Spark plug change MY04

[goldxc70]

Decided to change the spark plugs as part of my 60,000 mile/96,000 km service. Even the sales guy at the dealership told me to do it myself because it is so expensive for them to do it. It is a straight forward job and takes an hour or so.

Anyway, the tools required are:

Torx T30 driver or key (key is better for rear bolts as they are obstructed by the strut brace) to remove bolts holding covers in place
10mm socket to remove bolts holding coils in place
spark plug socket
anti-seize compound
dielectric compound
replacement plugs (I used Volvo plugs)

Here is my procedure with some photos:

Undo 8 bolts (2 bolts on cover to your left, 6 on other cover) using Torx drive holding two part coil cover (photo 1). There is no need to remove the intercooler pipe.

Once all bolts are removed, remove cover to your left by undoing two clips, one front, one rear and lift away. Wiggle the other cover out from under the intercooler pipe. It will come out to your left and away from you. (photo 2 shows covers removed).

Undo 10mm bolt holding no. 1 coil and pull coil upwards (photo 5 shows bolt being removed from no. 2 coil). You will hear a pop as it comes free. Remove spark plug. (photo 3 shows no. 1 plug removed with coil behind).

Replace plug making sure to apply anti seize paste on plug threads and dielectric grease on connector and ceramoic top. Avoid anti seize paste on last thread where it might get into the cylinder. Torque plug to recommended torque or if you're not using a torque wrench, until washer is crushed.

Move on to next coil and plug until the job is complete (photo 5 shows 10mm bolt being removed from no. 2 coil). The only very slight difficulty is getting at the 10mm bolt holding down no. 5 coil as it is covered with wiring to the other coils (photo 4).

[Willy]

Very nice!
An item for the How-To section perhaps?
I haven't done this myself yet (lack of mileage :rolleyes:) but if I remember well, Vadis instructions say to remove
the pipe crossing the top of the engine. I have always wondered if this was really necessary, you prove it is not!
Did yoy find it difficult to loosen/remove the spark plugs? I tend to think that the longer they are in there,
the harder it will be to remove them. For my car, it may take more then 10 years before the plugs need to be replaced :o
From what I can see the wiring was still in good condition, is this correct?
Greetings,
Willy

[goldxc70]

Very nice!
An item for the How-To section perhaps?
I haven't done this myself yet (lack of mileage :rolleyes:) but if I remember well, Vadis instructions say to remove
the pipe crossing the top of the engine. I have always wondered if this was really necessary, you prove it is not!
Did yoy find it difficult to loosen/remove the spark plugs? I tend to think that the longer they are in there,
the harder it will be to remove them. For my car, it may take more then 10 years before the plugs need to be replaced :o
From what I can see the wiring was still in good condition, is this correct?
Greetings,
Willy

Thanks.
I looked at the pipe and figured I'd try to remove the covers first without taking off the pipe. If I had to stop and remove the pipe, that would have just added a little extra work. But it just took a little wriggling - without any danger of breaking the cover - to get it out. I had no problems removing the coils or plugs. Everything under the covers was very clean and in good condition. Even though the coil bodies are plastic, there was a unthreaded metal insert in the body so that the plastic could not be broken by over tightening. Also the plugs I removed were in very good condition. I'll post a photo of them later on.

[Pennhaven]

I just changed my spark plugs as well. Only 33,000 miles. I am in the "better too soon than too late" school. But I found they were in excellent shape, so it really was not necessary to change them this soon.

However, to Willy's concern, mine were a little tight. I had to use a breaker bar with the spark plug socket to break them loose. They actually made a screeching sound when they were unscrewed and there was a rusty residue on the threads. If the factory uses anti-seize compound they did not use much on mine.

goldXC70: Thanks for the tip on the intercooler tube. That would have saved me ten minutes if I had thought to try it myself!

[Aviator]

Yes, this an excellent post; pictures are worth a thousand words. And no, unfortunately, anti-seize is not applied at the factory. This has been, and always will be, a thorn in the side for many a technician on many components on cars.

Dave.

[skibo]

Great post.

I wonder if anyone with Vadis can add the torque values of the plugs and fasteners to make it really complete?

[Willy]

The procedure and all data can be found right here in the Resources / How-To Guides, Courtesy Art [thumbup]
http://www.volvoxc.com/resources/how-to/pdf/xc_spark_plug_service.pdf
It is strange, Vadis specifying to use paste on the threads and the factory not doing it!
Perhaps I should take the spark plugs out, just to check how they were mounted (I also
fear that if a small part of the thread goes deep enough to end up in the chamber, this
part of the thread will deteriorate and damage the inner thread of the cylinder head when
the spark plugs are removed. But from what I can see from the pictures, this is not the case.
Willy

[goldxc70]

The procedure and all data can be found right here in the Resources / How-To Guides, Courtesy Art [thumbup]
http://www.volvoxc.com/resources/how-to/pdf/xc_spark_plug_service.pdf


This procedure applies to MY01 which has different intercooler pipe routing. I'm guessing it may have to be removed to get the cover off. Can anyone confirm?

[Willy]

I think the procedure from the Resources could be from the previous model V70XC (until MY2000).
Vadis showes the "curved" pipe for these cars.
Starting from MY2001, Vadis shows the straight pipe.
I do think the procedure for both models is basically the same but I don't know if the older version needs removal of the pipe.
Willy

[dtlayman]

According to our 2001 Volvo service record information and the dealer published recommended scheduled maintenance we are supposed to change the spark plugs every 30,000 miles. I just looked at the dealer published recommended scheduled maintenance for 2002 and newer and it has the spark plug change occuring every 60,000 miles. Did something change in 2002? Also, I noticed the dealer published rates for the 2002 and newer are considerably lower than 99-01 models for many of the major service intervals. Again, wondering if something changed.

[Willy]

I don't think the service interval for spark plugs has changed during 2001-2007.
I am convinced that some (a lot?) of service intervals are not technical necessities
but made up as part of an economic strategy :rolleyes:
Willy

[dtlayman]

I don't think the service interval for spark plugs has changed during 2001-2007.
I am convinced that some (a lot?) of service intervals are not technical necessities
but made up as part of an economic strategy :rolleyes:
Willy
What does your 04 Volvo service information publish is the service interval for spark plugs?

[Willy]

60K miles or 96K Kilometers.
Willy