Stephen Max

I changed the spark plugs on my newly acquired '04 545i, and thought I would share.

I think everybody is probably aware that the back two plugs are pretty hard to get at because of very limited space. On the driver's side you have to remove the plastic routing guide for the battery cable, and on the passenger's side you have to remove the AC pipe bracket and move it downward. Once you have done that, it can still be difficult to get the socket and extension to the spark plug.

What I did was to connect two 3 inch extensions and a swivel joint to the socket in order to have enough flexibility to get the socket down to the spark plug. The first pic shows what I used. Note that the second 3" extension has a beveled drive that allows a few degrees of angular freedom. This allows the combination to bend just enough in the middle to help get the ratchet on the end without interfering with the AC pipe bracket mounting stud that sticks out right where you need the ratchet to be.



In the second picture I have wrapped the joints with electrical tape so that they don't come apart while I am trying to pull the plug out of the well.



The next pic shows the end of the extension and how I am able to avoid interfering with the AC pipe mounting stud.



Ratchet attached:



To install the plugs I use a length of 3/8" fuel hose, which the spark plug is inserted into. This makes a very handy, flexible tool for getting the spark plug into the hole and the threads started. I have been using this trick for years and it works great.





Hope this helps!

ck-e60

that 3/8" fuel hose trick is brilliant! changing the spark plugs is such a PITA...I gutted a big portion of my engine bay to get it done.