Dodge Durango Forum banner

Spark Plugs and Plug Wires

25K views 21 replies 10 participants last post by  tomk  
#1 ·
According to my Haynes repair manual I need to replace the spark plugs every 30K miles and I have 69K right now, we bought the Durango used so I don't know if the plugs had been changed the first 30K. Okay so now that you guys have some history on the SUV what plugs are people using with the Hemi engine the stock Champion plugs? Will I need to change plug wires as well and what brand are people using as well. Thanks for the advice.

P.S. I did do a search but didn't find what I was looking for. I know I need 16 plugs :shock:. I was looking at the Summit website and MSD makes a coil for the Durango.
 
#6 ·
I've been looking around for the answer to that question for my '07 JGC Hemi.

Most people seem to think champions are just fine.

They're tapered seat (no washer) plugs, so you may want to have a low-range torque wrench handy.

?tom
 
#9 ·
my recollection is that most 3rd-gen Hemis call for plugs every 30K miles. That's what my '07 Jeep calls for.

Whether they're actually needed at that time, I dunno. but it's on my list for the fall. I'm at about 33Kmi now.

?tom
 
#10 ·
Based upon the 30K recommendation I'd say the plugs are conventional copper core type.
For the record, I change my plugs every 20K in the D and they have signs of wear at that 20K. Surely not shot, but worn a bit.
Steve
DOC Pres
 
#11 ·
FSTDANGO3 said:
Based upon the 30K recommendation I'd say the plugs are conventional copper core type.
For the record, I change my plugs every 20K in the D and they have signs of wear at that 20K. Surely not shot, but worn a bit.
Steve
DOC Pres
X2. The 30k interval suggests a regular/conventional "copper" plug. The platinums have at least a 60k change interval with some going to 100k? not that I suggest anyone waiting that long to change their plugs.

Happy Motoring!

p.s. Steve, how's that JGC 5 speed tranny working for 'ya? Still haven't gotten around to ordering one. I'll be taking care of your PayPal Friday for the FM TB.

Thanks again!
Gregg
 
#12 ·
Feels good so far.
The FMTB will ship to you on Tues.
Steve
DOC Pres
 
#13 ·
Follow the 30K recommendations. The stock Champions are NOT Platinum, so won't last you a lifetime. My Hemi (Ram) tows an 8000 lb brick about 1/2 the time, so I need all the performance I can get. I could feel the improvement when I had them changed out at 30K.
My 5.9L D uses Autolite 3923's and I swapped them out every 15K when it was my primary tow vehicle. Went about 25 on my last change-out and 7 plugs looked great, the 8th (#7) looked lousy - will have to keep an eye on it.

Joe
 
#14 ·
I finally replaced my spark plugs and wires today. I went with the stock Champion Copper Plugs really didn't have the money to buy better plugs besides that's what Dodge used so why change it. I also changed out the plug wires and went with the Autolite wires from Advance Auto Parts, if I had the money I'd have replaced the wires with Mopar brand. It took me at least 2-1/2 hrs. to change the plugs and wires, it wasn't that hard of a job. Here are some things that made the job easier. Remove one coil pack at a time and, if you can keep all the coils and wires together, don't place them all back once you replace the spark plugs because having the coils out of your way makes it easier to work. I used (2) 3/8" small extensions, it makes inserting and pulling old/new spark plugs easier. To remove the coil pack you'll need a 10mm socket tall/short size. You don't have to remove the connection on the coil pack, just be careful when moving the coil pack. I didn't remove the connection because I was afraid to break it and I really didn't know how to remove it. Since I didn't want to break them, I decided it'd save me time if I left them connected. On the passenger side you'll have to remove the EGR tube. It's not that hard to remove. A small clip holds it in place at the intake connection and 2 8mm (I think) bolts connect it to the EGR sensor. They're a pain to remove but just be patient. Once you remove the tube you'll see how much easier your life will be not having it in your way. Personally I don't have the stock air box but rather the AirRaid tube from my throttle body to my stock air filter box. If you have the stock air intake, you'll have to remove it to access the plug wires and EGR tube. I hope this helps someone. Also, I have a P0300 code which I reset by unplugging the battery for a couple of minutes, I hope. Changing the plugs/wires corrected the misfire and the plugs had gone past the 30K recommended interval.
 
#15 ·
Mags04 said:
According to my Haynes repair manual I need to replace the spark plugs every 30K miles and I have 69K right now, we bought the Durango used so I don't know if the plugs had been changed the first 30K. Okay so now that you guys have some history on the SUV what plugs are people using with the Hemi engine the stock Champion plugs? Will I need to change plug wires as well and what brand are people using as well. Thanks for the advice.

P.S. I did do a search but didn't find what I was looking for. I know I need 16 plugs :shock:. I was looking at the Summit website and MSD makes a coil for the Durango.
Isn't the Hemi kinda like the 4.7? The 4.7 only has spark towers above the cylinders and no wires or distributor?
 
#17 ·
Bugman - The 2004 Hemi has 2 plug wires that run for example from cylinder #2 connects with cylinder #3, the cylinder #2 ignition coil connects to cylinder #3 spark plug and cylinder #3 coil connects to cylinder #2 spark plug. Its very important that when you start to replace the wires you do them one at a time because you can easily get confused.

IndyDurango - The check engine light hasn't come back on so I'm hoping the problem has been resolved. As far as daily driving and gas improvements, I really won't know until later in the week. I did notice that I wasn't getting the mileage I use to when I first took over the Durango last summer. The engine doesn't seem to feel like its running as shaky but I'm planning to clean the throttle body this weekend because it had a lot of carbon built up.
 
#18 ·
Bugman - Allpar wrote it better. Each cylinder has an ignition coil pack over one spark plug and a regular plug wire connected to the other spark plug. Further, the coil pack also has a plug wire attached to it that extends to the opposite cylinder bank. It appears that each cylinder shares a coil pack with another cylinder. Each of the two plugs on a given cylinder is fired by a separate coil. One plug has a coil directly attached, and the other is fired via an ignition wire connected to a coil located on another cylinder on the opposite bank.
 
#19 ·
The later versions (like my '07) have a dual coilpack over each plug.

I put Autolite single plats in mine at 38K. The gaps on the factory weren't worn at all (maybe .005), but there were interesting deposits on some of the insulators that I've never seen before. A couple had a pretty thick gray deposit, many others had a lighter tan deposit that looked pretty normal, and some looked like they only had a few thousand miles on them.

This seems to lend support to the "don't bother with fancy plugs" theory as, given the deposits, they're gonna have to come out anyway.

We'll see how the plats look when I yank them in a couple years.

?tom
 
#20 ·
tomk said:
The later versions (like my '07) have a dual coilpack over each plug.

I put Autolite single plats in mine at 38K. The gaps on the factory weren't worn at all (maybe .005), but there were interesting deposits on some of the insulators that I've never seen before. A couple had a pretty thick gray deposit, many others had a lighter tan deposit that looked pretty normal, and some looked like they only had a few thousand miles on them.

This seems to lend support to the "don't bother with fancy plugs" theory as, given the deposits, they're gonna have to come out anyway.

We'll see how the plats look when I yank them in a couple years.

?tom
Tom, could this condition be caused by the fuel saving feature that shuts down half of your cylinders when you're at cruising speed?
 
#21 ·
Mags04 said:
Bugman - Allpar wrote it better. Each cylinder has an ignition coil pack over one spark plug and a regular plug wire connected to the other spark plug. Further, the coil pack also has a plug wire attached to it that extends to the opposite cylinder bank. It appears that each cylinder shares a coil pack with another cylinder. Each of the two plugs on a given cylinder is fired by a separate coil. One plug has a coil directly attached, and the other is fired via an ignition wire connected to a coil located on another cylinder on the opposite bank.
Thanks for explaining this. It's amazing what engineering has done to modern engines nowadays. :?
 
#22 ·
Thebugman said:
Tom could this condition be caused by the fuel saving feature that shuts down half of your cylinders when you're at cruising speed?
Maybe, I didn't take careful notice of which plugs looked like what, but given that the cylinders that are shut down with MSD are just pumping air, I doubt that would have resulted in deposits, though I suppose temperature changes might.