Hi,

First post here.

I have an 07 mini and want to change the spark plugs but it seems impossible, the coils are in really good. I tried looking on the forum and found someone that said to use two screw drivers to pry out the suckers but that led to smashed knuckles, ripped seals, and some plastic breakage... is there another trick to get them out. I was able to get one out but some are less accessable than others because of the oil fill hole.

Stan -

 

It takes alot of elbow grease try using both hands with a four finger grip on the top and pull like h***.

 

I just can't get my hands on them good enough to do like you are saying. I thought about maybe using a noose around the base with some good nylon twine and tying it to some sort of handle (screwdriver or something) and giving it a good pull. They must have an easier way to do this.

Stan -

 

Probably need some elusive BMW tool worth $500.

 

Why would anyone want to change sparkplugs? Do you routinely replace the differential? The heater core?

 

After a while, plugs get to the point where they need replacing. I'm not the guy who follows the owners manual and changes his oil every 15k miles (filter is toast by then), nor do I wait 100k mile to change my plugs. Another good reason to replace them is that some newer spark plugs will get you a little better gas milage and horsepower.

I watch horsepower TV on Sat and Sun mornings and they did a test on the dyno of the new E3 spark plugs. Now, mind you that they were doing the test on a real engine (400+ hp), not like the hampster driven French engine that the Mini has, but nevertheless, the horsepower went up by 6 or 7, and the gas milage went up a bit as well.

- Stan -

 

Please tell me you are kidding? If not, then why would you change your oil, your coolant, your trans fluid? How about your tires or belts? Filters? I'm sure all of these are lifetime items and never wear out, right? Not! Spark plugs are wear items, same as all of the items I mentioned, and none of the ones you did. Electricity flows through one side of a platinum tipped piece of metal, and into another piece of platinum tipped metal. The platinum decreases the amount of wear on a spark plug and increases the efficiency of the spark. Spark plugs that used to last 30k now last 100k and you rarely see a decrease in performance over that time frame.

That being said, the only way to change the power on a modern, sophisticated vehicle is to go to a cheap plug, and that might decrease power. You will be hard pressed to even notice an improvement (unless you are fixing an issue, not replacing as preventative maintenance) by going to a fancy $30 spark plug. And our mini does have a very sophisticated engine.

Oh, and plug replacements are recommended every 30k for jcw stage 1 minis, and 60k for regular mcs's (I'm not sure of the justa's recommended replacement interval). There is no point in replacing them sooner unless you are having problems that are spark related.

 

Don't use any crazy tools on the. But put some gloves on and just pull like hell

 

I'm going to agree with e30r56: yes, sparkplugs will eventually need to be replaced, but not for a long time. And you're not going to see a huge performance gain because the OEM sparkplugs are already working pretty efficiently.

As for the MINI having a "hamster" engine, you should be looking at more than simply power output. Do you know how much that 400 HP engine weighed? Or how much fuel it used to make that power?

Look at it this way: in 1967 the VW 1600cc engine generated about 60 HP and got about 25-30 mpg. Now, the MINI has a 1600cc engine that generates up to 208 HP in stock condition and gets 30-33 mpg doing it. That's a huge improvement in efficiency, and tells me that to get more out of the MINI's engine will take more than simply changing the sparkplugs.

 

Getting close to 50k on my tin can, I agree on the spark plug replacement interval, I'm NOT new to working on engines, just these new ones. I have always replaced normal plugs at 20k-25k, though Plats I've done the same, maybe a little longer. There's much to learn about how an engine is running by looking at a used plug and I'm determined to get them out and have a look see, and put the E3's in there. Just need advice on getting the stinkin plug wires out of the way!

 

I'm not looking to debate about when to replace plugs. Yes the peugeot engine is a marvel, yes its efficiency is superb, blah, blah… Though it does spend more time in the shop in six months than my old 71 bug ever did in its lifetime. It cost lots of money in gas and time just to drive all the way out to LA to get service, and parts costs are crazy! I did love my bug…

I suppose I’ll go out tomorrow and try the glove thing or maybe the noose trick, or both!

 

Just throwing my 2 cents in the debate. If you change your spark plugs they are going to improve the performance of the motor. Now for a DD it's not a big deal to go 40k to a 100k between changing you plugs. But if you are a weekend warrior and are tracking your car more than 1 or 2 times a month then you need to look at changing them about every 10k to 25k. Now that is my opinion and most of it is based on research that I have done on sport compact cars and others. But a lot of people ignore the ignition system of a car in their pursuit for more power and though it is not going to net huge power gains it will make it more efficient and that in the long run will improve power overall.

 

FYI the E3 site has MINI plugs in their catalog but they're the same plug for ALL the MINI's since 2002. None of the cross referenced part #'s come up with a match either. The market for 2nd gen plugs is very limited and for the Cooper it's nonexistant. Only Beru OEM plugs from a few online venders and the dealer are available. As for the Cooper S the plugs are NGK ILZKBR7A-8G.

 

Only if what you put in is better than what was there.

 

Back to the original question. I just want to make sure how to remove the coils without damaging anything. NO DEBATE on "why" please. I just want "how-to" advise. I have strong hands and I can easily break things with them, but hopefully not anything in my loved 2007 Mini S R56.

So is it just pulling the coils out using brute force? Is there nothing to unlatch, unclip, unscrew, untwist or unanything before I yank the succer out?

 

I would like to know as well.

 

From another post I had in another thread:

FWIW I used a 15mm 6point deep socket instead of the reccommended 14mm 12pt. Just used a long magnet to fish them out, and the same magnet to put the new ones in along with a screwdriver to let me pull the magnet off.





Little plastic tab lifts up and the wire pulls off the coil. then just pull up kind of hard and the whole thing pops out



so to recap, lift the tab up. It easily comes up and the wire pops off, then pull up hard. You can put a finder under the rubber lip on the front and it helps

 

Thank you very much. Your picture illustrations are very helpful. I actually guessed it was that tab that needed to be flipped open. But it was a bit tight and I was reluctant in applying too much force because of my uncertainty. Now that I know that’s what I must do. Thanks a million. I'm going to post a link to this in our SSMINI.ORG web site.

 

Once the plug is hand loose just get a length of tubing that will fit on the tip to finish unthreading and lift it out - use the same to start the plug by hand - a safety measure to insure that you don't damage the bore.

 

LoL.. only 17 posts until someone answered the question. I was reading with my jaw on the desk until I got to the post with the correct answer.



Q: "how do I change my tire?"
A: "pull tire like hell"

 

Yeah thats why I took pics lol. Tried for weeks to get a difinative answer before I just jumped in lol

 

I too followed with disbelief on the answers to a simple question. Iwashmycar seemed to make it clear and to the point, photos and all! Thank you very much. Once the plug is loose a plug wrench with a rubber insert that captures the plug would allow you to retrieve that plug from that long deep, dark, hole.

If your car is running not as smooth as you think it should, then a check of the plugs will tell you if all cylinders are burning the fuel the same way and not burning plugs, valves, or leaving undue residue in the cylinder, IMHO.

S.

 

Hey thats how cars are just pull like hell everything will work out! Nah seriously I look back on that and I realize how noobish I was at the time.

 

This should help for spark plug references. Plus there are other posts:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ark-plugs.html

 

"Little plastic tab lifts up and the wire pulls off the coil. then just pull up kind of hard and the whole thing pops out"

I have the plastic tab lifted up, but no matter how hard I pull the coils will not come out. Is there a secret trick to this??????