So I decided it was time to change the good old spark plugs. The first 3, under the engine cover was a breeze...took out the old, put in the new Bosch platnium plugs. Now I am working on the ones above the engine cover...attached is a picture...I am having a MEAN @SS time getting those screws unscrewed. I started on one and I started to (or felt like) I was going to strip them. Anyone else have this problem? Any suggestions? I did start changing them right after I got home from the Autozone so the engine is still warm...should I wait for the screws to cool down???

SEE PIC!

 

That's a fuel injector Look to the back of the upper intake manifold and you should see the tops of the coil packs for the 1-3-5 cylinders...Straightforward from there...

 

lol...really...Im such a dope

 

ROFL!!!!!!

Ha ha ha hahahhahahahahahahaha, as soon as I saw that picture I started laughing so hard, I'm sorry Jeremy, but its really funny! Keep going back farther and eventually you'll get to the back coils (and plugs).

Its even funnier for me though, because I did the exact same thing too when I first tried to get a coil out!!

 

No its all good...I laughed too! I looked at that spot earlier and didnt think that is where they were, shows how much I know. Anyway, I figured with this car I would do as much mechanical work as I can because my last 2 cars I wasted @ss loads of money at the dealer. Not this time! Anyway, success with changing the spark plugs! BTW, will I notice a difference with anything now that I have brand spankin' new plugs?

 

If the old plugs are still good, you won't notice any difference. Let us know how the Bosch plugs work.

 

The old plugs were worn, blackened and the gap was pretty big. I went out for a quick drive an noticed smoother excelleration, idling was WAY better... I am quite happy with these. I hear better gas milage can also occur...

 

i made that exact same mistake last week. i tried and tried to get those liitle ****ers off, but no cigar. Than i looked toarwds the back of the engine and i was like well arn;t i a dumb@ss.

 

Bosch plugs are not good for these VQs. Trust me on this. Go back to Autozone and get six of the NGK copper plugs that are used in the 4-cylinder Altima. Trust me.


Dave

 

Yes, go get hte NGK's, if you do get hte copper ones, don't forget to gap them. Bosch sucks for our engine.( at least in spark plugs)

 

LOL, atleast it was a nice laugh

 

Definitley go back and get the NGK, cost about $1.50 each, There also available at O'Reillys.

 

sorry to be post ***** but is it ok to run coper plugs in a maxima?

 

Yes........

 

Yes you can run copper plugs in a Maxima. I'm running them right now and no problems. I also picked up 6 platinum plugs off of eBay for cheap so when the weather gets better I'll replace it with the platinums to see the difference There won't be any difference, but o well

 

How does that make any sense? I've been running the bosch platinum +4 plugs for over 60k I have changed them once and my car is running fine. They do nothing to hurt your engine.

 

Majority of the people who run Bosch plugs had problems. I think they're ok for a daily driver, but if you like to race or drive hard, stick with NGK If you don't want to pay the high price for NGK Platinums, get the NGK V-Power Copper plugs

 

After a long night of driving I noticed improvements. Smoother acceleration, faster startup, quiet startup, idling is nice and quiet, no hesitation when shifting into first (happened once in a while before the change). The reason I went with the Bosch plugs was because it was recommended to me by a dealer mechanic. I was in there a few days ago getting an extra key made and I asked what was recommended since I was planning on doing it on my own. I have read good things so far about these plugs...time will tell I guess.

 

Just changed to coppers a week ago from bosch +4 plat.s It has a smother idle and a better pickup. And the old plugs were clean. So no complications from the engine (117k). The test will be changing them again in summer just to see if it just because they are new plugs. YES, gap them. One was at .025 out of the box.

 

Deff get rid of the bosch plugs. I worked at a nissan dealership for 3 years, you won't believe how many nissans came in with an engine miss just because they had bosch plugs in them. The heat range is completley wrong for nissans.

 

Wierd...I was told my a Nissan dealership mechanic to get these. I am going to stick by them. I will keep you posted on anything that may or may not occur.

 

What exactly is heat range? I know coppers are a step colder than the platinums which were OEM, so wouldn't they be in the wrong heat range too?

 

Yeah, keep us updated Jeremy, maybe Bosch has changed their plugs since we last heard their plugs were not good. I went with NGK Iridiums and noticed what you have so far, quite happy with the plugs, car warms up real fast too!

 

http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=276641
hey guys check out the third post

 

I think you are right about the spark plugs, but I am very happy with my $107 dollar Bosch knock sensor .

 

Jeremy, many people have had the experience that Bosch=bad for nissans and many people have experienced that the dealer is out to get you. Think about it. They tell you to get bosch plugs so you come to them for service when your engine ***** on you. Don't listen to anything the dealer says. They go by numbers not experience. BTW, your all really dumb for thinking fuel injectors are sparkplugs. Lets think about this, maxima's have a V6 meaning 3 cylinders on one side three on the other. Thinking injectors were plugs would mean the plugs are only 5 inches apart. That makes tons of since. Whatever, this is a dumb thread. Stay with NGK. Go cold if you want but stay NGK.

 

Bosch for German/ NGK for Jap cars. I'm running NGK coppers in my 99SE-L. Switched to coppers for better response. Also I can't bear to leave plugs in for 60K miles. The plugs are ok for that mileage, but your gas mileage/ thottle response goes to S**T.

 

Sometimes people just don t wanna listen and want to learn the hard way...There were so many posts regarding this matter but some folks still have to install those in their Max...IMO best and most inexpensive spark plug to use is copper NGK...They are cheap, they work great and they won t give any headaches ...I do think that Bosch is a great name and they offer great products out there, and I used their plugs in other cars with great results...but I wouldn t put them in a Max ( unless I m on a deserted island ,with 6 dead plugs and all I have left is 6 Bosch plugs).

 

that was funny as hell.

Now to answer your question about the stripped phillips screws (which you won't have to worry about unless you need to take out the injectors), the easiest thing will be to use an impact driver and it should break it free, if not time to drill them out.

 

also, in my experience:
NGK = Japanese OEM
BOSCH = European OEM
Autolite, etc = Domestic OEM

so if you ever need to replace those plugs again and are on a tight budget, get some go old Autolites for $0.39 a pop

 

You dont have to be a d!ck about it. This is the first time I have ever attemped to replace anything in my car. I am not very engine savvy so F.U.

 

Whatever man, it doesn't take engine savyness to know about that stuff. I guess I was being a **** but that is really funny. So if I'm on a deserted island why would the max be there. That is a great way to knock it into people's heads that bosch is bad for us.

 

I hate my local Autozone, they have no idea what they're doing behind that counter. I went last weekend to buy some coppers and they dont carry NGK plugs, only Bosch.

What gap do you guys use on NGK Copper plugs?

 

I believe it is .39-.45

 

Gap to .044 AutoZone doesn't sell NGK. Pep Boys sells them, but they're always out of stock. Got mine at NAPA

 

Thanks

 

BTW, what is proper tourque on plugs. I thought it was about 150.

 

150 is way too much, that will cause damage to the threads, proper torque is about 20.

 

Dont worry about it, to be honest, I did the same thing you did, but I eventually figured out that they arent the spark plugs. I also recommend that you use NGK Plats and not Bosch plugs.

 

NGK
Spark Plug Part No. Stock No. Plug Gap
Standard BKR5ES-11 2382 0.044
V-Power BKR5E-11 6953 0.044
G-Power Platinum BKR5EGP 7090 0.044
Laser Platinum PFR5G-11 2647 0.044
OE Laser Iridium IFR5E11 7994 0.044
Iridium IX BKR5EIX-11 5464 0.044