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BMW E90 N43 Spark Plug Tool

7K views 7 replies 4 participants last post by  Princeton 
#1 ·
Hi All,

I'm trying (emphasis on trying) to do a spark plug replacement, as my car appears to be having an issue with acceleration at the moment.
BMW thought it was the NOX sensor so I had that replaced (~$700... ouch)

They now think its 3 injectors, and they recommended a spark plug replacement (after replacing the 4 coils).
Im extremely hesitant to take it to them as they are going to charge $250 to do the spark plugs...

My question is, What tool do I need to get my spark plugs out? I tried with a few different sockets and failed every time. The cylinder is obviously shaped in a way to make things difficult.

I've read varying things on here saying "use this tool" then "use this tool", but all have only mentioned the N54 engine etc., not the E90 318i N43.

Any help would be appreciated...

:help:
 
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#4 ·
Seems odd that dealers, when the car is out of warranty, not only BMW, are very eager and willing to start replacing parts because they "think" that's the problem and definitely charge you for the work and then OOps sorry that wasn't the problem , well now lets change this part, OPPs again, and FYI when they change the coils they were at the point they could have changed the plugs too at no additional labor charge, now they want to go back in and change the plugs, you should tell them fine you can change the plugs but I will only pay for the parts, Plus if you got new coil packs, did they give you the old ones, Since nothing was wrong with them you could have sold them on ebay for something. Now back to my point, If the car was under warranty try getting them to start swaping out parts just cause they think its the problem and you will get" well we cant just start swaping out parts just because we think thats the problem" We have to make sure thats what it is because BMW wont pay us for replacing good parts"
 
#5 · (Edited)
Yeah, unfortunately the car is not in warranty.

To be fair, the NOX was faulty, but it definitely doesn't look like the cause of the issue in its entirety.

The coils were apparently "Superseded" under a product enhancement scheme, and it appears to have made a difference in my drive in general.


I have to admit, trying to find this socket locally is a real trouble. shops attendants just go quiet when I mention the specs of the socket.. :(

Unfortunately shipping from UK or US to NZ from most of the sites I've found is really expensive. More so than what I paid to have my NOX sensor imported.... thats even if the site ships to NZ at all!
 
#6 ·
I dont blame you for DIYing stuff. I noticed you live in New Zealand. I recently checked out your local BMW site and, to my surprise, my 3 series sells for about $70K and the 5GT for about $160K!!!! :wow: Good luck with the repairs...
 
#7 · (Edited)
Yeah, its quite expensive!
EDIT: plus to be honest, I've quite enjoyed learning more and more about my car, and cars in general. So DIY for stuff like this (oil changes etc.) will definitely be the way I go.. the fact it costs so much not to do it myself is just another motivating factor ;)

I managed to purchase the tool and a set of spark plugs from http://www.schmiedmann.com/ for around US$120 which is pretty decent, considering if I just bought the tool it'd cost around $70 odd to ship, then I'd still have to buy some plugs locally.

Lets see how things go... really hope this solves my issue.
 
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