C-5 Plug Change
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 170
From: oregon
Dealer wanted $506.50 for plugs and wires installed. Book labor quoted was 3.5 hours.
Never having previoysly done a plug and wire change on a C5 it took me two hours. They do it every day so it probably takes them one or less. I think their labor quote is "generous"?
Anyway, I give myself credit for saving over $400.00 on the job.
Never having previoysly done a plug and wire change on a C5 it took me two hours. They do it every day so it probably takes them one or less. I think their labor quote is "generous"?
Anyway, I give myself credit for saving over $400.00 on the job.
toyota is even worse. the 4.0 v6 in the tacoma and 4runner uses copper plugs with a standard 30k service life. having never touched one in my life it took me 30 minutes to do all 6
total cost using genuine toyota plugs $24 for plugs and $5 for a denso cabin filter
dealer price $327 for plugs and the cabin airfilter, $300 in labor for a 30 minute job
i hope those of you with younger kids either plan on helping them become high earners or teach them basic car maintenance and repair. costs for even basic tasks are moving up much faster than the average wage it seems like
Last edited by racebum; Sep 8, 2016 at 10:19 PM.
Racer
Joined: May 2016
Posts: 472
Likes: 83
From: Lafayette LA
Harbor freight has hose grip pliers for $15.
The largest one works for plug wires. Getting the leverage to get the wire off isn't nearly as difficult with these. Getting to some of the plugs is a different story.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece...ers-37909.html
The tips of these is actually angled about 30°. It's not square like a pair of needle nose pliers. They're seriously a life saver.
The largest one works for plug wires. Getting the leverage to get the wire off isn't nearly as difficult with these. Getting to some of the plugs is a different story.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece...ers-37909.html
The tips of these is actually angled about 30°. It's not square like a pair of needle nose pliers. They're seriously a life saver.
Last edited by Acid666; Sep 8, 2016 at 11:07 PM.
Team Owner
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 30,594
Likes: 4,619
From: Bonita Springs, Florida
I replaced my spark plugs and wires while installing my Kooks headers. Removing the spark plugs was a breeze with exhaust manifolds out. 
Installing the new plugs and wires was just as easy.
3.5 hours labor by a dealer to replace plugs and wires is pretty high considering that it took me and a friend 5 1/2 hours to remove the eom exhaust manifolds, and oem x-pipe/mid pipe and install the long tube headers, catted x-pipe and mid pipes, align everything and also remove and install the alternator and belts, plugs, wires and heat protection boots.
Installing the new plugs and wires was just as easy.
3.5 hours labor by a dealer to replace plugs and wires is pretty high considering that it took me and a friend 5 1/2 hours to remove the eom exhaust manifolds, and oem x-pipe/mid pipe and install the long tube headers, catted x-pipe and mid pipes, align everything and also remove and install the alternator and belts, plugs, wires and heat protection boots.
Last edited by Mike98SilVert; Sep 8, 2016 at 11:40 PM.
Acct Suspended APR 2026 by request
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 10,367
Likes: 1,272
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
C5 of Year Winner (performance mods) 2019
relocating the coils and removing the air injection pipes will make plug changes a piece of cake
... I agree that 3.5 hours is too high but from a technicians perspective just because some have the tools and can do it in less than an hour does not make it fair to them to get paid less for being more efficient... and you have to factor in that a shop may charge $100 per labor hour and the tech is lucky to see 1/5th of that per hour flagged so they need more flag time to make it worth their while but the shop will also charge that to the customer accordingly... the gap between what a shop charges and what a technician makes needs to be considerably less to make it more fair for the tech and customer but the problem is that corporate greed will not allow that to happen
... I agree that 3.5 hours is too high but from a technicians perspective just because some have the tools and can do it in less than an hour does not make it fair to them to get paid less for being more efficient... and you have to factor in that a shop may charge $100 per labor hour and the tech is lucky to see 1/5th of that per hour flagged so they need more flag time to make it worth their while but the shop will also charge that to the customer accordingly... the gap between what a shop charges and what a technician makes needs to be considerably less to make it more fair for the tech and customer but the problem is that corporate greed will not allow that to happen
Last edited by StingrayRebel; Sep 8, 2016 at 11:30 PM.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 2,728
Likes: 142
From: Iowa
I have cool socks on my plug wires to shield them from the heat from the longtubes. The never get brittle or show any sign of fatigue. Whenever I have to pull them, I give them a light tug and they pop right out. Never an issue and it never takes longer than an hour to do plugs/wires.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Feb 2016
Posts: 914
Likes: 182
From: Reidsville North Carolina
you guys must have different vettes than me (lol)
i changed plugs in my autos all my life and this was by far the hardest to do
it was my first time on a vette
my hands were bleeding on a couple of plugs, i guess you can say i have skin in the game now (lol)
i got it done though and i'm sure the next time will be faster but i don't see it being any easier
the funny part was that the plugs and wires (i took out) look great, but once i started i was determined to finish
i don't see or feel any difference but feel better about it
now on to changing the belt
i changed plugs in my autos all my life and this was by far the hardest to do
it was my first time on a vette
my hands were bleeding on a couple of plugs, i guess you can say i have skin in the game now (lol)
i got it done though and i'm sure the next time will be faster but i don't see it being any easier
the funny part was that the plugs and wires (i took out) look great, but once i started i was determined to finish
i don't see or feel any difference but feel better about it
now on to changing the belt
Le Mans Master
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 5,414
Likes: 25
From: Texas
The c5 is not difficult at all to change the plugs and wires on... I have never had an issue on it.. There are plenty of cars that are much harder to work on..
I changed my plugs and spark plug wires this weekend. No problems...
I changed my plugs and spark plug wires this weekend. No problems...
