Jeep JK 2007-2011 Spark Plugs and Ignition Wires Write Up

Fried Eagle

Fried Eagle

New member
I know you posted this in May of 2013; but, I am doing a plug and plug wire change on my 08 Wrangler. It has 103,000 miles. I figure it's due. I followed the posts as well as the tips. All I can say is thank you. The PAX side was a beatch; but, got through it with your pictures.
 
GodsStallionUnlimited

GodsStallionUnlimited

New member
New to working on cars

I have 174000 miles and have never changed plugs of any kind. With this amount of miliage is there anything I should be especially concerned about?
 
theprospect13

theprospect13

New member
With that many miles on your heep I would be VERY careful when removing the old plugs! If they break your going to have a bad time.
 
G

Greener

New member
Just changed my plugs and cables on my 2009 Wrangler Sport @ 110k, started it up and it purred like a kitten. However 5 mins down the road it starting misfiring like crazy. Stopped and checked all the connections again and everything is as it should be. I'm not hearing any arcing or the usual 'ticking' noise you would associate with a bad connection. Any clues what it might be. I was thinking perhaps the ignition coil but that was only changed 30k ago.
 
V

Voyager_1700

New member
Great write up

When I first looked at this job and started following the plug wires..I was like NOPE.. I don't feel like it today.. Then I found your write up.. Wow.. that made it so much easier..
I started with the Passenger side.. figure get the though one out of the way first..I marked all the wires... I taped them up.. tied some string around them and gently pulled them through.. The back plug was the most difficult.. with 1 3/8" u joint, the racket is almost against the battery box.. I think a second u joint might make it even easier.. I was working on my 08 w/ 57,000 miles I know the manual says @ 102,000miles.. but I've been trying to elimnate a flat spot between 12-1500 RPMs so I figured it wouldn't hurt..
After looking at the plugs I was thinking I'm not getting another 45,000 out of these..
20150614_072321.jpg
It runs smoother.. but I still have the flat spot.. Looks like I'll be cleaning the throttle body next.. then EGR from what I've read...

Again..Thx for the info..
 
W

wanderer

Member
what is the best way to get to thereat passenger plug?

what is the best way to get a plug wrench on the rear passenger plug some say pull the battery and tray others say from inside the fender after you pull the inner fender? both ways look like a royal PITA
 
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Voyager_1700

New member
Rear plug

wanderer said:
what is the best way to get a plug wrench on the rear passenger plug some say pull the battery and tray others say from inside the fender after you pull the inner fender? both ways look like a royal PITA
Click to expand...

If my memory serves me correct..
It wasn't that bad..you need a u joint & at least 6" extension. Get it from the top..
 
J

jaugino

New member
I just replaced all plugs and wires last night. It took me approximately a hour and a half. as for the rear passenger plug I used an 8" and 6" extension to get down in there. I did not remove anything. I was able to slide my foot down between the fans and the motor and rest it on top of the track bar. Made things a lot easier when reach back and running the new wires.
 
M

MileHighJoe

New member
Thank you for the excellent write-up. I'm halfway done and on to the passenger side and I just noticed that the Mopar spark plug wires I bought directly from a dealer came with two number ones and I'm missing the number 5 wire. Does anybody know if I can just install the extra number one as the number five? It's only short about 2 inches?
 
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puckjer

New member
I did this today and it took me roughly 2 hrs. This write up was super helpful. I don't see why people are saying to take the passenger fender cover off to access the rear plug. All you need to get it from the top is a universal joint and 18 in extension. The 2 tools that I found to be super helpful were spark plug boot puller pliers and a mechanical fingers tool. I bought a cheap pair of boot pullers at oreillys for $7 and I can tell you there is no way I would have gotten those boots off. Mine were original plugs and wires and I had 102,000 miles on them. The mechanical fingers is used to grab the plug wires from the passenger side when passing them back through. Makes it super easy to reach.
 
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esparzatj

New member
I replaced my spark plugs & wires today on my 2007 JK at 86,604 miles. I used your great write-up, step by step, except for new wire install. I initially tape all the old wires together & tied a string to use later to pull the new wires. The bundle of wires was hard to pull through, so I looped individual strings to each wire. When it came time to pull the new wires through, I looped each wire separately & it was much easier to get them back to the ignition coil. As "puckjer" stated, the spark plug puller pliers from O'Reilly Auto Parts was helpful. I would also add a 3/8" or 1/2" breaker bar to the tools list. Some of plugs were hard to break loose, especially the #5 plug. I didn't use a mechanical finger tool since I used the string method, even though I own one. It did come in handy when I dropped the #5 old spark plug & needed to retrieve it! :)


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theglobalguy

New member
Just did mine with 86,000 miles on a 2010. Not nearly as bad as I'd feared. Hardest part was getting the wires for the passenger side behind the engine...first couple of tries they were too short to hit the coil block. Eventually got them, although they're a little tighter than I'd like; we'll see if they pull off anytime soon. Thanks for the tips!
 
19YJ94

19YJ94

Caught the Bug
Just did my spark plugs and wires, was actually pretty easy for me, stood on my bumper. Pulled the plugs wires between the engine and firewall (great write up for the string trick) got all 3 in one try. My plugs were horrible @97000 miles. 20171022_163327.jpeg One was actually missing an electrode on the end.[emoji16]

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BobNH

BobNH

Member
Now I've tried countless times to get these wires through on my '08. Those of you doing this successfully, are you following the same path as stock, or wrapping behind all that?

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19YJ94

19YJ94

Caught the Bug
I followed the same path between a couple other lines, the new ones should be loomed so an exact path isn't necessary I don't think. But as long as they reach the coil block. But honestly had no troubles, just patience.

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10Break

New member
Great write up; it was a nice guide to have during this procedure. My wife's 2011 JK Wrangler 3.8 was a bit overdue....182K miles. Had to use a breaker bar on the 3 driver side. The front 2 on the passenger side weren't to hard to reach but the rear one was easy once I removed the flare. Didn't have use a swivel on any and stood on the bumper to reach behind the engine and guide wires. I bought the plastic wire tray based on the advice given but alas, the old one came out intact...so I put the new on in anyway. After removing the wires, I placed a shop vac over the plug to suck out anything and heard some rattling around #4. After pulling the plug, I saw half the ceramic cracked off. All plugs had gaps opened beyond 1mm and electrodes worn to nubs but dang...it didn't really run that bad so kudos to Jeep and Champion plugs. The first thing I noticed on the test drive was how quicker it accelerates. I'll wait for the Mrs to give me the MPG feedback.
 
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