Spark Plugs Replacement 2004 Es330

[calirvine91]

anyone w experience in changing the 2004 es 2004 spark plugs

my 2004 es330 currently has over 113000 miles

local lexus charges about $600 , and local shop charges $400 in birmingham al

too expensive for my budget

[gbhrps]

With the right tools and a LOT of patience you can do the job yourself. The iridium plugs that are in the car are good for 120 000 miles or 192 000 km, according to the Lexus owner's manual. The fronts are a breeze to change, the rears are a bit** but can be done without removing the intake manifold. The quotes you received were obviously from sources wanting to remove and replace the manifold, equals hours of labour, equals big dollars.

I copied the following 4 paragraphs from a camry v6 forum for the same generation of es330.

"I changed the plugs on mine at about 80 000. The front plugs are of course a breeze, the rears are going to be problematic (unless you want to remove the plenum which some people actually do). I managed to change all 3 of the rears without removing the plenum but unless you have very small hands (i mean child size) it is like building a ship in a bottle.

You will need every tool that looks like it might help, and a roll of masking tape to tape the sockets and various extension together so they dont fall apart while you are wrestling with getting the back plugs out. I used a 3/8 set of sockets but i think you'd actually be better off using a 1/4 socket set and some adapter for the spark plug socket itself (since they are all size 3/8" for the square hole).

I bought a tool from harbor freight called sidewinder and it cost $10 and was worth every penny. It is a 3/8" socket wrench that you can turn your socket by twisting a handle on the end (instead of moving the handle back and forth). I could not have gotten out the back middle plug without this clever tool.

If you change them yourself it CAN be done but count on getting very intimate with the engine as you will be lying on it for a long time wrestling these plugs out, they are all a !Removed! to access. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands, assemble every tool that might help, and set aside PLENTY of time for the chore is my advise. And please do use antisieze on the threads if you own this car a long time the LAST thing you want is one of those dam rear plugs seizing in place - Good luck!"

As you can read, the job is not for the DIYer unless you have a lot of patience and time. I checked my wife's ES330 just now with a trouble light out in the garage, and when the time comes to changes the plugs I'm going to do the job myself. I consider myself a backyard mechanic whose been in the backyard a while, but I can see where some people wouldn't want to try this themselves. Good Luck!

[kcrich]

With the right tools and a LOT of patience you can do the job yourself. The iridium plugs that are in the car are good for 120 000 miles or 192 000 km, according to the Lexus owner's manual. The fronts are a breeze to change, the rears are a bit** but can be done without removing the intake manifold. The quotes you received were obviously from sources wanting to remove and replace the manifold, equals hours of labour, equals big dollars.

THanks for the Post GB. Like you, I am a back yard mechanic. I got the plugs and went about changing mine this past weekend. It took 10 minutes of looking at the back set to say, "no Fing way". Needless to say, 3 beers later and I still didn't have the patience to try the job. But with your post here, I think I will give it another try. One thing I'd like to say though, I sure wish the idiot engineers who thought this design was anywhere close to acceptable would have to do a few of these. These guys aren't car guys and definitely don't expect anyone to work on their own cars. I have a sneaky suspicion that they may be investors in the shops charging people 400 bucks to change spark plugs. That's something so easy that even no shade tree mechanics can do. I will post an update next week and let you know how it goes. That is, of course, if I still have my sanity.

I copied the following 4 paragraphs from a camry v6 forum for the same generation of es330.

"I changed the plugs on mine at about 80 000. The front plugs are of course a breeze, the rears are going to be problematic (unless you want to remove the plenum which some people actually do). I managed to change all 3 of the rears without removing the plenum but unless you have very small hands (i mean child size) it is like building a ship in a bottle.

You will need every tool that looks like it might help, and a roll of masking tape to tape the sockets and various extension together so they dont fall apart while you are wrestling with getting the back plugs out. I used a 3/8 set of sockets but i think you'd actually be better off using a 1/4 socket set and some adapter for the spark plug socket itself (since they are all size 3/8" for the square hole).

I bought a tool from harbor freight called sidewinder and it cost $10 and was worth every penny. It is a 3/8" socket wrench that you can turn your socket by twisting a handle on the end (instead of moving the handle back and forth). I could not have gotten out the back middle plug without this clever tool.

If you change them yourself it CAN be done but count on getting very intimate with the engine as you will be lying on it for a long time wrestling these plugs out, they are all a !Removed! to access. Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands, assemble every tool that might help, and set aside PLENTY of time for the chore is my advise. And please do use antisieze on the threads if you own this car a long time the LAST thing you want is one of those dam rear plugs seizing in place - Good luck!"

As you can read, the job is not for the DIYer unless you have a lot of patience and time. I checked my wife's ES330 just now with a trouble light out in the garage, and when the time comes to changes the plugs I'm going to do the job myself. I consider myself a backyard mechanic whose been in the backyard a while, but I can see where some people wouldn't want to try this themselves. Good Luck!