JohnDoyle Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 I'm coming up to my 30K service on my '04 RX 330 and I'm considering replacing the spark plugs while I'm at it, even though they're not required at this mileage. The rear bank appears to be fairly inaccessible. The Haynes manual says remove upper intake manifold, wiper arms and wiper motor, along with some covers. Has anyone done this? Is it as bad as it looks or is it fairly straightforward. I'm a fairly experience DIYer and have always done my own maintenance, up to and including timing belts. This just struck me as a lot to tear down in order to reach the spark plugs. Any input would certainly be appreciated. I did attempt to search for this a couple of different ways, but didn't come up with any existing threads. Thanks to all for your help! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl K Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Why would you want to change the plugs? they are good for at least 90k miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RX in NC Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Search using key words "spark plug replacement". You'll find a number of posts dealing with the topic. Haven't changed the plugs on my wife's current 2004 RX330 but I did change the plugs on her previous 2000 RX300 at 120,000 miles last October. As many owners already know, it is a !Removed! of a job. You need small hands (my hands are huge) and a number of extensions and swivels to get to the three rear plugs. Took me almost two hours and I had to go find my small-handed neighborhood buddy to get the middle rear plug seated and torqued into place. A word of advice - if your vehicle has either the Denso or NGK iridium-tipped plugs, you are wasting your money and time by changing them at anything less than 90,000 miles. These plugs are engineered to go for a long, long time, and my experience shows that they indeed do. I was amazed at how clean and sharp-tipped the 2000 RX300 plugs still were at 120,000 miles and I know for sure that they could have easily gone 150,000 miles or more. Pull one of your very easy to access front plugs and confirm that it is indeed a Denso or NGK iridium-tipped plug. If you can't tell, post the part number here and we'll let you know what you have. If you have iridium plugs, put your plug back in and don't worry about them until 100,000 miles or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnDoyle Posted June 27, 2007 Author Share Posted June 27, 2007 Based on your input, I think I'll leave them in a while longer. Part of my motivation for changing them was to avoid them becoming corroded in place and impossible to remove without damaging the threads in the cylinder heads. I thought I should at least take them out and put some anti-seize on the threads...then I thought, if I have them out, might as well put new ones back in. It sort of goes against the grain to leave them in for so long, but I think I'll wait and reconsider at 60K. The car runs flawlessly now. I'll get a little experience putting plugs in my mother's '02 Camry V6, which is a similar arrangement, but with a larger hood opening and more room around that rear bank. Hers has 75K without a plug change, so I think the service is justified in that case. As always, thanks for your input. This makes me dread the upcoming 30K maintenance much less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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