[Obrian]

How many of you guys are making it the 100,000 miles on your plugs? I had been experiencing a weird shudder like a miss or tranny not shifting cleanly. I couldn't really tell, it didn't feel like a normal missing engine to me so I thought maybe it was related to the tranny rebuild that I just had done under warranty. I had scheduled it to go to the dealer for diagnosis but flaked on my appointment because I hate dealing with Rams service departments. I'd rather shoot my foot. So I just decided to do a plug change and go from there. Bought factory plugs and tore into it. It turns out the issue was caused by worn plugs, the gap was about 1/4 inch lol on the plugs I pulled out. The van has 105,000 miles of easy use on it. I don't carry very much weight and drive normal. When the service interval is 100,000 miles I usually assume that a conservative estimate. In this case I think 60,000 miles should have been what the recommendation should be. Mine was one of the first pro masters available and I drive more than the normal guy that isn't working out of the van, so I'm wondering if other people are doing plug changes sooner and avoiding this? I wouldn't wait the 100,000 miles, just saying.

 

[keeponvaning]

Thanks for the heads up on this. At 80k I'm starting to think about doing it myself. Did you do yours or have someone do it for you? How difficult was it and how long did it take?

 

[30 Ounce]

I got about 94K miles out of my plugs...the coil failed but the plugs were due for sure. Our Chevy Cruze is hard on plugs too. They recommend 60K changes but i only get 30K out of them before I can feel the misfire. I can regap them and they will go another 30K but it's a turbo charged 1.4 liter so it sees a lot higher cylinder pressures than the normally aspirated ProMaster. I think 100k changes in the ProMaster might be about average but some will need to change them sooner for sure.

 

[Obrian]

Thanks for the heads up on this. At 80k I'm starting to think about doing it myself. Did you do yours or have someone do it for you? How difficult was it and how long did it take?

You are very welcome. It was about 2 hours of work for me, first time doing it on this engine. Easy, nothing special needed besides a 4 mm socket to pull two little studs out of the front of the manifold. If you are at 80,000 I would do it soon. I did modify a couple blackest to make the little stud removal not needed in the future.

 

[Obrian]

Here is a pic of the plugs at 105,000 miles. I had been experiencing the issue for a little while and it was getting worse.

 

[keeponvaning]

Thanks - what kind of $ are we talking for parts? Did you get dealer parts or aftermarket?

 

[Obrian]

Plugs from the dealer, $12 each.

 

[keeponvaning]

What about coils? Aren't you supposed to replace both plugs and coils at 100k?

 

[Obrian]

Well so much for that, my excitement didn't last long. It seemed to be fixed last night but today maybe because it was kind of hot, and when I drove it last night it was cool ocean air. Im back to the shimmy at part throttle usually around 2200-2800 rpm. Bummer. So back to the parts store for six coils. I bought the Bosch version because they were about $10 cheaper each, both made in Brazil and look identical. On the plus side it only took me 45 min to swap all the coils and re toque all the plugs. Easy job after what I learned yesterday. I hope this helps, I would love a perfectly smooth running van. I love my van but I think I'm getting overwhelmed with all the nagging issues. At least I had time for some surf after the coil swap.

 

[keeponvaning]

If I'm reading this correctly you just changed the plugs and not coils first - correct? It seems that both coils and plugs need to be change together from your experience but it may be a bit too soon to tell for sure. I guess for another $60 for Bosch coils it makes sense to just change them. I don't think I would be afraid of using any Bosch products but has anyone else had any experience with their coils - good, bad, indifferent?

At least you are getting proficient at this - 45 minutes to change the coils!!!

 

[Obrian]

You are probably right, if you are doing plugs it would be best to do the coils also. I'm not sure hat the recommended service interval is on the coils. I was trying not to spend to much money so the extra $200 for coils when I didn't know if any were bad hurt my wanna be pocket book. The Bosch coils are $30 each and the oems are $40 each x 6. I did see them cheaper on line but I didn't have time for that. Cheers

 

[keeponvaning]

RockAuto has the OEM coils for $18.36 and plugs from $4 to $9 each depending on manufacturer

 

[Obrian]

I'm not sure how you found that price but it Looks like the mopar ones are $24. You can definitely find a better price on line than what I paid, $27 a coil.

 

[keeponvaning]

Here you go

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ram,2014,promaster+2500,3.6l+v6,3300381,ignition

 

[Obrian]

The OEM plugs are the Mopars, I wouldn't use those $18 budget ones.

 

[keeponvaning]

You mean the coils not plugs, correct? Do you think the Mopar's aren't that good?

What brand of plugs and coils is everyone else using?

 

[Obrian]

The mopar coils are the expensive ones. Those are the ones that you would buy if you went to the dealer. They are the OEM coils. Probably the best to use, I wouldn't use those cheap $18 ones.