Walkthru on coil replacement for 2002-

[mwtx]

Ok, here's my thoughts......just did a plug/coil replacement (all of them) on my 2004:

Bubba's writeup is great. No big surprises, but it does take time to get everything off.

Issues/notes from my work:

1) EGR was on TIGHT. Had to use some PB Blaster to get the bolts out. I had to use a 12mm wrench, versus a socket. I reinstalled it with a little anti-seize on the bolts.

2) Instead of removing the coolant hoses on the throttle body, I just unbolted the throttle body from the manifold. If I did this again, I'd make sure to have a new throttle body gasket, as the existing one got a little torn, but it still seals ok.

3) Buy a PCV hose. I wish I had in advance. All dealers were closed at the time of my repair, so I couldn't run out and get one. My existing PCV hose is still intact, but showing signs of cracking/collapsing. However, now that I know how it's routed, I can easily pull it off with the manifold on. Bubba shows a set of long nose Vise grips to remove the big clamp....that works great (I have that exact same set of Vise grips). You can leave the Vise grips clamped on the whole time.....just release when you reattach the PCV hose.

4) Be careful with the coil connectors!!! The back 3 are subjected to more heat and don't appear to take it too well. One of my 3 connectors broke a retaining tab when I reattached it to the new coil. I didn't force it or anything......the plastic was just dried out from the heat. I had to put a dab of high heat silicone on one edge of the connector, just to make sure it stays put on the coil. Ford/Mazda should have used better plastic on the connector.

Mike

[Jipster]

Mike, why did you do a complete coil and plug replacement? As preventative maintenance? Or did you have one coil go bad and decide to replace all of them.

I have an 04 LX with almost 50,000 miles with 2 front coils (#5,#6) having been replaced under warranty and goodwill.

[ROCKITCOLD]

Hi I am from Puerto Rico. I buy a 2004 mpv LXE yesterday and my wife say tha the motor is jumpin in low rpm's and betwen 40 & 50 miles the van run good may the coils are the problem. thaks

sorry for my english... is very bad.

alguien aqui entiende español ?

[kwwhite]

Did the replacement today. Thanks Bubba. You saved me much $$$.

[mwtx]

Sorry for the late reply on this thread. I replaced my coils because I was getting the typical misfire (but no codes). Since I wasn't sure which one (or "ones") were misfiring, I figured I'd do them all, plus the plugs. Actually, my plugs didn't look bad at all and were still within tolerance on the gap, but I replaced them anyway. I also replaced my PCV hose two days later....took 5 minutes (with everything on the engine).

[Redsoxz]

Bubba, you are a lifesaver...a week ago my 'Pv got the shakes, the brakes barely worked, and the tranny was shifting poorly...the CEL had been on for about 10 months. My wife had just gotten some gas, so I thought moisture/sludge in the tank had fouled a plug. I've changed the spark plugs in a '66 Impala in high school, but that is about the extent of my engine knowledge. Of course I decided to do the spark plugs first, (as I considered myself a master at that) without getting a diagnostic. Bad move...I was able to change the front 3, but of course I couldn't even find the back ones, let alone change them. I guess I figured I had a 50/50 chance of changing the one that was bad by doing 3...no such luck. I then happened upon mpvclub and my life was saved! I had no idea that Autozone did the diagnostic for free, they will get all of my biz from now on even though it is a 20 mile drive. The last time the car had maintenance and brakes done (for $500) I asked them to check the CEL and they were going to charge me $100 to use the OBDII. I told them where they could plug their diagnostic tool and decided to live with the light on as the car was running perfectly.

Anyway, Autozone came back with P0134 and P0154 (haven't seen those on the forum yet, sensor 1 bank 1 and sensor 1 bank 2 not responding) and the tech told me I needed to change those O2 sensors at a cost of $150 for both. Thank goodness I had read some of the posts here, and something didn't seem right. How could both sides go bad at the same time? From Bubba's great explanations, it seemed more likely a vacuum issue, probably the PCV hose. Sure enough I held a mirror back there and saw that the hose had collapsed in on both sides where it connected to the manifold. Then came the big decision...follow Bubba's instructions here, or wave the white flag. I decided to give it a shot, as I had already purchased the plugs, and I didn't want to try to change the PCV without manifold removal.

I must say, the instructions and accompanying photos are awesome...it took me about 6 hours, but I was working very slowly and methodically. The van started right up and purrs like a kitty!! My 2 cents, and these may be repeats of some earlier discussion, but I want to emphasize:

1. If you know you are going to change the PCV hose (and honestly after all you have read on this thread, why wouldn't you if you still have the old PCV hose attached) just cut the darn thing off at the manifold. I messed around with pliers trying to get that clamp off for 30 minutes (didn't want to spend $30 to $40 for clamp pliers at Sears) before a light went off in my noggin and I realized I didn't need to keep it intact. 30 minutes??? I'm embarassed!!!
2. I attached the PCV hose to the manifold on the garage floor, and then easily threaded it through where it needed to go when putting the manifold back on. With that method, I will never have to reach behind that tight space again and try to put on or remove a clamp...my knuckles look as though I have been punching brick.
3. If I ever do this again, to remove the manifold I will disconnect the PCV hose at the plastic elbow that heads for the PCV filter and then just pull it out with the intake, never disconnecting the PCV hose from the manifold. As Bubba and others have stated, the PCV hose disappears into the heads, and I wouldn't want to try to reattach it if it accidentally comes loose from the filter, so don't pull on that!
4. Someone mentioned that they couldn't get the back bracket bolt in...I put every bolt in loosely before tightening any, and that left plenty of play. Had no trouble getting that back one in...maybe I just got lucky.

Once again, this forum is blessing...and thanks again to Bubba. Sorry if I rambled, I'm just so happy I saved big $$$$

MPVCLUB ROCKS!!!

[subearu]

Thanks for finding the club and having the persistence to try the DIY repair! This thread has been quite useful to many!

-Brian

[pa38112]

If you're getting a "little long on the tooth in millage" it is well worth it whether you do it yourself, or have the dealer do it. Which by the way, they are playing let's make deal with service too.

Just had this done this week too, and wow what a difference, like getting a new engine. My MPV has 81.1K miles on it. I was getting a real bad stutter out of the engine while working away from home I was going to anyway the next day to deal for the transmission 2nd to 3rd shift flare issue; as this is who Mazda recommended I go to; and is a story for another thread.

All said in done, got, 6 new iridium plugs , six new coils (they way I justified it was they are already there may as well go replace all of them and save the money and time later), two new gaskets, tires balanced and rotated, air filter, cabin filter, oil change, and a car wash in and out for $933.23. Considering I have owned this car five years and have a total of about $297 (PVC Valve and Throttle Control Valve - this was the second) in repairs so far and seeing what some of you folks had seen with just replacing the plugs I was pretty happy. And, had three and half hours of uninterrupted office time to get some stuff done while I hung out in one of the sales cubicals. Surprised they didn't offer me a job for the day.

Here is the breakdown on parts:

6 coils @ 71.54 each $429.24

6 Spark Plugs @ 5.02 each 30.12

2 Gaskets @21.32 each

Total Parts w/tax = $515.53

Labor @ $212.00

Total for plugs and coils $727.53

I know, all the other stuff cost about $200, but the car was down, they were done in little over three hours, I was being productive work wise, and I figured I saved some bucks on the plug job.

[savedsol]

Thank you Bubba and EVERYONE for the walk through and additional pointers. Used NGK Laser Platinum Plugs (PTR5F-11) at $10/ea.

Here are my own now that I'm "experienced".

-Print out the walk through - in color. It helps tremendously.

-Additional tools needed: extending magnet (for getting plugs out of the deep wells) and WD-40 (for lubricating the intake accordion hose).

-Accordion hose - spray a little WD or PB lubricant and take the clamps completely off. It's so much easier to get it off sans clamps. Even if the clamps are loosened to the last thread it's near impossible.

-Rear PVC hose - DON'T pull it off in the back. Nothing could be more difficult. I also spent 30 min trying and failing. Follow the hose around to the drivers side of the engine and it pulls right out. No clamps, no fuss. (May be easier to reach after unbolting EGR)

-Vacuum lines under Throttle Body - Don't do it. Another pain in the butt. The intake manifold easily moves out of you way to reach the back plugs with these attached.

-Throttle Body/Coolant Hoses '04-'06 - Don't bother with the coolant hoses. As mentioned, four bolts and the TB pops right off (don't lose the gasket). Saves the hassle of having to bleed the cooling system. If your gasket is trashed simply get some gasket maker goo from your auto parts store and spread it along the old gasket.

-Reassembly - Before threading any bolts do that little 8mm support bracket bolt in the back FIRST. It's a bugger! Now do everything else, triple check connections, etc.

Cleaned my K&N at the same time and "Boo ya!" what a sweet idle!

[iwantland]

I am not a newbie to car repair, but I have never had to replace coils. We had a CEL come on about a month ago. Took it to the local Firestone place and they diagnosed it with a Catalytic converter failure. Under 80K, so to the dealer for the warranty work. Two days later, on the way to the dealer, major stutter/rough ride, CEL came back on. Had to be towed in. Dealer came back with a #5 coil problem. Said I should replace all of them. Quoted me $1700. Ridiculous. I didn't have the cash. Told me I should at least replace 4,5,6 cause they were in the back and hard to get to. Quoted me $1200K for that. I made one call to the Firestone place, who said they could do it much cheaper. Ended up paying $827 for new PCV AJF8-13-89Y hose, and 4,5,6 coils, and a PCM update from dealer.

Now I learn, from Bubba's informative post, that, indeed 4,5,6 (in front) are the easy ones to get to. Dealer is a liar and tried to con me out of major money. On top of that, the CEL came back on and had to take it back and indeed get the catalytic converter replaced (thankfully, under warranty).

Two weeks later and I am getting a heavy stutter after a long drive in heavy rain. Assuming it is another coil. Should I plan on replacing the rear three or should I take it back to the dealer?

To top it off (no pun intended), I had them change the oil (and filter) while I was there. They only put 5 qts. in and it was 10W-30, not 5W-20 as recommended by Mazda. I called the Service Manager and he said , "I have never put more than 5 qts of oil in any MPV."

[iwantland]

OK, Finished the job. Took me 6 hours, but I had lunch in the middle, made a few phone calls during, took it extra slow. I imagine a semi-experienced car dude could crank this out in 3 hours or so. Dealer sucked: missing two accessory bolts & the P/S hose clamp and a retainer clip for a wire beside the EGR. They actually did replace the hard to reach ones (1-3), but the code was for #5, which they did not replace.

Bought three new after market coils at Advance. $42.99 ea. along with 6 Iridium XL plugs @ $5.99 ea. Pulled the manifold (Big Thanks to bubba!) to replace the three plugs in the back since the dealer didn't do it. Discovered two of the three electrical retaining clips on the end of the wires were broken. Ran one layer of electrical tape around the female end to snug 'em up. Seems to have worked.

New coils don't fit as well as the OEM coils. Feels like the bolt hole on the new coil sits about 1/16" lower than the ones on the OEM coils, which lifts these coils about that much off of the tops of the plug wells. Seems like there is ample gap (for more moisture to penetrate) at the top each plug well, where the coil has the rubber/silicone flange and is is supposed to seat when bolted to the engine. Ran a little bead of grease around the top of the plug well in hopes of deterring moisture penetration, though I won't be surprised if the next outing in a heavy rain gets us in trouble.


Seems like there was some bad design by Mazda as the windshield drainage seems to all end up flowing down over coils #1 and #2.

At any rate, took it for a test drive. All seems to be working well. However, I still think I am getting a very slight stutter at around 42 mph. Seems to happen when the engine exerts itself going up a slight incline at 42 mph. Barely noticeable. My dad thought it might be that the tire and wheel are out of balance at the same spot and this wasn't taken into account at my last rotation. Says that it is harmonic coincidence of these this occurrence manifesting itself as a "stutter."

I am not sure. I think I may have a wire going bad or something else.

Anyone have any other ideas?

[gorockrx]

Great Thread! Thanks for posting up the info...

[mkuki]

Ok guys, I want to know if this dealer is taking me for a ride...

I have a 2004 MPV that has a stutter/shudder when turned on, and has a real FUNKY smell. The CEL was on, and after I reset it with my scangauge twice, it still came on. Funny part is I am getting P000 code...so I am like WTF?

3 weeks ago, I got the 60K service done, and the tech replaced the PVC hose. The tech also showed me that the Waterpump was weeping and that I needed to replace the front stabilizer bars. ($600 job) The servige guy quoted me $750 for the coilpack job, after I explained what's up.

My question is: Can the replacement of the PVC trigger the coilpack issue? car was running fine before? or should I just bend over (I really DO NOT want to )

[owr084]

[mkuki]

I finally got the code...P0306 (misfire cylinder # 6) THANK GOD!...I'm gonna change that one and see how long it lasts me before I have to change the remaining ones for rear ones.

I called a local dealership and these are the prices quoted:

Coils: $54.50 each (= $325 for all six)

Waterpump: $118 (excl core)...with core add $20

Front Stabilizer Links: $28 each (= $56 for both sides)

Total parts cost = 325 + 138 + 56 = $519...now I just have to figure out the total labor cost if I cant do it by myself.

Question: Does it really take 6 hrs to change the stabilizer links?