Let's talk V6's!



RE: Let's talk V6's!

Let's say we did BUT didn't.
 
Troubles of only being home 1 1/2 days per week.
 
Virginia Donkey said:
LOL.....have a nice tall glass of Haterade
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I sure know that I did hate every time I stepped on the gas and was underwhelmed with my V6...







and then again every time I filled up the gas tank and only got 1 mpg better fuel for all my given up power :(


think god I didn't own it long enough to ever have to deal with the coil BS...
 
did I mention all that chrome?

man, the silly choices we make when we're young...
 
on a good note, I was nice when ever I had to take a wheel off :), those fukcers were pretty darn light! (but then you had to look at them :( )
 
My dd grocery getter Maxima is a .... wait .... I don't get the groceries!
 
LOL, mine is Italian/German/Canadian with a Fn attitude!
~ hard to find good sandwich makers these days BUT she does take out the trash <only cuz I'm not home on those days>
 
Pete 2004 LS V-6 said:
Any other secrets when removing the intake? Looks like you have to split it and try not to disconnect the coolant hose.
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You have to unbolt a support bracket on the front of it, below the throttle body, and loosen by a couple of turns, a bolt on a side support bracket midway down the right side of the engine. You also have to remove the protective bracket at the back end of the intake by removing the rear two bolts from the upper intake and the egr pressure differential transducer, because that bracket forms a surrounding protective barrier for the back end of the fuel injection rail. If that doesn't come off, the manifold will never move up or over to give you room for the plugs and coils on the right side of the engine. You also will need to remove the EGR pipe from the EGR valve, so make sure that you have a wrench that will go as wide as 1-1/4" or so for that nut. Also disconnect the vacuum lines and wires for the EGR solenoid valve. Oh, and remove anything else that looks like it obviously has to be disconnected. :) There should only be 8 bolts that you have to remove that go down through the intake upper assembly into the engine. If you find more bolts, leave them in place, as some hold the fuel rails to the lower intake, and some hold the lower intake into the engine. They can all stay put.
 
How could I forget this?

You also need to remove your wiper arms, pull the plastic trim that the wiper shafts come through, and remove the shock tower brace to have effective access to the back end of the intake. Have some drills and taps available in case of the bolts for the brace breaking off on removal.
 
BigRigLS said:
LOL, mine is Italian/German/Canadian with a Fn attitude!
~ hard to find good sandwich makers these days BUT she does take out the trash <only cuz I'm not home on those days>
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Mine used to be a Florida blonde of French descent, until an auto accident left her unable to drive and a 10 pound weight limit. Now I have to do all that stuff, and work a full time job to boot.
 
milehighmikey said:
You have to unbolt a support bracket on the front of it, below the throttle body, and loosen by a couple of turns, a bolt on a side support bracket midway down the right side of the engine. You also have to remove the protective bracket at the back end of the intake by removing the rear two bolts from the upper intake and the egr pressure differential transducer, because that bracket forms a surrounding protective barrier for the back end of the fuel injection rail. If that doesn't come off, the manifold will never move up or over to give you room for the plugs and coils on the right side of the engine. You also will need to remove the EGR pipe from the EGR valve, so make sure that you have a wrench that will go as wide as 1-1/4" or so for that nut. Also disconnect the vacuum lines and wires for the EGR solenoid valve. Oh, and remove anything else that looks like it obviously has to be disconnected. :) There should only be 8 bolts that you have to remove that go down through the intake upper assembly into the engine. If you find more bolts, leave them in place, as some hold the fuel rails to the lower intake, and some hold the lower intake into the engine. They can all stay put.
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Well you have scared me sufficiently that I am going to the damn dealer. I already have the coils and plugs so hope they will install them. I know I will have no parts warranty.
 
Well went to two Ford dealers today. Dealer #1 said around $350 labor to install new plugs and coils that I supply. Then for the DCCV he said about $200 labor plus parts. What concerns me is he said that when the DCCV goes it usually leaks onto the AC computer and kills it. I have not heard one person here say anything about the DCCV leaking on the AC computer and don't trust him. I have had one other dishonest experience with this dealer.

Dealer #2 was at $320 labor for plugs and coils. He said for the DCCV labor $275 plus $186 for the DCCV and $30 coolant for a total of $491. I'm going tell him that another dealer is at $200 labor and see what he says.

Still with either one on the plugs and coils I'm ahead. They wanted $480 for the coils and thanks to joegr I got them from Amazon for $125 plus $6 shipping, plugs were about $7 at a parts store, don't know what the dealer wants for plugs. Hope I can do better on the DCCV labor.
 
The DCCV cannot leak and take out the AC computer. That makes no sense. You're in kind of a tough spot, where you need someone who knows the car to do this for you, yet the actual labor involved should be under 4 hours total. If you went someplace else, they may cost closer to the 400 in labor but it could take them 2 hours longer due to lack of experience. You also get that issue where people may refuse work on a certain brand or model, due to past burning experiences, where they lost their a$$ on a job, so it kind of leads you back to a dealer. If your shock tower brace bolts (7 of them total) break, the shop starts losing money while they go off on a subroutine to fix broken bolts.

My son is a service advisor at a Chevrolet dealership, and they just did coils plugs and PCV elbow on an 02 LS V6, so that kind of place would be safer to go to if they won't refuse a job and have to charge book rate. I'm just tossing ideas about. Like I said, it's a tough spot. I cannot even visualize it since I am my mechanic. If you know of a local dealer shop that produces happy customers consistently, it may be worth a try.
 
FWIW, my BEST time changing the plugs on my (now my daughter's) old V6 was 3 hours; first time was in the 5-6 hour range. Many pieces must be moved/removed to access the passenger side plugs/coils.

See if you can find an indie that can do the job. It isn't that difficult, just time consuming.

The DCCV is also a bear. The V6 is more labour intensive than the V8; even though there is generally more room.
 
LS4me said:
FWIW, my BEST time changing the plugs on my (now my daughter's) old V6 was 3 hours; first time was in the 5-6 hour range. Many pieces must be moved/removed to access the passenger side plugs/coils.

See if you can find an indie that can do the job. It isn't that difficult, just time consuming.

The DCCV is also a bear. The V6 is more labour intensive than the V8; even though there is generally more room.
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I think the 2004 LS has the much easier to access DCCV up near the radiator. That's the valve with a different design, as well. I think.
 
LS4me said:
FWIW, my BEST time changing the plugs on my (now my daughter's) old V6 was 3 hours; first time was in the 5-6 hour range. Many pieces must be moved/removed to access the passenger side plugs/coils.

See if you can find an indie that can do the job. It isn't that difficult, just time consuming.

The DCCV is also a bear. The V6 is more labour intensive than the V8; even though there is generally more room.
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I will have to go to the dealer.
 
Telco said:
NGKs platinum tips are good, or you can use Motorcraft platinum tips. I would stay away from any of the gimmick plugs with the multiple ground leads, rings, ect. Don't use the spark plug gap measuring tool to adjust as this will damage the platinum tip. They make a gapping tool for this job.
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What do you use on platinum plugs to set the gap.
 
Telco you have my respect for doing what you have to, I'm sure if the shoe was on the other foot she would do the same. When two people are willing to tough it out instead of bailing out you have two quality people. Wish you both the best.
 
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