On 10/21/2010 9:31 PM, Percival P. Cassidy wrote:
On 10/21/10 10:21 pm, Steve Barker wrote:

Has anyone replaced the plugs on a 2000 malibu (or similar motor)?

I wanted to have the 6 plugs on my 2000 Malibu replaced and I was told
it would cost $191 to do it. Is there that much labor in the job?

It's an American lack of engineering intelligence. Replaceable parts
should be accessible.

They ARE accessible. The normal maintenance interval for spark plugs
is 100,000 miles. They really don't need to be super-easily accessible
if you only have to change them every 100,000 miiles.

Actually, if the engine is not sucking oil down like it's on sale,
there's no reason to ever change them.

Even if the plugs don't get fouled by oil and carbon, the electrodes do
gradually erode. I'd bet that the gaps are somewhat wider after 100K
miles than when they were new.

Perce



that's true, the gaps do grow. But with the high energy systems we have
now (since about '74) the spark can jump a gap in excess of ONE INCH.
So there's really no need for an electrode on the plug at all. The only
reason for one is to keep the spark from jumping to the crown of the
piston.

--
Steve Barker
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