Andrew353w

If yours is a 2010 model, you're welcome to learn from my experience. Looking back on my "day of the sparking plugs" I'd suggest tacking the job in this way:

(Offside plugs first)

1/ Disconnect the wiring loom from the MAP sensor, unscrew the Jubilee clip holding the air tube to the air filter & remove the air filter, together with the attached plastic container underneath the filter housing.   

2/ Using the shortest 12mm socket and the thinnest ratchet you have, unscrew the bolts securing the coil packs to the engine block. (If you find your socked & ratchet aren't thin enough loosen the bolts stop now and nip out to your local motor factors & buy some that are!) Remove both bolts.

3/ Follow the wires back from the coil packs to the pint where the wires are secured to the engine block by a plastic clip. Ease the clip away from the block. Doing this helps the wiring move more easily. 

4/ G-e-n-t-l-y ease out the coil pack from the front plug. This one's slightly easier than the back one. Turning the coil pack through 180 degrees will assist easing it out, as this will expose the connector, which you can then disconnect by finger pressure. I didn't do this, but it might help. With the coil pack able to move without the wiring to restrict it, turn it and ease it towards the front of the car, with the long sides of the coil pack body vertical Remember the rubber part that slides over the plug is flexible, so there's just enough room to ease it slowly out.

5/ The plug removal's relatively easy, but having socket extensions of varying lengths will help. You'll need a small sized plug socket, with a rubber or magnetic insert, to hold the plug as it comes out. The plugs are 'long reach' ones, so they come out a long way. As it does, the socket will come up against the side of the engine bay, so before it does, change the extension for a shorter one! Oh, and given the confined space, you'll be moving your ratchet through only a few degrees each time, so it's a long slow process..... Replacing the plug is the reverse of the above, and, for once, it really is! DON'T put the coil pack yet!

6/ Removal of the rear coil pack is harder and more fiddly, but with the wiring disconnected it's a little easier. moving it down towards the underside of the engine helps, and again, turning the coil pack through 90 degrees helps as well.  The plug removal is as per the front plug, but it's even s-l-o-w-e-r..... Make sure both plugs are tightly screwed in, as you don't want to be going through all this to tighten them later!

7/ If you've remembered how the coil packs came away, you'll be able to "wiggle" them both back into their respective places. Turning them through 90 and  180 degrees does help, honestly! Once they're in place, you'll need to rotate them to reconnect the wiring, if you've disconnected it, as the snap-on connectors are much easier to access when the coil packs are upside-down! Turn the coil packs to align the holes for the securing bolts and manually screw the bolts in as far as you're able, then tighten them with the 12mm socket. 

8/ Replace the air filter body and filter, join up the pipes, tighten the jubilee clip and reconnect the MAP sensor.

You're half-way done, so go for a drive & check there are no engine management warning lights. Reward yourself with a mug of tea (or something stronger...) and I'll explain the near-side ones later, if this has helped!  

I'm sure, as a Subaru expert, you're going to tell me there's an easy way to do it, but I've just spent 4 hours changing the spark plugs on my 2010 Forester & I feel I deserve a medal! Taking the air box from the offside, disconnecting the MAP sensor and removing the battery from the nearside is really easy, giving one a false sense of ease regarding the rest of it, but blimey, that's some job! Fortunately I have quite small hands, which helps, but the job's still incredibly fiddly! No wonder Subaru only recommend a plug change every 60,000 miles! In fact, my Forester is at 90,000 miles, so I've jumped the gun a bit, and I'm sure it'll be a (tiny) bit easier next time! 

4 hours ago, djoptix said:

Sit rep: we're in the BIG CITY.

 

Beautiful girl still here, so I can't eat my egg-and-salad-cream pot from Tesco, that would be even more offputting than the pasty was.

Pissing down with rain outside.

Exactly one hour to go.

Not a Polo or a fucked Rover...

Given where you were, I'd have stopped for a pork pie! 

I saw this lovely little old "X" reg Daihatsu Charade outside a café near Barnet. Blimey, this U.L.E.Z. is bringing out some good classics for every-day use!

I spotted this delightful mark 2 Cortina estate this afternoon in Barnet. I thought it might be one of the rare G.T. estates, but I couldn't see a "G.T." emblem on the rear side. 

One of the many vehicles now being used inside the U.L.E.Z. that are exempt. As you can see, the pollution is prolific and one can hardly see the vehicle through the smog.....

(Mayor Khan take a look around here-NO pollution!)

I thought the delightful greens of both the Land Rover and the grassy surrounds were just perfect!

32 minutes ago, martc said:

General de Gaulle departs from the dealership taking a test drive of the latest Citroen.

Is that a lone gunman I can see at an upstairs window...? (The Day Of The Jackal is my all-time favourite film!) 

I've just seen a "J" reg (1992) rear engined red Skoda Rapid going along a road next to my home road in Barnet. I was so totally shocked that I didn't have time to picture it! If it's in my area I'll be sure to catch it next time! 

21 hours ago, MiniMinorMk3 said:

A Fiat 600D-UBER rare!

2 hours ago, Schaefft said:

US market Nissan Rogue on Ukrainian plates. It's the license plate holder that caught my attention, the Nissan Rogue club! The Facebook group has been comedy gold in the past.

Still plenty of Polos around, now more as an easy to own classic. The same applies to the Lada Niva which are pretty common in the area, although much newer.

 

The Wartburg 312 estate was a great spot, such a clean example.

Not just a Wartburg 312 estate, but what was called a "camping" estate, with four doors (normal 312 estates had 2) and the huge glass area at the back, some of which was tinted. This idea was later called an aero deck by the likes of Volvo et al. WHAT A SPOT!!

20 minutes ago, martc said:

Autotalo, 'Car House' in Helsinki completed in 1958, photographed in 1959. Originally, the building had a car dealership and a petrol station, hence its name.

VERY early Skoda, a 440, on the extreme left. RARE!!

1 hour ago, fairkens said:

Clean pants needed

 

ETA - owner should definitely be on here. I was behind him in the supermarket queue. He:

1. Wore a lot of brown;

2. Bought almost exclusively tinned food; and

3. Paid in cash, down to the correct pennies.

EPIC!!! This ticks more boxes than there are in a Sainsbury delivery! I would willingly surrender my Subaru Forester if I could drive that!

5 minutes ago, High Jetter said:

Penn Road, Wolverhampton, with the Fox Hotel on the right.

And a Mark 3 Wartburg Knight-WINNA!

22 minutes ago, Barry Cade said:

Didn't even get time to get a pic, but spotted a Fiat 500 Giardianetta being towed on a trailer by a Saab 9000 Carlsson!

On a rarity scale of 1-10, where 1 is "common" and 10 "rare", this vehicle is an 11, without a doubt! I only ever seen one in the flesh, although I do have a "Motoring Which" report from January 1963, which said it was economical but slow, and uncomfortable, although the sliding roof was a great feature for summer days. The "suicide" doors, that were hinged at the rear were considered very dangerous, particularly as they kept flying open...... 

if I'm not mistaken, that's the Cross Keys in Great Missenden! Blimey, I've "sunk a few" in there over a few years!  

13 minutes ago, N19 said:

Tank ordered last week, hopefully will arrive soon.

The old one has been rinsed out as I'm a little paranoid about a metal tank of vapour being an explosion risk...

Existing, perfectly working, fuel sender has been recovered for fitting in to the new tank

Whilst the tank was off, I took the opportunity to clean up the bottom of the spare wheel well and a couple of patches above it.

Much easier with the tank removed, so when the new one arrives it can go back on to be forgotten about for another 40 years. 

Mondeo had an MoT yesterday and sailed through. 5,991 miles in the last year.

Focus had some hesitation when moving off at low revs. I decided to have a look at the spark plugs.

excuse the photo, clearly close up focus (groan) is poor on my phone's camera, and this was after they'd been cleaned up a bit, one (2nd from left) had furry deposits and a burnt electrode. Can't have helped!

I fitted 4 new plugs, which kindly came from Ben's stock passed over when he sold me the car. The engine then was mis-firing, which was concerning. With assistance from a passing @Andrew353w , a little head scratching, worrying and only a minor injury, I discovered one of the plugs to be almost entirely closed up - that's what happens when you fit things whilst not paying attention and thus not checking them! 

I hope your hand is O.K! Clean up the injury and dab some TCP on it, just to be sure. As you say, it's so often the "bloody obvious" that's the problem! Good to meet again and I'll keep an eye out when I pass that way, which is almost daily. 

I just LLOOVVEE that Commer Cob van! If memory serves, Hillman made an estate car version of the Imp, based on it, or was that the other way round....?

1 hour ago, martc said:

The top car is a Skoda and the advert was a dig at the "other" Czech car manufacturer of the 1930s!

 Plus ca change!

43 minutes ago, Richard_FM said:

It was a mixed bag in Austria because some parts had better road connections with Germany & drove on the right.  It wasn't until the annexation in 1938 that all of Austria switched over.  It was a similar situation in some of the other former parts of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

That sounds like a complete nightmare! I suppose there weren't that many vehicles around during the 1930s, so maybe not too bad! 

41 minutes ago, N19 said:

Starter motor picked up this morning. Reconditioned by Unit Exchange in Borehamwood, who as ever provide a first class service including obtaining an obscure part. If you're anywhere nearby, I thoroughly thoroughly recommend taking any starters alternators etc to them.

I, too, would strongly recommend this company for refurbishing starter motors, dynamos and alternators. They've sorted out numerous items for me for many a strange and weird car, as well as more conventional stuff for customers of mine.   

Not really a "spot", as I've been asked to do some work on it, so it's currently in my lock-up. It's a Standard Eight convertible/cabrio/open tourer, depending on one's age! 6 volt battery that's knackered, so I'm starting there! 

It really is a very pretty little car! 

 I don't know why, but I find a Post Office van bearing the initials of a major competitor somehow strangely funny....

I've come late to this thread, but would just like to add that my Xantia, an earlier one that yours ("M" reg) was simply the most comfortable car I've ever owned. I did over 250,000 miles in it, including numerous trips all over France. Believe me, these cars are built for French Autoroutes and for transporting industrial amounts of wine from French vineyards to England (customs regulations not withstanding!)

I've an off-side fog light unit that's yours for the postage, and a drive shaft (I'll have to check which side) if they're of interest. I fitted air horns and yellow French-style H4 lamps to mine, to give it that "French" look. Mine was an automatic and benefitted from regular ATF changes, so perhaps a gearbox oil change would smooth the changes? I used a firm in Cambridge called Pilades (I think) who are Citroën specialists to change the spheres & L.H.M. when necessary. ALWAYS use the genuine L.H.M., as it really does work better!  

They're truly great cars, with a HUGE range of over 400 miles on a full tank and my automatic returned over 40 M.P.G. on a run. If you need more information on their strange eccentricities, DM me!  

23 minutes ago, Remspoor said:

See my Baby Drive

Or perhaps 'I'm on the "move"...?'

Just spotted this little beauty in my High Street this afternoon 

Sorry they came out upside down-they don't normally!