ·
Sorry but they do not. This is your opinion and so far there has been ZERO issues with the OEM Delco plugs.
If you have some heavy tune or larger TURBO, then you may want to change to a different plug.
 
#29 ·
Be that as it may, the plugs got that way for a lot of other reasons none of which were the designed of the plug.
 
#30 ·
Dealership says it's fouled spark plugs. I bought the recommended spark plugs, AC Delco 41-108 because these have better cold starting characteristics. Went home, waiting for engine to cool down, installed new plugs. Still same results. Misfire at start up until car warms up, but no check engine light this time. Still has "shudder" at idle speed.

Can't afford to go back to the dealership right now. Girlfriend just got laid off last week so money is tight now with just one income. Will have to wait another 2 weeks until I get paid again so I can just leave my car with them and let them experiment with it. I still think it's the fuel injectors.
 
#33 ·
I just had some serious misfiring on my GXP with 12,000km on the clock...it came back with an error code of (0321) looks like a misfiring issue on cyl#1. Since, I have GMPP warranty until 2016, took it back to my local dealership and had them do the replacement of the plug and coil.

12638824 COIL-IGN
2.0, 2.2, 2.4 Ecotec Engines, Sold as 1 each. Requires 4 per engine

12620540 Ecotec LNF Spark Plug IRIDIUM 41-108
4 required, priced per one. Replaces 12617309

All is good now and pedal to metal to Starbucks I go!
 
#35 ·
misinformation



:agree: There's a bit of bad 'advice' on the last 2-3 pages, that one being the most offensive, but there's a few things I feel noobs like me should be aware of from the start:

1. Check your gap, never, ever trust a 'pre-gapped' plug, the odds that they are properly and consistently gapped are slim. A slightly larger-than-optimal gap may hide a rough idle, sure, but you've not *actually* improved anything, and you're going to find that often enough the gap on a plug is a few microns larger than what you want. For example, the last set of NGKs I bought were gapped at .041 - .043. I brought this down to .030 - my low-temp idle is rough, yes, however:

2. The cooler plugs, when properly gapped, result in a rough idle at low temps. On a STOCK engine this is normal until your engine reaches 140-160 degrees. You should not experience any problems once warmed up. If you do, then you probably have a bad gap (wrong plug entirely, or other issue possibly unrelated to the plug.) Hotter plugs, when properly gapped, seemed to foul up more with no noticeable difference in performance.

3. For optimal performance you can pull plugs every 30k miles, they will be dirty, deposited, but not corroded. However, plugs should "last" to 100k miles or more exhibiting problems.

4. For 'mostly stock setups, with no added boost' it doesn't matter whether you use copper, iridium or platinum tipped plugs. You're simply not going to "get more performance" out of your car, at least none you can quantify using only your 5 senses.

Plugs are not like headers, you don't just swap them to gain hp, it's more about combustion efficiency.

And most importantly, it's not what you paid for a thing, it's what you know about it. A 'stock' plug, with a proper gap, is going to be more efficient for a wider heat range than non-OE/aftermarket plugs, and as it has been stated numerous times you don't *really* need to get 'extreme' with plug temps and gaps unless you have 'extreme' performance mods (like an aftermarket turbo running 20psi+ of boost.)
 
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