[Arzatema]

I purchased mine from my dealership for ~$100.

[SergioK]

Originally Posted by bkkeys

I just did a search and it looks like people are going both ways of it. They say you just have to be careful not to apply too much or you could potentially misfire

The porcelain on the sparkplugs is very delicate and yes, if you overtorque them the porcelain insulator can crack thus causing an engine misfire. I also find it useful to put a swivel connector since the angle of the spark plug is offset from the angle of the coil tube. This offset angle can also cause the porcelain to crack.

[constantin_md]

Originally Posted by Class5Kayaker

Finally got around to replacing my plugs.

First off, big thanks to bkkeys for posting the video. VERY helpful and made my install a breeze. I did a couple things differently which I'll mention here in a minute.

First thing that was different for me was removing the engine cover. I bought my car used, CPO, and I never thought it was an N26. The vin decoder says it's an N20, but my the underside of my cover has a molded box of sorts with two vacuum hoses running to it. My build date was June 2012, so I'm not sure if it's just an early model function or if I have an N26 (California Emissions). The Bentley manual didn't mention this part either, but there are two hoses on the front left (below the oil cap) that I had to disconnect before removing the cover. So check yours first to see if you have them before you try and pull it off. Just squeeze the notched tabs and pull them off.

My car is a 2013 328i with N26 engine but it didn't have the hoses.
I found your method of removing the additional panels much easier to work with even if it takes an extra 15-20 minutes to take off and put back i'd rather not bend the plug. Because of the extra space available there was no need to squeeze an additional 1" or 2" wrench extenders,
The tape around the flex socket and wrench extenders worked like a charm
I spent:
Cta CTA2376 14Mm X 12Pt. Bmw Spark Plug Socket - $9.39 on opentip.com
TEKTON 24330 3/8-Inch Torque Wrench - $26 amazon
4 x bmw 12120039664 spark plugs - $30 i was lucky to find a deal of 4 original spark plugs on ebay (us seller) be carefull if you order from China or Hong Kong, they might be fake copies. Alibaba sells this part number for $1 a piece
TEKTON 1601 - Wrench extenders - $12 on amazon. i had this parts...
flex socket - absolutely necessary , i had it in my box tool, don't know it's price...

Total cost for me was $65.

The car's engine was behaving excellent before the spark plugs replacement but after installing the new spark plugs - the engine is noticeably quieter, no further testing was done yet.

My car has 45000 miles

[projector]

I wish I had seen this post by Class5Kayaker before giving up on the spark plug install for another day.

Thank god I put off buying strut torque stretch bolts.

I am deciding to do the hardest spark plug first and then work my way to the easy ones.

[Sanelko]

Originally Posted by Class5Kayaker

I did not. Bentley Manual does NOT say you should use anti-seize in their directions. They do have a "side note" that says, "Never use any kind of oil or copper-based anti-seize compound on the spark plug threads."

NGK (that's who makes our plugs) Technical Bulletin #NGKSP-0907-1 says that all their plugs are manufactured with a special metal shell (trivalent) plating to prevent damage to the cylinder head. For plugs with this special metal plating, anti-seize is not recommended during installation. Applying anti-seize to these plugs will cause the installer to mistakenly over-torque the plug in the cylinder head stretching the metal between the last thread and the seal between the cylinder head and plug. This increases the probability that the spark plug will either break during installation or upon removal.

Even the other major manufacturers (Autolite, AC Delco, Champion, etc.) all say to not use anti-seize. These days, their plugs are all manufactured to not seize through various special metal processing techniques I'm not smart enough to fully understand and adding anti-seize could actually make things worse.

On top of this I think I recall the Bentley manual saying not to use any dielectric grease on the ignition coil boots as well. I believe it had to do with degradation of the rubber or something...

[projector]

Originally Posted by Sanelko

On top of this I think I recall the Bentley manual saying not to use any dielectric grease on the ignition coil boots as well. I believe it had to do with degradation of the rubber or something...

Is silicon spray allowed to aid removal of stubborn ignition coil boots?

[projector]

Changed my sparks for the first time at 80k kilometers.

According to the comparison of the old and new (pictures attached), old ones still seem to be in good shape. Could I have gone a few thousand km more on the old ones?

[manghong]

Thank you very much for the advise , I have a 2012 June built F30 as well and it has the same hose on the left. Will give it a try, also may I know torque spec required for the cowl cover screws? thank you!

Originally Posted by Class5Kayaker

Finally got around to replacing my plugs.

First off, big thanks to bkkeys for posting the video. VERY helpful and made my install a breeze. I did a couple things differently which I'll mention here in a minute.

First thing that was different for me was removing the engine cover. I bought my car used, CPO, and I never thought it was an N26. The vin decoder says it's an N20, but my the underside of my cover has a molded box of sorts with two vacuum hoses running to it. My build date was June 2012, so I'm not sure if it's just an early model function or if I have an N26 (California Emissions). The Bentley manual didn't mention this part either, but there are two hoses on the front left (below the oil cap) that I had to disconnect before removing the cover. So check yours first to see if you have them before you try and pull it off. Just squeeze the notched tabs and pull them off.



After pulling my first plug and replacing it and torquing down to proper specs I ran into an issue. My extension kept separating from my spark plug socket and the socket was stuck to the plug in the spark plug well because of the inner rubber of the socket holding to the plug so tightly. So I used the universal repair tool (duct tape) and didn't have any separation issues during the rest of the job.



The other big difference I did compared to the video was remove the bulkhead cowl cover. It takes just a couple minutes and gives you complete access to the pug closest to the firewall. Here are the steps:

1) Remove the left (over the fuse box) and right (over the brake fluid reservoir) covers. It takes a 10mm socket and a 90 degree turn on each of the three plastic "bolts". I didn't take a pic of the locations since this is something I'm sure everyone has already done. If not, it's self-explanatory and no picture is required.

2) Remove the thick rubber seal at the bottom of where those covers were. It just pulls towards you easily. BEFORE you pull it off, remove the power cable that is in the notches on the front of the weather strip.





3) Remove the 7 10mm screws holding the bulkhead cowl cover in place. I forgot to take a pic of the three on the left, but i've circled them in the pic I took to show how much access you get to that fourth plug once you remove the bulkhead cowl cover.

Three screws on the left (see how easy it is to access that fourth plug?). Oh, and I used that wrench for removal only...I used a torque wrench for installing them.


First three of four screws on the right


Fourth screw on the right



The Bentley manual says you need to remove the strut bar, but that requires a unique socket and new stretch fasteners. The good news is YOU DON'T HAVE TO REMOVE IT! The cowl cover slides out with a little finagling by pulling it forward and under the strut bar.

Re-install of the cowl cover is the opposite of removal. My only tip is to push down slightly on the rear tab slot for the engine cover that is directly in the center of the engine bay back by the firewall. Once I figured that out it slid right back in place when I was done with installing all four plugs.

That's about it. My last pic is of the new plug next to the old plug. Part number is NGK: SILZBR8D8S

[jgjasinski]

Did any of you mess with the spark plug gaps? Or are the OEM plugs gapped correctly out of the box?

TIA

[sspade]

Originally Posted by jgjasinski

Did any of you mess with the spark plug gaps? Or are the OEM plugs gapped correctly out of the box?

TIA

I put my NGK plugs in without checking gap. The way they were packaged, it would have been IMPOSSIBLE for the gaps to be off.

I have seen some other forum members checking/changing gaps though...

Interested to hear other responses on this.

[jgjasinski]

Well I splurged on a $2 gap checker. I'll let you know this weekend

[KhoeCoon1]

Thank you so much for this video! I've been searching everywhere because my car just hit 105,000 and I'm pretty sure the dealership I bought my car from NEVER changed out the spark plugs.

Going to BMW today to purchase plugs and hopefully I don't screw this up.

Wish me luck

[sspade]

Originally Posted by KhoeCoon1

Thank you so much for this video! I've been searching everywhere because my car just hit 105,000 and I'm pretty sure the dealership I bought my car from NEVER changed out the spark plugs.

Going to BMW today to purchase plugs and hopefully I don't screw this up.

Wish me luck

You'll be fine. Expect the dealer to bend you over a bit on the plugs...

If you can wait, you can buy them online for half the price of what they will charge you.

[KhoeCoon1]

Originally Posted by sspade

You'll be fine. Expect the dealer to bend you over a bit on the plugs...

If you can wait, you can buy them online for half the price of what they will charge you.

I wish I saw this sooner, but I already purchased them from the BMW dealership.

I did get a military discount from them though, so thats pretty cool!

[M Smurf]

Can someone post up part numbers for the f30

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by saliva

Can someone post up part numbers for the f30

Spark plug, High Power NGK SILZKBR8D8S part#12120039664 (need 4), for N20 and N26.

[M Smurf]

For those that replaced plugs. Fairly obvious from the condition of the old ones that replacement was needed?

Reason I ask is that I am sitting at 80k miles. Dealer at last visit recommended that they be replaced yet was perplexed that when my key/VIN was scanned the system didnt automatically generate the reccomendation and there is no history that they have ever been replaced. Bought the car with 58k from dealer.

So...thinking I might just pull one to have look.

Thoughts?

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by saliva

For those that replaced plugs. Fairly obvious from the condition of the old ones that replacement was needed?

Reason I ask is that I am sitting at 80k miles. Dealer at last visit recommended that they be replaced yet was perplexed that when my key/VIN was scanned the system didnt automatically generate the reccomendation and there is no history that they have ever been replaced. Bought the car with 58k from dealer.

So...thinking I might just pull one to have look.

Thoughts?

Spark plug does not trigger separate CBS alert, its change interval is tied to 4th oil change for pre-2014, and 6th one 2014 and up, for 60k miles.

Indies said the Iridium spark plugs used in F30 are sturdy, when they age it can arc differently and can hurt ignition coils(covered by BMWNA in PZEV states), and/or cause non-optimal combustion hence carbon buildup.

80k probably is close to EOL and DIY should be $70-ish.

[M Smurf]

OK, fair enough. Off to gather the tools. Thanks Major!

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by saliva

OK, fair enough. Off to gather the tools. Thanks Major!

No problem, glad to be of service!

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by bavarianride

Spark plug ...change interval is tied to 4th oil change for pre-2014, and 6th one 2014 and up...

For me that's 24,000 miles. I think I'll wait.

[bavarianride]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

For me that's 24,000 miles. I think I'll wait.

Yes 24k miles will be way too early to change spark plugs.

Having said that, a colleague presented some interesting math to me lately.

E.g. 4 spark plugs costing $60(roughly) can last 60k miles, so each 1k miles costs $1.

So changing early at 24k miles wastes extra $36 for DIY, and that's not too bad if one aims for the DIY fun.