I have a 2003 Chrysler town and country van with a 3.3 liter engine and I was looking through the maintenance book and it says to change the plugs and wires at 100,000 miles, that seems like a long tme and a lot of mileage, are the Platinum or special plug?? I want the best service out of the vehicle especially with the price of gas the way it is. Thanks for any information you can provide.
Yes, they will be platinum electrode plugs…And yes, at 100,000 miles, they will be well worn…50-60K miles is long enough…Handle the wires carefully and they should be OK…Be very careful removing the plugs, the aluminum heads are easily damaged. If you feel resistance coming out, stop, soak with penetrating oil, work then in and out until they free up…Before you start this job, make sure you have the skill and tools to change the plugs on the firewall side…
Best if engine is cold for plug removal
100,000 mile intervals are used with irridium plugs only. Irridium is about 8x harder than platinum and erodes far slowing in use, maintaining proper gap far longer. On most systems (“wasted spark” systems excepted) the spark current always travels from the center electrode to the ground electrode, and the material always follows the current and erodes from the cathode side, so the center electrode only is irridium and the ground side is still platinum.
Spark plug part numbers are a code, and looking the part number up on the manufacturer’s website should give you the meaning of each number and letter and tell you the materials and configuration of the plug.
I agree. And a torque wrench should always be used.