2000 Millenia S with P0301...need confirmation

[wlepse]

From what I have seen here the most likely cause of this is a bad coil pack, next on the list would be plugs. So my game plan was to swap two coil packs to see if the problem follows the pack or not. But what I can't confirm is what the cylinder arrangement is. I think it is 1-3-5 in back and 2-4-6 in front from left to right. Can someone confirm if this is correct? Also...this is my sisters car, so what am I up against here getting this coil pack out? Are the back ones right up against the firewall or will this be a relatively easy swap?

[keninn]

Originally Posted by wlepse

From what I have seen here the most likely cause of this is a bad coil pack, next on the list would be plugs. So my game plan was to swap two coil packs to see if the problem follows the pack or not. But what I can't confirm is what the cylinder arrangement is. I think it is 1-3-5 in back and 2-4-6 in front from left to right. Can someone confirm if this is correct? Also...this is my sisters car, so what am I up against here getting this coil pack out? Are the back ones right up against the firewall or will this be a relatively easy swap?

you are correct. if the plugs have never been changed, mazda says every 60k. if they have been changed, good chance the right bank never was, because they are so hard to get to. or, the wrong ones were installed. because the right bank gets a lot more heat, you should change the right bank coils with the left. of course, mark the coils, then you would know if there is a bad one. change out all the plugs. be prepared for oil in the wells, too. esp #5 and 6. getting to the right bank is time consuming. while others take less stuff off, i pull off a lot of surrounding parts because of clearance. i always have a hard time with the coil connector for #5. i pull the egr valve, and the rear intercooler. to get to the intercooler, the battery has to come out. then there is part of the wire harness and relays that are clipped to the intercooler, and one of the clips can be difficult to loosen. the intercooler connections are spring clamps, and you will need vice grips to remove them. i replace them with wide hose clamps. the connectors on each coil is a bit tricky, if you are not careful, you will break off the little catch on each coil. the nut on the egr valve is 23mm, an adjustable wrench can work here. i think there is a tutorial on the plug removal, which helped me a lot the first time.

[bigb]

if you have a fully stocked tool chest and small hands you can do it by removing fairly little.

1/4 ratchet with magnetic tip and swivel adapter + some extension pieces is your friend here.

bank 1 you dont need to remove anything. bank 3 and 5 you need to remove first the bracket that has the solenoids connected to it. 3 bolts hold it on.

once this is pushed aside you need to remove the valve cover breather tube (big fat hose)

then you should be able to get to everything. I think some connectors need to come off as well like the egr harness connector etc to push the solenoids aside. that is all I remove to do my plugs and it is TIGHT, but it can be done.

to remove the connector on the #5 coil pack I push the tab with one finger and pry with a large flat head to remove the connector. if you cant get the connector off / on by messing with it the rear intercooler has to come off which is a real bitch. i'd rather spend 10 min fiddling with that connector than taking off the battery and intercooler. your choice.

[wlepse]

Thanks for the tips....for those with something similar I found these links which I hope will make this less painful. Spark plug replacement and troubleshooting misfires.

[keninn]

the first few times i did this, i had no problem getting the connector OFF #5. it was getting it back on that was the problem. so i just pull the battery, takes me about 10 min, there are a couple nuts for the intercooler that you cant see, but now i know where they are. i also have a nice magnetic spark plug socket. some can leave the egr on, i need the room. also, most of the time, the wells have oil in them, and i need room to clean. i like a clean motor, so i spend lots of time cleaning. i also chase the threads, and neversieze the plugs, bolts, and nuts.

[wlepse]

I hope to take a look at this in a few days when the parts come in but can anyone recommend a mechanic in the NNJ-Orange county NY area? I called the dealer and they estimated $650 for plugs and one coil pack. Seems high to me so hoping a good indy mechanic might offer a better rate.

[wlepse]

Well did this last night and it wasn't that bad at all. I have fairly big hands and sausage fingers and the hardest part for me was the stupid coil pack screws. I tried magnets but they are barely magnetic it seems. But in the end it took me 3 hours to do the spark plugs with a break for some pizza so I was taking my time. I didn't find I needed to take the EGR out, it was tight but doable. Since it wasn't as bad as expected I just did a plug change but moved the #1 CP to the front. I figure this way if the CEL comes back and moved with the CP I know it really needs to be swapped and should only take 30 minutes. Thanks again for the tips and for any of those with the same issue read that write up I linked to....pictures really help.

[wlepse]

Well that didn't take long. CEL light is back but thankfully the misfire code moved from Cyl 1 to cyl 2. Which is a good thing since that is where I moved the #1 coilpack to. So last night I spent all of 15 minutes to replace it. Hopefully that takes care of it.

[SalonNas]

bank 1 you dont need to remove anything. bank 3 and 5 you need to remove first the bracket that has the solenoids connected to it. 3 bolts hold it on.