Spark plug change?
11-19-2023, 05:36 AM
#11
AudiWorld Junior Member
I have the EA839 2.9TTV6 in a Cayenne. Changing plugs is not bad, mainly because the entire engine block is forward of the front axle. Unlike MB and BMW where the rearmost cylinders are closer to the base of the windshield/dash panel.
Two steps in the spark plug change that are somewhat tricky:
- wiring harness cable duct runs on top of the ignition coils. The plastic cable duct needs to be pulled off its plug-in retainer. The retainer is a black plastic chess-pawn shaped stud, over which fits a round rubber grommet. The rubber is grabby so pulling the cable duct off the stud requires evenly-applied force to avoid cracking something. For reassembly I smeared a thin film of dielectric grease on the stud and rubber grommet, and now it goes on and off easily.
- right/passenger side torque support strut - this might be different in Cayenne vs S6 but the torque strut needs to come off on the engine side. Not rocket science but plan for this and be sure to re-torque properly. M8 screw in this area is 23Nm, M10 screw in this area is 55Nm.
Spark plug torque is 23Nm, same as MB and BMW.
Ignition coil screw torque is 9Nm, nearly the same as MB and BMW who use 8Nm for the same size fastener in the same location.
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chassis (12-29-2023)
11-23-2023, 05:49 AM
#13
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
I have the EA839 2.9TTV6 in a Cayenne. Changing plugs is not bad, mainly because the entire engine block is forward of the front axle. Unlike MB and BMW where the rearmost cylinders are closer to the base of the windshield/dash panel.
Two steps in the spark plug change that are somewhat tricky:
- wiring harness cable duct runs on top of the ignition coils. The plastic cable duct needs to be pulled off its plug-in retainer. The retainer is a black plastic chess-pawn shaped stud, over which fits a round rubber grommet. The rubber is grabby so pulling the cable duct off the stud requires evenly-applied force to avoid cracking something. For reassembly I smeared a thin film of dielectric grease on the stud and rubber grommet, and now it goes on and off easily.
- right/passenger side torque support strut - this might be different in Cayenne vs S6 but the torque strut needs to come off on the engine side. Not rocket science but plan for this and be sure to re-torque properly. M8 screw in this area is 23Nm, M10 screw in this area is 55Nm.
Spark plug torque is 23Nm, same as MB and BMW.
Ignition coil screw torque is 9Nm, nearly the same as MB and BMW who use 8Nm for the same size fastener in the same location.
Two steps in the spark plug change that are somewhat tricky:
- wiring harness cable duct runs on top of the ignition coils. The plastic cable duct needs to be pulled off its plug-in retainer. The retainer is a black plastic chess-pawn shaped stud, over which fits a round rubber grommet. The rubber is grabby so pulling the cable duct off the stud requires evenly-applied force to avoid cracking something. For reassembly I smeared a thin film of dielectric grease on the stud and rubber grommet, and now it goes on and off easily.
- right/passenger side torque support strut - this might be different in Cayenne vs S6 but the torque strut needs to come off on the engine side. Not rocket science but plan for this and be sure to re-torque properly. M8 screw in this area is 23Nm, M10 screw in this area is 55Nm.
Spark plug torque is 23Nm, same as MB and BMW.
Ignition coil screw torque is 9Nm, nearly the same as MB and BMW who use 8Nm for the same size fastener in the same location.
The following users liked this post:
chassis (12-29-2023)
12-19-2023, 12:17 PM
#15
AudiWorld Member
Per Audi Baton Rouge, without extra requirement/payment, dealership technician will only do what the Audi maintenance schedule instructed, nothing more (nothing less....). Meaning, without extra requirement/payment, dealership will only replace all of the six (6) cylinders' spark plugs, no additional carbon cleaning.
If you want to take the opportunity to do carbon cleaning, you surely can but need to pay...... The charge is listed below which was told by my service advice
- $280 for throttle valve carbon cleaning.
- $1800 for entire intake manifold (including valves) carbon cleaning.
Do you experienced guys can tell me when/at what miles I will need to worry about carbon build up? Like XXX years/ XXX miles to clean carbon on XXXX parts. Thank you so much!! Audi schedule does not give a clue at all!
The following 2 users liked this post by danibear:
chassis (12-29-2023),
dezurita07 (12-19-2023)
12-20-2023, 02:19 AM
#16
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
12-29-2023, 08:58 AM
#17
AudiWorld Junior Member
As promised...... I just want to update my experience with Audi dealership about the intake valve carbon cleaning during spark plug question.
Per Audi Baton Rouge, without extra requirement/payment, dealership technician will only do what the Audi maintenance schedule instructed, nothing more (nothing less....). Meaning, without extra requirement/payment, dealership will only replace all of the six (6) cylinders' spark plugs, no additional carbon cleaning.
If you want to take the opportunity to do carbon cleaning, you surely can but need to pay...... The charge is listed below which was told by my service advice
Do you experienced guys can tell me when/at what miles I will need to worry about carbon build up? Like XXX years/ XXX miles to clean carbon on XXXX parts. Thank you so much!! Audi schedule does not give a clue at all!
Per Audi Baton Rouge, without extra requirement/payment, dealership technician will only do what the Audi maintenance schedule instructed, nothing more (nothing less....). Meaning, without extra requirement/payment, dealership will only replace all of the six (6) cylinders' spark plugs, no additional carbon cleaning.
If you want to take the opportunity to do carbon cleaning, you surely can but need to pay...... The charge is listed below which was told by my service advice
- $280 for throttle valve carbon cleaning.
- $1800 for entire intake manifold (including valves) carbon cleaning.
Do you experienced guys can tell me when/at what miles I will need to worry about carbon build up? Like XXX years/ XXX miles to clean carbon on XXXX parts. Thank you so much!! Audi schedule does not give a clue at all!
Throttle valve cleaning is unnecessary. Some oil pools there from PCV but the temperature is low so no carbonization. The service is a waste of time and money.
The intake cleaning sounds dubious. The intake manifolds on the EA839 3.0/2.9 V6 are on the outside. Pain to remove. The intake cleaning is probably a shot of carb cleaner and a wipe with a shop towel. I can only imagine what the intake valve "cleaning procedure" is. A squirt of carb cleaner, hopefully somewhere near the intake ports. Then button everything up, write up a list of recommended work, and hand the vehicle back to the customer.
Ask the dealer for a description of the intake valve cleaning method and materials used. You are not getting walnut blasted intake valves in six cylinders for $1800.
01-21-2024, 06:04 AM
#18
AudiWorld Member
Thread Starter
Plug change
So, I finally had time to get this done. Not a horrible job in my estimation. Passenger side was a breeze. Get the airbox out and everything is easily accessible. I did remove the coil pack ground wires to move them out of the way for better accessibility. Pretty straight forward.
Drivers side was a bit more challenging. The main thing was getting that harness cover moved enough out of the way to get at things. I was going to post some pictures but was too involved with swearing at the thing!
It did take some creative pulling and moving things slightly around to get at the coils and get them out, but it is do-able. If you have some wrench skills, go for it. If not, maybe have the dealer make is daily wage.
And at 36,000 miles, the plugs looked great. Don't quit know why the recommend this at 30,000 miles, but I don't need to create any problems that are maintenance preventable. If anyone needs a tool list to do this, just reach out.
Have fun!!
Bob
Drivers side was a bit more challenging. The main thing was getting that harness cover moved enough out of the way to get at things. I was going to post some pictures but was too involved with swearing at the thing!
It did take some creative pulling and moving things slightly around to get at the coils and get them out, but it is do-able. If you have some wrench skills, go for it. If not, maybe have the dealer make is daily wage.And at 36,000 miles, the plugs looked great. Don't quit know why the recommend this at 30,000 miles, but I don't need to create any problems that are maintenance preventable. If anyone needs a tool list to do this, just reach out.
Have fun!!
Bob
01-23-2024, 05:51 AM
#19
AudiWorld Member
So, I finally had time to get this done. Not a horrible job in my estimation. Passenger side was a breeze. Get the airbox out and everything is easily accessible. I did remove the coil pack ground wires to move them out of the way for better accessibility. Pretty straight forward.
Drivers side was a bit more challenging. The main thing was getting that harness cover moved enough out of the way to get at things. I was going to post some pictures but was too involved with swearing at the thing! It did take some creative pulling and moving things slightly around to get at the coils and get them out, but it is do-able. If you have some wrench skills, go for it. If not, maybe have the dealer make is daily wage.
And at 36,000 miles, the plugs looked great. Don't quit know why the recommend this at 30,000 miles, but I don't need to create any problems that are maintenance preventable. If anyone needs a tool list to do this, just reach out.
Have fun!!
Bob
Drivers side was a bit more challenging. The main thing was getting that harness cover moved enough out of the way to get at things. I was going to post some pictures but was too involved with swearing at the thing!
It did take some creative pulling and moving things slightly around to get at the coils and get them out, but it is do-able. If you have some wrench skills, go for it. If not, maybe have the dealer make is daily wage.And at 36,000 miles, the plugs looked great. Don't quit know why the recommend this at 30,000 miles, but I don't need to create any problems that are maintenance preventable. If anyone needs a tool list to do this, just reach out.
Have fun!!
Bob
How about list your tool list for this job here whenever you got a chance?
so that it will be nice reference for anyone in the future.
01-23-2024, 05:58 AM
#20
AudiWorld Member
Throttle valve cleaning is unnecessary. Some oil pools there from PCV but the temperature is low so no carbonization. The service is a waste of time and money.
The intake cleaning sounds dubious. The intake manifolds on the EA839 3.0/2.9 V6 are on the outside. Pain to remove. The intake cleaning is probably a shot of carb cleaner and a wipe with a shop towel. I can only imagine what the intake valve "cleaning procedure" is. A squirt of carb cleaner, hopefully somewhere near the intake ports. Then button everything up, write up a list of recommended work, and hand the vehicle back to the customer.
Ask the dealer for a description of the intake valve cleaning method and materials used. You are not getting walnut blasted intake valves in six cylinders for $1800.
The intake cleaning sounds dubious. The intake manifolds on the EA839 3.0/2.9 V6 are on the outside. Pain to remove. The intake cleaning is probably a shot of carb cleaner and a wipe with a shop towel. I can only imagine what the intake valve "cleaning procedure" is. A squirt of carb cleaner, hopefully somewhere near the intake ports. Then button everything up, write up a list of recommended work, and hand the vehicle back to the customer.
Ask the dealer for a description of the intake valve cleaning method and materials used. You are not getting walnut blasted intake valves in six cylinders for $1800.
Last edited by danibear; 01-23-2024 at 06:00 AM.