Finally replaced 14 yr old spark plugs

[bretfraz]

Well, I think they were 14 years old. I have no idea how old they really were but with only 44,000 miles on the clock, I'm guessing they were never replaced until this past week.

The car had picked up a misfire/rough running condition, like it was on 7 cylinders. Took it to the guys at T3 who suggested a spark plug change. I was planning to do this myself but knew it was a big job so I gave them the OK to do it instead. I immediately noticed the car idled better and had much better throttle response. I'll need to get the car smogged in the couple weeks so it will be interesting to compare the new emissions numbers to last year's.

Many thanks to Ty, Byron and the T3 Smyrna, GA crew. Next plug change scheduled for May 2022

[qship96]

how much did that cost? did you get valve covers resealed?

Did you have them do anything else while there?

[elwesso]

congrats!!! Keep up the good maintenance...

[bretfraz]

how much did that cost? did you get valve covers resealed?

Did you have them do anything else while there?

I didn't ask if they attended to the valve covers as a matter of course during a plug change. I didn't notice a problem with them prior to this service and I'm sure they would have told me if they'd noticed it.

The plug change was 80% of the bill. If you want to know the exact charge, feel free to PM or email me. Other repairs to the car were minor; oil change, minor brake issue, apparently it needed a new thermostat.

[NightRiderQ45]

The plug change was 80% of the bill. If you want to know the exact charge, feel free to PM or email me.

Man, I didn't know that was a secret.....

[elwesso]

the VC gaskets are a big job, so you'd know if they dinged you with it!!

[Jeff Williams]

Ususally spraying a can of throttlebody cleaner in the throttlebody and cleaning the butterfly make the most difference with the idle.

I usually can't tell if my car is running, without looking at the tach.

Byron and the guys at T3 are great.

I had them do the knock sensor swap on Lola when I first got her, and they replaced the harness and any old hoses for me. The plugs and VC gaskets I did myself, so they didn't need to do them.

[bretfraz]

When the engine developed the miss, first thing I did was clean the MAF sensor and the intake butterfly plate. That didn't make a difference at the time but maybe it helped after the plug change. I had done the MAF about 6 months ago and I think T3 had cleaned the intake plate when they last serviced it in '06 at 37k miles.

Anyway, I'm happy with the car's performance. I'll do a mileage check and see if that's improved. Now just gotta get the OE radio working again - some internal failure prevent power up. Need to finish buffing it out, slap on a ton of Zaino, re-clean the seats with Leatherique and maybe it'll be somewhat driveable.