Just wondering how much of this grease I need to put on the spark plugs. And does it go on the whole ceramic part plus the tip of the plug?

I just pulled the front three plugs out, and they're pretty nasty. Worse looking than Tanman's (sticky on how to change plugs), and he changed his at 66K, I have far less than that.

 

the dielectric grease goes on the inside boot of the coil not the spark plugs. you are suppose to put a thin layer of anti-seize on the threads of the spark plugs. i hope you are also using some form of NGK plugs.

 

I'm using the NGK OEMs. How do you get the grease inside the boot?
I've got a little package of Permatex, and on the instructions, it says to coat the ceramic part of the plug as well.

 

pour a small dab of the grease on a finger and rub it just inside the boot where it makes contact with the plug.

 

Not necessary smearing any grease/anti-seize compound on the plugs. NGK Iradium/Platinum plugs all have anti-seize coating on the threads, so why bother the extra step and the possibility of damaging the head threading?

 

Guys, do not get carried away with the use of dielectric grease on the coil/plug connector on the Maxi. If the grease migrates down the ceramic of the plug and gets close/onto to the main body of the plug then the spark can flashover/track to ground. Just put a SMALL amount on the plug contact "nut" then install the coil. I just changed the original plugs on a '99 and I see no reason for any dielectric grease usage at all on these coil on plug design systems. In the industry where I worked, where we had used dielectric greases on our spark igniters and we sometimes would see burning/pitting and signs of flashover on the connector/igniter. After getting approval to delete the use of the dielectric grease we rarely if ever saw it again.

 

Thanks for the tip! I haven't installed the new plugs yet, crap, I'm still trying to get the coil out of cylinder 5. I got it half way out, but now it's stuck, the angle isn't right, so it's catching, I'm back for a break, crap, just about pulled something trying to reach for those back plugs. Any tips on removing that sucker?

 

The only grease you need to use is anti-seize.

 

You mean you're having trouble with the # 5 plug? Did you move the throttle and cruise control cables out of the way?

 

Move the bracket that holds down the two cables?

 

Don't disconnect the cables, just remove the bracket attach bolt(s) and move the bracket with the cables attached aside, just enough to give you room to work. Is the plug seized or just really tight?

 

Is it just me or does 14-22ft/lbs seem a little extreme for the plugs? I have them pretty tight w/ a 3/8 rachet, then using my torque wrench, and it's barely showing 10ft/lbs. Maybe it's the torque wrench, but they're on there pretty good. Anyone w/ any other thoughts on this matter?

 

It's not the plug, I haven't gotten that far w/ that one yet. I'm still in the process of trying to get the coil out. All the other 5 plugs came out fine, so hopefully this one will too.

 

Finally, got the coil out and the last of the plugs. Wow, they're dirty ...
Anyway, getting back to the torque, does it really need to be torqued down that much? Feels like I'm gonna break something ...

 

14 to 22 ft/lbs is fine and correct BUT you first turn in the plug and crush the washer (you'll feel it), tighten the plug, back off about 1/4 turn, then do the final torque. Otherwise you will end up with low torque on the plug. If there were 2 bolts retaining each coil, you can use only one if you want. The second bolt was deleted by Nissan and one is all a dealer will use anyway.

 

Thank you P Samson, you've been nothing but helpful! Greatly appreciate it! I'll go recheck the plugs and make sure they're seated ok.