Sunday, July 7, 2013

How to DIY Change Spark Plugs on the Nissan GT-R (No Coolant Draining)

The GT-R service manual in the scheduled maintenance section states spark plugs should be changed at every 60K miles or 5 years. My '09 GT-R is approaching 5 years at about 33K miles on the odometer, so I decided to change the spark plugs since I had free weekend and it was raining outside. 
Other reasons to change the spark plugs early are:
  • Upgrading plugs type
  • Avoiding plugs getting seized in the engine block
  • Checking the health of the engine
  • Simply keeping the engine run at peak efficiency
After changing the plugs on my GT-R, I have noticed is that the car is slightly more responsive to accelerator pressing. The best way I can describe the change is ... in the old school days before drive-by-wire,
if you accelerator cable was loose and you tightened it ever so slightly all of a sudden the car would respond quicker, that is what the GT-R feel like now. We becomes accustomed to slight loses in power over time. The chrome exhaust tips are not becoming black as quickly any more either.

Here is a procedure that should help anyone with some mechanical inclination to change the plugs on their GT-R. Note that the service manual states that the coolant needs to be drained for this, however my procedure does NOT require coolant to be drained and refilled as that requires removal of lower panels and pressure equipment and makes a mess.

With the right tools and some patentice, this procedure should take no more than 3 hours. It requires removal of the intake manifold collector to reach all the ignition coils, then the spark plugs.

First the prep work:

1. Make sure the car is cool, engine has not been warmed up. Windows Down. Doors Unlocked. Save your radio stations memory using a pen and paper.
2. Have the new Spark Plugs. The NGK Spark Plug Number is DILKAR8A8 and the gap is 0.7-0.8mm. The Nissan Part # 22401-JF01D is and the plugs run approximately $38 a piece from your nissan dealership parts department. You need 6 of them.
3. 1 pouch of anti-sieze compound from the local auto shop, should be about $2
4. 14mm Spark plug wrench. I have to state that this is an uncommon size, therefore I ended up buying a 14mm deep 3/8" drive socket from Sears, model # 45871. It cleared the spark plug terminal just fine with a extension on it and also was skinny enough to fit into the ignition coil sleeve.
5. 3/8" ratchet with various extensions, 1/4" ratchet with various extensions, pliers.
6. 10mm wrench, 10mm socket, 6mm hex, pliers, magnetic pickup antenna.
7. Feeler gauge is not needed, I had one and can confirm that the plugs come pre-gapped at 0.7-0.8mm.
8. Various rags, petroleum based cleaning solvent, etc.
9. Small Torque wrench in in-lb, if you are inexperienced with hand torquing.

Tools for the Job.

Simple obvious rules to follow:

1. Don't drop the soap! Don't drop the plugs, don't drop screws and bolts in the engine bay, be careful handling each one. A 3 hour project can become an 8 hour project.
2. Don't over tighten anything, we are dealing with all aluminum alloy parts here, so save yourself a costly repair.
3. Take pictures, it can help put things back together easily.
4. You and only you are responsible for your GT-R, so if you wreck something, it's your responsibility, you cannot hold me responsible for your screw up.

Let's go through the process now:

STEP ONE:  DISCONNECT THE POWER. THIS MUST BE DONE.
1. Windows Down (so that you don't have to worry about the auto up/down window feature). Doors Unlocked. Open Engine Hood. Remove Battery Compartment Plastic Cover. 
2. Disconnect Negative Terminal using the 10mm wrench, tuck away.
3. Disconnect the Positive Battery Terminal. Since it cannot be tucked away, put a nice big rag between the +ve battery terminal and contact.

Disconnect the battery Terminals.

STEP TWO: REMOVE THE ENGINE COVER.

Use the hex socket and remove the 4 screws as pointed in red, and then lift the engine cover off.



STEP THREE: REMOVE THE RUBBER AIR INLETS TO THE THROTTLE BODIES.
1. As show in the above picture with yellow arrow, loosen the hose clamps as much as possible without opening then completely. The clamps must clear the rubber tabs on the bottom of the rubber intake piping closer to the throttle bodies.
2. Slide the hose clap closest to the throttle body down and work the rubber duct off the throttle body first, the intake piping does have quite a bit of wiggle room if push down.
3. Once off the throttle body, remove the rubber intake off the intake piping and put aside. Mark it Left or Right. 
4. Repeat for the other side. Should look like the picture below.


Rubber Intake Piping Removed from Throttle Body

STEP FOUR: DISCONNECTING THE THROTTLE BODIES.

1. Disconnect the electrical connector shown by the orange arrow in the picture above.
2. Using a Hex socket, preferably 1/4" drive and the appropriate socket extension,  diagonally (top and then bottom across) loosen the 4 bolts holding the throttle body. 
3. Remove all the bolts, expect the top one which you can hand loosen. There is a gasket behind the throttle body which we do not want to have fall down.
4. Remove the last bolt by hand and as the throttle body come free from the intake manifold collector, pull the gasket away from the back carefully and flip the throttle body and place it on the intake piping.
5. Repeat for the other side.

Note: By leaving each throttle body sitting in the engine we avoid having to drain the coolant.




STEP FIVE: DISCONNECT BANK 2 HOSES
Bank 2 is the right side of the engine when facing the engine.
1. Using a flat pliers and without pinching any hoses, loosen the clamps and remove each hose from the intake manifold collector on Bank 2 side as shown by the red arrows below. Note one hose does not have a clamp.


Hoses to be removed from Bank 2 side of the Intake Manifold.

STEP SIX: DISCONNECT BANK 1 HOSES & CONNECTOR

1. Remove the connector on the back of Bank 1 side of intake Manifold Collector.
2. Disconnect the 2 hoses shown in the picture below.


Hoses to be removed from Bank 1 side of Intake Manifold Bank


STEP SEVEN: DISCONNECT THE WIRING HARNESS BEHIND THE MANIFOLD
1. Press on the Tab for each of the 2 zip ties (red arrow) and loosed the zip ties until they are open all the way and move the wiring harness back. Note that the zip ties will stay connected to the intake manifold collector, but the harness will stay behind in the engine. Do not cut the zip ties.
2. Using a small flat screw driver remove the larger of the wiring harness tabs.

Removal of Harness on the back of the intake manifold.

STEP EIGHT: REMOVAL OF EVAP HOSES
1. Remove the hose shown (red arrow) from bank 2 side of the engine and unscrew the bracket mounting bolt shown (purple arrow):
Removal of EVAP hoses - Bank 2 side.

2. Remove EVAP hose from the Bank 1 side of the engine as shown in the picture below:
Removal of EVAP hose - Bank 1 side
3. Now disconnect the white connector to the EVAP system, shown in the picture below in with red arrow.
Disconnect the EVAP connector and remove bracket screw
4. Remove the bracket mounting screw shown with yellow arrows. The EVAP hoses should swing over and be placed away from the intake manifold collector as shown in the picture below.

5. Important Step: Now would be a great time to take a sharpe permanent marker and make a few lines (near the areas shown by the blue arrows) that mark the position of the intake manifold collector on the intake manifold. This will help in alignment during reassembly.
EVAP Line Removal and Marking Intake Manifold

STEP NINE: INTAKE MANIFOLD COLLECTOR REMOVAL
1. Using a 10 mm 3/8" socket and extension, remove the bolts carefully in the order that is shown below.
Intake Manifold Collector - Bolt Removal Order.

2. Once all the bolts are removed, push the cable harness back and lift the entire intake manifold collector assembly straight up. Place the intake manifold collector upside down on a safe surface.
Intake Manifold Collector
3. There is a gasket that fitted between the intake manifold collector and intake manifold. It is made of steel and should not be bent. It can be carefully removed by lifting up.
Intake Manifold Gasket
The mating surface of the gasket on my GT-R and the intake manifold collector had a small amount of oil. I cleaned the surface with a petroleum based cleaner and a soft rag. The gasket only goes back one way, make sure to put it back on correctly.


STEP TEN: REMOVE IGNITION COILS.

1. From Bank 2, remove the electrical connectors from ignition coils from Cylinder 2, 4, & 6. For #6, move the cable harnesses over, to reach the bolt and electrical connector.
2. Remove the 10mm bolts holding securing the ignition coils
Bank 2  Ignition Coils.
Bank 1 Ignition Coils
3. From Bank 1, remove the electrical connectors from the ignition coils from Cylinder 1, 2, & 5.
3. For #5, move the cable harnesses over, to reach the bolt and electrical connector.
4. Remove the 10mm bolts securing the ignition coils.
5. Pull out each ignition coil and lay them in order. The rubber dust gasket on the ignition coil may pop forward, simply push them back gently to pop it in place.
Ignition Coils Out
STEP ELEVEN: REMOVE SPARK PLUGS
1. Using the 14mm spark plug wrench or 14mm deep socket with the smallest useable extension (that just clears all the intake manifold) and ratchet, gently loosen each spark plug. The spark plugs maybe a little tight or seem somewhat seized, but only use a perpendicular and smooth motion when loosening them. If a plug is harder seems to get stiffer as you loosen it, gently tighten it back up slightly and then loosen it again.
Cylinder 2 Spark Plug.
2. If you are using a spark plug wrench it will have a rubber boot inside which will grip the spark plug and remove it, if using a regular socket, switch to using your hand rather than the ratchet to unscrew the spark plug completely, then use a magnetic pickup tool to pull the spark plug out.
3. Repeat for all 6 cylinders.
4. Mark each spark plug or place it next to the respective ignition coil so that you can examine the health of each one later. You can see a chart of plug health here http://www.motorcycleinfo.co.uk/resources/6795/assets/images/FAQs/electrics/check_spark_plug_condition.jpg 
All of mine show no signs of oil, which is great, but do show over heating, which makes me glad I changed the plug when I did.
Here is a comparison of a new and old one from my GT-R cylinder 2 (the plugs are the same size, picture angle makes the new one look bigger).:
Comparison of Old and New Spark Plug

STEP TWELVE: PREPPING AND INSTALLING THE NEW SPARK PLUGS.

Rules for Plug handling:
A. Do not drop the Plugs, it may get out of gap and re-gapping iridium tipped plugs is very difficult without loosing the iridium.
B. Do not gap the plugs, they are pre-gapped and the iridium on the tip will get scrapped off and become less effective.
C. Do not force the plug or drop the plugs into the spark plug tube, gently thread them in using the plug wrench or magnetic pickup tool as I will describe.

1. Put a dab of anti-sieze compound on a plug, using your finger work it along the threads, not too close to either end. Wipe off any excess. It should like like this:
Preparing Plugs with Anti Sieze compound.
2. If you have a spark plug wrench, then place the plug into the rubber boot of the wrench, if not then use a strong magnetic pickup tool attached the terminal of the spark plug to gently place each spark plug straight into the spark plug tube of the GTR's engine. 
Using a magnetic pickup tool instead of a plug wrench
3. Be careful not to drop or hit the spark plug tip against any part of the tube or engine block when inserting it into the tube. 
4. Do not use any tools at this point, simply get the threads started by twisting the magnetic pickup tool clockwise by hand. The same applies to using a spark plug socket or wrench. Use soft hand force and not a ratchet.
5. Once the threads are slightly tight, you will be able to remove the magnetic pickup tool by pulling it out leaving the plug in the sleeve.
6. Now switch to a using spark plug socket or wrench and only HAND tighten the spark plug until you cannot go any further and the crush washer has made contact.
7. Important: Now Using a Ratchet or Spark Plug Wrench, give the spark plug a 1/4 Turn (90 degrees) only. No More, No Less. This is the torque spec from NGK and Nissan.
8. Carefully repeat for the remaining 5 spark plugs.
9. Take a sign of relief and drink some fluid.


STEP THIRTEEN: REASSEMBLY (SEE PICTURES IN REVERSE)
1. Confirm each spark plug has been replaced and torqued as above.

2. Place each Ignition Coil back into its respective tube and secure using the 10mm bolt. The torque value is 62 in-lb NOT ft-lb. Connect the electrical connector on each ignition coil.

3. Clean the gasket between the intake manifold and intake manifold collector, the surfaces of the intake manifold and the intake manifold collector. Place the gasket back on (it goes one way only).

4. Re-secure or move back any harnesses you may have moved to access the ignition coils #5  or #6.

5. Place the intake manifold collector back onto the intake manifold. The gasket may move slighlty, carefully realign the gasket if needed and get each one of the eight bolts started (not tightened or hand tightened right now). Make sure to move the smallest clip-less hose out from underneath the intake manifold collector on bank 2 side.

6. Realign the intake manifold collector using the marks that you made in Step SEVEN #5.

7. Tighten the intake manifold collector bolts first by hand using a 10mm socket and extension, then using a torque wrench to 9 ft-lb or 108 in-lb in the order shown below.
Tightening Order
8. Once the intake manifold collector is torqued down, re-install the EVAP hoses from Step EIGHT. Connect the 2 hoses, one per bank, the 2 bolts that hold the lines to the intake manifold collector and the white electrical connector. Torque is 80 in-lb for the bolts.

9. Secure all the harnesses to the back of the Intake manifold balance tube - the 2 zip ties and the click in harness connector as shown in STEP SEVEN.

10. Reconnect the 2 hoses and 1 black electrical connector Bank 1 side of the intake manifold collector, as shown in Step SIX. 

11. Reconnect the five hoses on bank 2 side of the engine, including the one on the rear of the intake manifold collector and the little clip-less one that we moved out of the way in step 5 above. See picture in STEP FIVE above.

12. Clean the mating surfaces of the throttle body and intake manifold collector and gasket. If you want you can clean inside the throttle bodies. Re-install each throttle body gasket and throttle body to the intake manifold collector. Secure it in place by using 1 top hex bolt, then 1 bottom bolt that is diagonally across. The gasket is symmetrical and can go to any one of the four corners. Secure the other top bolt and diagonal bottom bolt. Torque to 75 in-lb alternating between bolts diagonally. Reconnect the black electrical connector to each throttle body. Follow the picture in Step THREE.

13. Re-install the rubber section of the intake piping that connects to the throttle bodies. This is not easy and takes a little wiggling to get done. Leaving the hose clamps on the rubber intake piping, slide them up, and install the lower side that connects to intercooler side of the intake piping first. Then slide the clamps down and install the rubber pipe to the throttle body. Run your fingers along the bottom of the intake piping to make sure it as far up as possible for a good seal. Using the previous marks left on rubber piping, secure the hose clamps, making sure that the side closest to the throttle body clear the little rubber tabs on the intake piping. Tighten them as they were before opening. Do not over or under tighten.

14. Reinstall the engine cover. Torque is 49 in-lb.

15. In this order: Reconnect the +ve terminal to the battery. Reconnect the -ve terminal. Secure the 10mm nuts.

STEP FOURTEEN: IDLE AIR VOLUME RELEARNING PROCEDURE (WITHOUT CIII).

This is not always necessary, but personal experience has shown that performing it helps the engine run smoothly, specially if intake components have been removed, changed or reinstalled.

1. Start the car. If you did everything properly the car should start immediately. Give yourself a pat on the back.
2. Let the car Idle until warmed up. Coolant Temp ~180F, Engine Oil Temp ~160F.
3. Rev the engine a few times to 2500rpm to 3500 rpm and then shut off the engine.

SUB-STEP 1: PERFORM Accelerator Released Position Learning:
  1. Check that accelerator pedal is fully released.
  2. Turn ignition switch ON and wait at least 2 seconds.
  3. Turn ignition switch OFF and wait at least 10 seconds.
  4. Turn ignition switch ON and wait at least 2 seconds.
  5. Turn ignition switch OFF and wait at least 10 seconds.
SUB STEP 2:  PERFORM Throttle Valve Closed Position Learning:
  1. Check that accelerator pedal is fully released.
  2. Turn ignition switch ON.
  3. Turn ignition switch OFF and wait at least 10 seconds. Check that throttle valve moves during the above 10 seconds by confirming the operating sound.
SUB STEP 3:  PERFORM Idle Air Volume Learning:
  1. Get a stopwatch or use a stopwatch app on your smartphone.
  2. Turn off all accessories - Radio, Air Con, Radar Detector, etc.
  3. Turn ignition switch OFF and wait at least 10 seconds.
  4. Confirm that accelerator pedal is fully released, turn ignition switch ON (Don't Start the Car) and wait 3 seconds. (3 beeps in the car)
  5. Fully Depress and Release the accelerator pedal 5 times quickly within 5 seconds (1 depression + 1 release = 1 time). Now Start the stopwatch.
  6. Wait exactly 7 seconds and fully depress the accelerator pedal until the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT (MIL) starts blinking, stops blinking and turn solid ON. (Should take ~20 sec)
  7. Fully release the accelerator pedal within 3 seconds after the CHECK ENGINE LIGHT turns solid ON and start the engine.
  8.  Let it idle. Do not rev the engine. The Idle Air Volume Learning Procedure has started now.
  9. Wait 20 seconds at least.
  10. Rev up the engine 2-3 times between 2500 and 3500rpm now.
  11. Fully release the accelerator pedal and the idle RPM for the GT-R should be 950±50rpm.
  12. Shut off the engine.
  13. If at any time you miss a step above or timing or get a MIL, simply return to Step 1 of Sub-Step 3 above and try again.
Idle Air Volume Learning Procedure
CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY CHANGED THE SPARK PLUGS ON YOUR GT-R. YOU CAN NOW UPDATE YOUR FACEBOOK STATUS WITH THAT FACT AND GRAB A BEER.

As a bonus, it was nice to see more part in the GT-R with my company's logo on them.