135i Spark Plug replacement DIY...

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by ianc

Hey Folks,

Just finished this up without any real issues, not a terribly difficult job. Unfortunately I still seem to get a bit of rough idle and some small pops after a cold start, although it's not throwing any codes...

One thing I did notice which I didn't read any other reports of here however, was oil down on the plug holes. At first, when I only found it on cylinder 2 and 3 (not sure of the firing order, but just counting straight back with #1 at the front), I wondered if it could just be spillage from the oil filer cap. There was some oil around the plug cavities, but not nearly as much as in the cavities themselves. I did find some in #6 though, which is nowhere near the fill cap, which got me started thinking about the failure mode of the coil packs themselves. Old conventional Bosch coils were filled with oil, for cooling I guess. Every once in awhile you'd find one leaking oil down onto the coil wire and causing problems. Could the coil packs be oil filled as well, and leaking down onto the plugs, causing misfire issues?

BTW, the Burger Motorsports socket worked great and was reasonably priced.

As usual, thanks for the great post Dack, you made it easy!

ianc

Hey Ian,

Well... if you have oil down inside the spark plug holes - your valve cover o-rings are leaking. In some cases the plastic valve cover cracks. When you replace your valve cover gasket take a real close look at your valve cover for cracking.

Your cold start miss could also be carbon buildup or even a bad fuel injector.

good luck,
Dack

[ianc]

You're a veritable fount of information Dack! I did have the VC gasket replaced once under warranty, but it looks like either they suck, or the guy who installed it does, because it seems to be leaking again...

A search here doesn't show a DIY for it, and a look at the corresponding diagram on realoem makes it look like a bit of a bear:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...68&hg=11&fg=15

Have you done it yet?

ianc

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by ianc

You're a veritable fount of information Dack! I did have the VC gasket replaced once under warranty, but it looks like either they suck, or the guy who installed it does, because it seems to be leaking again...

A search here doesn't show a DIY for it, and a look at the corresponding diagram on realoem makes it look like a bit of a bear:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...68&hg=11&fg=15

Have you done it yet?

ianc

No, I haven't. My spark plugs are due for their 2nd replacement, though. So I guess I will find out shortly.

I did find this DIY on the VCG...
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm


It doesn't look that hard to do. Not really sure why some dealer quote $700 or more for the job. I think I would tackle the job myself.

good luck,
Dackel

[ianc]

Hmmm... I know that Pelican article says it covers 335's, but ours are rather different than the pictures that are shown I think. At the very least, it seems like all the fuel lines to the injectors would need to be broken open and removed, and possibly the injectors too?

Hmm... I think I'll wait for a DIY on this one so I know what to expect. I wrote to Cobb and requested one. We'll see if one pops up. In the meantime, I can always hope that the meathead at the dealer who did replace my gasket was just too lazy to clean out the oil...

Thanks again Dack!

ianc

Edited to say: here's a Kind of a N54 valve cover DIY I found on youtube...

[JM35]

any tricks to getting the 14mm socket to latch onto the spark plug?

Im at that step right now and I have the 14mm 12 point socket but I just cant seem to get it to latch onto the spark plug and actually loosen the plug. It looks like down at the bottom where the plug is has a slight slant and im wondering if thats causing my socket to not be able to get into the correct position to latch onto it.

Any ideas? Suggestions?

Im using the 14mm and a wrench and extension, same thing used as above.

[ianc]

Where did you get the socket? Are you sure it's the correct one and long enough? Mine went right down and latched onto the plug with no trouble...

ianc

[JM35]

Yes, im positive it is the right one, its a 14mm 12 point thin walled socket. The only think I can think of is maybe my 12" extension is too think to where it cant get to the angle of the plug. But its a normal 12" extension...

[ianc]

Try a wobble between the socket and extension if you've got it. Also use a flashlight to look down the hole and make sure something isn't sitting down there next to the plug preventing the socket from bottoming properly.

Does it happen with all the plugs or just that one?

ianc

[JM35]

Happens with all 3 of the ones I've tried so far. Ill go mess around with a couple things and try the back 3 as well.

[JM35]

No dice with any of those attempts..

[ianc]

If you look inside the socket, you don't see anything obvious in it that would be causing the plug to hang up inside and not bottom properly?

If you put the socket on one of your new plugs, does it fit on nicely and engage?

ianc

[JM35]

Yes the socket fits perfectly on my new pugs. Running to sears hardware to see what they have.

[Dackelone]

Your not gonna find a socket at your local hardware store. A better bet would be to swing by your local BMW dealer and see if they sell the socket or even better bring a case of beer for one of the Techs who you will be borrowing THEIR sparkplug socket!


I think this highlights the importance of buying quality tools. You don't want to f-up any of your plugs down in the hole.

Good Luck,
Dackel

[JM35]

My socket is a craftsman, I read about a couple people having issues with it, so im going to try and grind it down today and if that doesn't work I'll try to borrow one that will.

[jsublime]

Originally Posted by ianc

You're a veritable fount of information Dack! I did have the VC gasket replaced once under warranty, but it looks like either they suck, or the guy who installed it does, because it seems to be leaking again...

A search here doesn't show a DIY for it, and a look at the corresponding diagram on realoem makes it look like a bit of a bear:

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...68&hg=11&fg=15

Have you done it yet?

ianc

Might be a bit late but if you've had your VC gasket replaced once and it's already leaking again I would bet your tech reused the bolts. You are supposed to use new bolts. Since it was a warranty repair, if you can show they did not do it right the first time you should be able to get them do it again.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by jsublime

Might be a bit late but if you've had your VC gasket replaced once and it's already leaking again I would bet your tech reused the bolts. You are supposed to use new bolts. Since it was a warranty repair, if you can show they did not do it right the first time you should be able to get them do it again.

You don't even need to show them they did the repair wrong. Anytime you have a repair done at a BMW dealer - it is covered by a part(and labor) warranty. IF that part fails within two years(no mileage) they will replace that same part again. I even think the 2nd part also has a warranty. but for only one year(parts and labor).

Also.. IF you had the VCG(valve cover gasket) replaced at an indi... BMW will still pay for a new VCG, your indi will decide on what "they will" do for you.


Replacing the VCG bolts is a GOOD POINT. This should always be done. Most of the bolts on our cars(esp suspension bolts) are a one time use/replace deal.

Dackel

[awns729]

Thanks for making this Dackelone. Did mine yesterday. If anyone has any questions, this is still fresh in my head.

I had the Burger spark plug socket and it seems like the paint/coating chipped off a little bit (it is originally black). Once I was done with all 6 plugs I could see through to the metal and the coating was scraped off. Some of it probably landed in the spark plug socket, so what I did half way through, once I noticed this happening, is grease up the spark plug socket itself with dielectric grease to mitigate the issue. Some of the carbon looking junk you guys are seeing in the spark plug holes may be due to the socket itself.

Also I did use grease on the ends of the coil packs.

[ianc]

Oops, only just seeing this now. Good call on circling back to the dealer; I just gave them a call. Of course I couldn't get a service advisor on the phone and had to leave a message which will never get returned, but hey, I'm trying...

Thanks for the tip!

ianc

[JM35]

I have a heads up for anyone doing this:

When I was going to put the spark plugs back in, the socket keep pulling off the extension and sticking to the spark plug. There is a little black rubber piece inside the socket that you can remove which will fix this issue.

I think this is mentioned in the first post, I just had an issue and it took me a couple minutes to realize this.

[cbl117]

Are spark plugs purchased from getbmwparts.com considered OE? Meaning is there any difference between dealer bought plugs and using tischer bought plugs online? Im worried about getting misfires

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by cbl117

Are spark plugs purchased from getbmwparts.com considered OE? Meaning is there any difference between dealer bought plugs and using tischer bought plugs online? Im worried about getting misfires

Yes, the plugs that getbmwparts.com sell are BMW/Bosch plugs: OE. The aftermarket ones are OEM > Bosch.

[JM35]

Originally Posted by cbl117

Are spark plugs purchased from getbmwparts.com considered OE? Meaning is there any difference between dealer bought plugs and using tischer bought plugs online? Im worried about getting misfires

Plugs that aren't OEM wont necessarily cause misfires. If you get non OEM just make sure they will fit and also make sure you correctly gap them before installing them.

But stick with OEM, if there were something better to use out there people would be using them.