How do I get to the back Cylinders 1,2 and 3 on the 2002 Mazda Tribute. (Duratec DOHC V6)

[cbenjamin03]

Hey Folks,

I own a Mazda Tribute LX with a dual overhead cam V6 engine. I use it ALOT. It hesistates however when I press the gas down for about 2 seconds and then it will go really fast. I can tell it's also misfiring really bad, especially at idle. So I went out and bought some NGK 7 dollar spark plugs and "coil pack kits". They aren't the whole coil pack but just the rubber boot and coil wire. I'm going to replace all these soon.

My question though is how in the world do I get to the back 3 cylinders. My engine sits sideaways and it looks like I'm going to have to dismount the throttle, idle air control valve, EGR valve, air hose and the manifold. Is there an easier way? And if there isn't, do I need to remove anything else? Tips and advice are welcome.

Thanks,

Craig W.

 

[g8wayrebel]

Firestone , man. I'm not joking , let the pros do it.
They do tuneups for about 100 bux on a difficult engine such as that.
If not , stock up on sockets ,they get lost in the engine when you drop them.
I'm still missing several , permanently lost in transverse mounted engines.

 

[Bignate603]

A Haynes manual is your friend. It will say what you need to do.

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: g8wayrebel
Firestone , man. I'm not joking , let the pros do it.
They do tuneups for about 100 bux on a difficult engine such as that.
If not , stock up on sockets ,they get lost in the engine when you drop them.
I'm still missing several , permanently lost in transverse mounted engines.

That must be a joke if you consider firestone "pros".




OP do you have a pic of the motor, even one online. A lof of cars/suv's like that you have to either take the intake off, go under the car to get the back side, or just squeze through the top around something.

 

[Billb2]

Originally posted by: Bignate603
A Haynes manual is your friend. It will say what you need to do.

...available at your local library.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: g8wayrebel
Firestone , man. I'm not joking , let the pros do it.
They do tuneups for about 100 bux on a difficult engine such as that.
If not , stock up on sockets ,they get lost in the engine when you drop them.
I'm still missing several , permanently lost in transverse mounted engines.

That must be a joke if you consider firestone "pros".




OP do you have a pic of the motor, even one online. A lof of cars/suv's like that you have to either take the intake off, go under the car to get the back side, or just squeze through the top around something.

i am questioning all the sockets he lost.

 

[Mermaidman]

Heh, reminds me of the Aurora V8 in our car. I changed the front 4 plugs, then looked at the rear bank and thought "No f'in way" and gave up.

(So is it harmful to change just half the plugs?)

 

[GoatMonkey]

There's nothing wrong with paying someone to do the grunt work for you. It's something that anyone could do if they had some reason to spend the time.

You guys seem to think it's some sort of test of manhood to change your freakin spark plugs when it's going to take way more time than it reasonably should.

What if he had a Ferrari that requires you to remove the engine to change the spark plugs? Would you still be recommending that too?

 

[kalrith]

I have an '01 Tribute with the same engine. I was getting misfires on cylinders 5 & 6 (the check engine light gave me error codes for both). I found that the ignition coils were bad and had to replace both of them ($65 each). Thankfully they were on the front of the engine. To get to cylinders 1, 2, and 3 requires removing the intake manifold among other things. Most of what I've read online about it says to take it to a shop and pay $120 to have them do it unless you're very handy. Here's an explanation of it that I got from some automotive forums (I think):

Oddly enough, I (with help from a machanic friend) changed out my plugs at 50K
miles. I did not believe the hype-promise that the plugs will truly go 100K miles,
per factory specs., so I changed them out with identical Motorcraft plugs. The
three (3) plugs underneath the fake intake cover on the front-side are no problem.
You just need a 10" extender on the ratchet with the proper spark-plug socket and
you have it done in under 30 minutes. The rear-plugs are at the backside near the
firewall and under the intake-manifold and require some up-top dissembly that only my mechanic friend could re-trace. You will need the change the intake manifold gaskets (pkg./kit~$10) after you remove both manifolds. It's a bit more labor-intensive for the back-three (3), but we still got it done in under 1 1/2 hours total time. If you are handy and are not afraid to tackle it, you may be able to do it just fine.

What would really suck is to do all that to replace the spark plugs just to find out that the ignition coils are bad. The coils are known to go bad in those vehicles, so it might not be a bad idea to get them replaced. I buy my parts at http://www.onlinemazdaparts.com. Their prices and CS are good, and they have you enter your VIN# to make sure that you get the right part for your vehicle. It saved me about $40 on the two ignition coils compared to AutoZone.

 

[f1r3s1d3]

I'd go to a Ford dealer and get it done, coils & plugs. Your probably looking at $500 there though.

 

[exdeath]

Can you get them from under the car up against the firewall? Will be tight with OHC, but if you used several small 3"-6" extensions instead of one large one and worked them in and out one at a time. Pretty much relying on touch alone and what you know from looking at the opposite side, you probably won't be able to see anything.

 

[potato28]

It'll be a hassle to get to those plugs, might as well take it to a dealership. And this is one of the reasons why I hate transversely mounted engines: inaccessibility to the engine.

 

[boomerang]

Some GM cars were designed to rotate the engine forward to change the back plugs.

There were dogbone type struts at the front top of the motor. You would disconnect them both. One of them had a secondary hole in it. You could put a pry-bar in the dogbone mount assembly, pull the engine toward the front of the car and insert a bolt in the secondary hole to keep it there.

Nothing else needed to be disconnected. Everything was engineered to pivot and it did so with ease.

Don't know about your car though. It would be great if it did this.

 

[g8wayrebel]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: g8wayrebel
Firestone , man. I'm not joking , let the pros do it.
They do tuneups for about 100 bux on a difficult engine such as that.
If not , stock up on sockets ,they get lost in the engine when you drop them.
I'm still missing several , permanently lost in transverse mounted engines.

That must be a joke if you consider firestone "pros".




OP do you have a pic of the motor, even one online. A lof of cars/suv's like that you have to either take the intake off, go under the car to get the back side, or just squeze through the top around something.

If they screw it , they"re liable , that makes them pro's in my eyes.