3.5 dodge engine removing the intake maifold to charge the spark plugs

Maintenance/Repairs
1

iam changing the spark plugs in my 1997 intrepid but i have to take off the intake manifold how do i take off the intake step by step info is needed thanks

2

Autozone has an online manual for the car. Here are links to sparkplug replacement and intake manifold removal.

http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/18/17/5f/0900823d8018175f/repairInfoPages.htm
http://www.autozone.com/az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/18/21/46/0900823d80182146/repairInfoPages.htm

Ed B.

3

I think you have to take the intake plenum off, not the manifold.

4

thats what i meant by the intake

5

Here are the instructions from the Auto Zone site: http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?ForwardPage=az/cds/en_us/0900823d/80/18/17/5f/0900823d8018175f.jsp It says nothing about removing the intake plenum. If the spark plugs are next to the firewall, and rather inaccessible, you could remove the alternator (or, other component) to gain assess from the END of the engine.

6

i put the plugs and wires into day not as hard as i thought it would be. thanks

7

How do you “charge” spark plugs? ??

8

typo error for the charge >>>> should have been change

9

Visa.

10

just changed them in a 95 with a 3.5
removed the bolts holding the plenum to the intake mannifold (upper half from lower)
tilted it up on the front, pulled the wires through (you’ll have to unhook injector wires too …ez)
the gasket betweeen the two is a paper/graphite compound that doesn’t stick, reseals well with no leaks when re-torqued into place.
No need to remove whole thing and unhook a mess of things like throttle linkage etc…etc.

11

The instructions aren’t always the best approach IMHO.

The manual for our minivan says to remove the exhaust system from the rear exhaust manifold to access the rear plugs. I don’t think so. Not on an 11 year old van in Maine. I pulled the plenum instead, and it was much easier.

12

My Ranger has a similar problem. It is the 4cyl with the eight plug set up, 4 of the plugs are behind the intake manifold. I ended up changing the 4 I could reach and had a shop do the other 4. They were able to do it without removing the intake manifold, I assumed they used one of those flex extenders or a few U joints.

13

I’ve always wondered WHY manufacturers to this CR*P. I’m NOT bashing Dodge…THEY ALL DO IT. 70’s GM…had to unbolt engine mount and raise the engine to replace the oil filter. My 98 pathfinder…replacing the #3 plug was a real pain…Wifes Accords…If your arms are bigger then 11" around there are bolts you CAN’T reach…and the list goes on and on. It’s really absurd with cars built since the mid 90’s because they’re all designed with a cad system. It MUST be by design or just plain STUPID people. It just doesn’t make sense.

14

Actually when Willy Wonka’s factory was shut down by the health department, most of the umpa lumpas went to work for the auto industry. The companies love them because they work for pennies and they’re so small they can actually work in the engine compartment, like we used to be able too.

15

It MUST be by design or just plain STUPID people.

You left out another, more probable, reason. Cars are designed to be built CHEAPLY. Maintenance concerns are not even close to the top of the list of critical factors. As an example, the spark plugs are installed in the engine way before it ever comes near the rolling chassis. Do you know of any car that requires spark plugs be changed within the warranty period? So, the impact to the company building the car is minimal. It’s not a conspiracy to get your maintenance business and they’re not stupid. What does having a CAD system have to do with the price of beans? I sit in design meetings every day where interference fits are discussed along with the tradeoffs required to eliminate them. In the end, priorities dictate which ones can be fixed and which ones we live with. Haven’t you ever had to make design tradeoffs due to space, cost, time or any other number of constraints?

16

Cars are designed to be built CHEAPLY. Maintenance concerns are not even close to the top of the list of critical factors. As an example, the spark plugs are installed in the engine way before it ever comes near the rolling chassis. Do you know of any car that requires spark plugs be changed within the warranty period?

I don’t buy that argument. It can EASILY be designed up front so there aren’t any of these problems. As one of my examples stated…you had to RAISE the engine to change the filter…I pretty much guarantee you’ll need to change the oil filter before warranty.