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545i Spark Plug Replacement - Help!!! :-)

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Old 07-05-2008, 09:59 AM
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My Ride: 04 545i - Titanium Silver/Black, Sport pkg, Comfort Seats w/ Lumbar, Premium Sound, power rear sunshade, Adaptive Xenon Headlights, Steptronic, Park Distance Control, Fold down rear seats w/ski bag, Aux jack, 6-disk changer, puddle lamps... Engine: Custom Remus cat-back exhaust w/chrome square tips, K&N Air Filter, Charcoal Filter Removed, Sprint Booster :-), 50/50 mix of 91+100 Octane, EuroRev ECU Remap (coming soon lol), Dinan High-Flow Throttle Body (coming soon...maybe lol) Interior: Portable Sirius Stilletto 100 w/car kit, Garmin Nuvi 680 mounted below rear-view mirror, LCI-style I-drive knob, Dark Poplar Center Dashboard Trim. Exterior: E60 forum clings, 5% rear tint, ACS roof spoiler (painted black for distinct look against limo tint), ACS trunk spoiler, ACS add-on front spoiler and rear apron (awaiting installation), "18 Black Staggered BeBeS Style OER (emergency replacement for cracked sport 124 rims), black kidney grill, white accessory lighting (including license and trunk lamps), Angel-eye upgrade, AIB xenon-matched fog lamps, AIB V3's on order, red rear reflectors
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I'm at 62K miles. The car has been suffering an off-line hesitation for quite some times, so I mosied on down to the autoparts store and bought direct replacement Bosch platinum plugs. My problem is replacement of the rear 2. The coil/boot is simply too long to pull out. On some engines I've worked on in the past, lifting one side of the engine with a jack (use a block of wood on the jack carrier) would gain clearance. I can't seem to find any DIY or service bulletins on it, so I'm stuck. I might just take it to the stealership to have the final 2 replaced. Any info is appreciated.

PS - The 6 plugs I removed were brownish with hard deposits on them - definately time for replacement well under the 100K maximum limit. The car responds awesome again - no hesitation. Low-Mid range power is definately improved. I recommend all take a couple morning hours to do a cursory inspection of their plugs. It isn't hard to do (except for the rears), and can restore lost power if the plugs are problematic.
Old 07-05-2008, 10:07 AM
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A quick search using the term "spark" yielded the following:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=44380
Old 07-06-2008, 07:44 AM
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My Ride: 04 545i - Titanium Silver/Black, Sport pkg, Comfort Seats w/ Lumbar, Premium Sound, power rear sunshade, Adaptive Xenon Headlights, Steptronic, Park Distance Control, Fold down rear seats w/ski bag, Aux jack, 6-disk changer, puddle lamps... Engine: Custom Remus cat-back exhaust w/chrome square tips, K&N Air Filter, Charcoal Filter Removed, Sprint Booster :-), 50/50 mix of 91+100 Octane, EuroRev ECU Remap (coming soon lol), Dinan High-Flow Throttle Body (coming soon...maybe lol) Interior: Portable Sirius Stilletto 100 w/car kit, Garmin Nuvi 680 mounted below rear-view mirror, LCI-style I-drive knob, Dark Poplar Center Dashboard Trim. Exterior: E60 forum clings, 5% rear tint, ACS roof spoiler (painted black for distinct look against limo tint), ACS trunk spoiler, ACS add-on front spoiler and rear apron (awaiting installation), "18 Black Staggered BeBeS Style OER (emergency replacement for cracked sport 124 rims), black kidney grill, white accessory lighting (including license and trunk lamps), Angel-eye upgrade, AIB xenon-matched fog lamps, AIB V3's on order, red rear reflectors
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Originally Posted by Rudy' post='616911' date='Jul 5 2008, 11:07 AM
A quick search using the term "spark" yielded the following:
http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=44380

Thanks Rudy for the link but I'm looking for some specific info on the removal of the rears. All others were successfully replaced and torqued. What I need to know is if there is a specific procedure (lifting the engine on one side, removal from the bottom, etc) that facilitates ease of installation of the rear plugs and coil pack. I don't have enough clearance to remove the pack from the bore, shy of bending/breaking it. I ran searches on n62 plug diy, spark plug removal n62 545, etc and yielded no useable results. Any additional info found would be appreciated. Thanks.
Old 07-06-2008, 07:46 AM
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Originally Posted by advancedlogic' post='617390' date='Jul 6 2008, 11:44 AM
Thanks Rudy for the link but I'm looking for some specific info on the removal of the rears. All others were successfully replaced and torqued. What I need to know is if there is a specific procedure (lifting the engine on one side, removal from the bottom, etc) that facilitates ease of installation of the rear plugs and coil pack. I don't have enough clearance to remove the pack from the bore, shy of bending/breaking it. I ran searches on n62 plug diy, spark plug removal n62 545, etc and yielded no useable results. Any additional info found would be appreciated. Thanks.
I wish I could add more but usually, if lifting the engine was required to complete the job, it would have been shown as a preliminary task on the TIS document posted in the other thread.

Are you sure you're removing the coil pack properly? I'm afraid I can't offer much more help than that but maybe there's someone else here that can add some better information...
Old 07-07-2008, 06:11 AM
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My Ride: 04 545i - Titanium Silver/Black, Sport pkg, Comfort Seats w/ Lumbar, Premium Sound, power rear sunshade, Adaptive Xenon Headlights, Steptronic, Park Distance Control, Fold down rear seats w/ski bag, Aux jack, 6-disk changer, puddle lamps... Engine: Custom Remus cat-back exhaust w/chrome square tips, K&N Air Filter, Charcoal Filter Removed, Sprint Booster :-), 50/50 mix of 91+100 Octane, EuroRev ECU Remap (coming soon lol), Dinan High-Flow Throttle Body (coming soon...maybe lol) Interior: Portable Sirius Stilletto 100 w/car kit, Garmin Nuvi 680 mounted below rear-view mirror, LCI-style I-drive knob, Dark Poplar Center Dashboard Trim. Exterior: E60 forum clings, 5% rear tint, ACS roof spoiler (painted black for distinct look against limo tint), ACS trunk spoiler, ACS add-on front spoiler and rear apron (awaiting installation), "18 Black Staggered BeBeS Style OER (emergency replacement for cracked sport 124 rims), black kidney grill, white accessory lighting (including license and trunk lamps), Angel-eye upgrade, AIB xenon-matched fog lamps, AIB V3's on order, red rear reflectors
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Originally Posted by Rudy' post='617393' date='Jul 6 2008, 08:46 AM
I wish I could add more but usually, if lifting the engine was required to complete the job, it would have been shown as a preliminary task on the TIS document posted in the other thread.

Are you sure you're removing the coil pack properly? I'm afraid I can't offer much more help than that but maybe there's someone else here that can add some better information...
Thanks again Rudy - I appreciate ya. The coil packs/boots are about 10 inches or so long. The others slide straight out and are easilly removed. The last hits the strut tower wall and wont clear enough to be removed. I don't want to force it, as a breakage would be far more detrimental. It's a PITA as the other member mentioned. I've ran across this before in other cars, and a gentle lift would allow enough clearance to remove the pack. My car sits a lil low, so a standard jack won't fit until its raised a notch. Was out and about this weekend, so I didn't have enough time for experimentation. This week I should be able to find some time. Will keep ya'll posted!
Old 07-07-2008, 08:52 AM
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I am looking to change the sparks myself too. Thanks for the info.
Old 07-07-2008, 11:58 AM
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i did this and had the same problems with the rear 2 spark plugs... it was very time consuming but you can do it...

passenger side rear i had to unbolt the AC lines that run along the side and really really ease the coil and plug out... gotta do it slowly and becareful when you push the other lines outta the way

driver side rear i had to unbolt and remove a bunch of stuff including separating the fuel line for easier access, just dun smoke when you are on this side of the car! hehe

took a long time and my fingers were very very tired afterwards
Old 07-07-2008, 12:05 PM
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Subscribed.

I will too be changing spark plugs on my 545i.

Do you guys recommend NGK or maybe Denso Spark Plugs over Bosch?

From my previous experiences, NGK or Denso plugs perform better than Bosch.

Or maybe I need to stick w/ Bosch since it's OEM for BMW?
Old 07-07-2008, 12:26 PM
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Advancedlogic,

Its interesting you bring this up cos I asked the stealer the same question pre 50K miles and was told not to worry..

I have a significant degree of hesitation on ignition/start to the point where I can hear the engine struggling to "catch." Is this akin to the "inline hesitation" you referred to or is this a different problem? I only notice this on startups on a cold engine. No issue when the engine has been turned over a few times [ie: warm], or when the car is running....
Old 07-07-2008, 12:29 PM
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My Ride: 04 545i - Titanium Silver/Black, Sport pkg, Comfort Seats w/ Lumbar, Premium Sound, power rear sunshade, Adaptive Xenon Headlights, Steptronic, Park Distance Control, Fold down rear seats w/ski bag, Aux jack, 6-disk changer, puddle lamps... Engine: Custom Remus cat-back exhaust w/chrome square tips, K&N Air Filter, Charcoal Filter Removed, Sprint Booster :-), 50/50 mix of 91+100 Octane, EuroRev ECU Remap (coming soon lol), Dinan High-Flow Throttle Body (coming soon...maybe lol) Interior: Portable Sirius Stilletto 100 w/car kit, Garmin Nuvi 680 mounted below rear-view mirror, LCI-style I-drive knob, Dark Poplar Center Dashboard Trim. Exterior: E60 forum clings, 5% rear tint, ACS roof spoiler (painted black for distinct look against limo tint), ACS trunk spoiler, ACS add-on front spoiler and rear apron (awaiting installation), "18 Black Staggered BeBeS Style OER (emergency replacement for cracked sport 124 rims), black kidney grill, white accessory lighting (including license and trunk lamps), Angel-eye upgrade, AIB xenon-matched fog lamps, AIB V3's on order, red rear reflectors
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Originally Posted by salaki' post='618231' date='Jul 7 2008, 01:05 PM
Subscribed.

I will too be changing spark plugs on my 545i.

Do you guys recommend NGK or maybe Denso Spark Plugs over Bosch?

From my previous experiences, NGK or Denso plugs perform better than Bosch.

Or maybe I need to stick w/ Bosch since it's OEM for BMW?
I stuck with the Bosch Platinum +4's, the ones that were in the car. Bosh part number is #4417 for those, bought at good ole' Pep Boys for about $55 bucks for the set. Not sure how much more performance one can gain from spark plugs, considering these are already 'premium' plugs.


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