135i Spark Plug replacement DIY...

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by germ

My car has exactly 45k miles...

Parts guy is wrong. NA model spark plugs last 100K. N54 or N55 plugs should be changed at 45K miles. And if your car has a tune change them every 30K like BMW says to on the 1M's.

I would say only use BMW bought plugs. There are cheaper sources around. I would hit up Jason@Ticher or Dan@United. Both can beat that $26 price. And don't forget to order a spark plug socket tool - since its a odd ball size plug(12mm, 12point edges).


PS: to be sure of your ECL I would first read your car's fault memory. Also if your car is still under warranty BMW will pay to replace your spark plugs.

[germ]

So I took one spark plug out. Here are the pics:



Not that great looking, but not too terrible either.

BTW, there was a fair amount of black residue after taking the spark plug out:


I would like to vacuum it out but I don't have such a narrow vacuum hose.

For now I just put the old spark plugs back, but you convinced me that it's probably better to replace them. Will order OEM BMW parts online.

[uberschnell]

I just taped a straw to the end of my shop vac and added a relief hole above it to vacuum that stuff out. Worked fine.

[germ]

I ordered new OEM spark plugs online. Replaced the spark plugs and.... misfires!

So put the old spark plugs back. Same misfires!

What happened? Damaged coil packs maybe? Are they so delicate?

I have re-seated them a couple of times....still no good.

SES light comes on right away and and engine feels unbalanced. Can I drive the car to a shop?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by germ

I ordered new OEM spark plugs online. Replaced the spark plugs and.... misfires!

So put the old spark plugs back. Same misfires!

What happened? Damaged coil packs maybe? Are they so delicate?

I have re-seated them a couple of times....still no good.

SES light comes on right away and and engine feels unbalanced. Can I drive the car to a shop?

Did you watch the Cobb video? Make sure the coil pack connector are full seated. Its easy to not have one fully closed correctly.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by uberschnell

I just taped a straw to the end of my shop vac and added a relief hole above it to vacuum that stuff out. Worked fine.

THIS is a GREAT TIP!!

[germ]

I was able to read fault codes:
P0206: Injector Circuit/Open - Cylinder 6

As far as the connectors etc.: Yes, everything is seated properly. There's not much to do--push down coil pack, press-in connector. It's all pretty snug.

At least this narrows it down to one cylinder. Suggestions?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by germ

I was able to read fault codes:
P0206: Injector Circuit/Open - Cylinder 6

As far as the connectors etc.: Yes, everything is seated properly. There's not much to do--push down coil pack, press-in connector. It's all pretty snug.

At least this narrows it down to one cylinder. Suggestions?

06:45...

I would also make sure you did not bump/touch the #6 injector connector.

[germ]

I swapped coil packs between cyl. 6 and 1, and I get the same fault code.
So I think there's a problem with the injector in cyl. 6.

At this point I am going to give up and bring the car to a mechanic.

I still do not understand how replacing a spark plug can damage the injector. I did not pull any wires and I was very careful while doing the job. All the wiring looks OK from outside.

[germ]

The mechanic found that injector plug on Cyl. 6 was disconnected...

I do feel pretty stupid right now.

[135ivert]

I'm going to tackle this tomorrow. Is there a consensus on dielectric grease? If you're changing plugs every 30K miles then maybe there's not a need?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by 135ivert

I'm going to tackle this tomorrow. Is there a consensus on dielectric grease? If you're changing plugs every 30K miles then maybe there's not a need?

BMW dealers over here say not to use anything.

Some guys have posted here on 1Addicts that they used a little bit of ANTI-SEIZE on the spark plug threads. Its up to you, but I did not use anything when I did my plugs.

[135ivert]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

BMW dealers over here say not to use anything.

Some guys have posted here on 1Addicts that they used a little bit of ANTI-SEIZE on the spark plug threads. Its up to you, but I did not use anything when I did my plugs.

Since I'm in a fairly dry climate, and I'm driving about 6K miles/year (so 5+ years between plug changes), I may try it to keep the coil pack from sticking to the plug. I think you're right about the anti-sieze, not much to worry about there.

[pj.rodriguez]

Why, on realOEM, there are a bunch of different part numbers for the spark plugs on the 128i. Is it a continent difference, year difference, model difference?

Which one do I use for the 128i N52? If I were to go to the dealer to buy the plugs, would they give me the correct plugs?! Lmfao that sounds like kind of a stupid question, but sometimes shit happens.

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by pj.rodriguez

Why, on realOEM, there are a bunch of different part numbers for the spark plugs on the 128i. Is it a continent difference, year difference, model difference?

Which one do I use for the 128i N52? If I were to go to the dealer to buy the plugs, would they give me the correct plugs?! Lmfao that sounds like kind of a stupid question, but sometimes shit happens.

Try using RealOEM.com by entering your VIN(last seven) and see how many plugs you get that way. Normally its just one or two suppliers for plugs. Most of the time just one.

[pj.rodriguez]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Try using RealOEM.com by entering your VIN(last seven) and see how many plugs you get that way. Normally its just one or two suppliers for plugs. Most of the time just one.

Turns out there is just one. The other 2 were discontinued. So I guess there shouldn't be any problems with it then.

It's part number 12122158253. Is that the same for the N54?

Thanks,

-PJ

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by pj.rodriguez

Turns out there is just one. The other 2 were discontinued. So I guess there shouldn't be any problems with it then.

It's part number 12122158253. Is that the same for the N54?

Thanks,

-PJ

No. The N54 uses different spark plugs. And the N55 plugs are different that N54 spark plugs too. N51 and N52 plugs are different too(I believe). This is why its important to look up things via your VIN. Sometimes ther can be model changes with in a model year... so using your VIN is the way to go.

[berne]

any good places whaer i order spark plug to n55?

[berne]

Bosch ZGR6STE2 is that for n55 or n54?

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by berne

Bosch ZGR6STE2 is that for n55 or n54?

Realoem.com is your friend...


N54 = BOSCH ZGR6STE2 bmw p/n 12120037244

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...17&hg=12&fg=05

N55 = BOSCH ZR5TPP33S bmw p/n 12120037582

http://realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?...17&hg=12&fg=05

[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 find one leading 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

[135ivert]

Originally Posted by ianc

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

ianc

Yep, that's what I used. It's a quality tool and I have no complaints.