I commend your patience sir. "Oops. I dropped it" and "that's how it goes" is saintly compared to what comes out of my mouth when I do plugs or valve cover gaskets on a Subaru.
I knew this was gonna be a pain as soon as I saw him bust out the flashlight.😂 nothing worse than starting a job and slowly hearing the crickets start up😅 wish me luck
Thanks for the video. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. What was key for me was having many options for having different lengths of extension using extensions,swivels, even a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter. I was able to get a torque wrench on all the plugs using various length extensions and swivels. Taking the battery box off is a must. Not to bad with a ratcheting 14mm box end for the two side bolts. Have a magnetic pickup tool to pull sockets out of the spark plug hole because they are deep. Also have a long flat blade screwdriver to pry apart sockets, extensions etc while the socket is still in the hole. This is necessary because they need to be taken apart before you can get them out. Also I used an impact driver and deep socket to get the battery hold down bolts off to save time. They are long. Also a quick way to put the battery tray bolts in.
Im hear for research. My lady heard i was taking a four day weekend and wants me to change spark plugs in her car smh. Thanks for showing me what im up against.
this was a very helpful video .... thank you!!! i found that it is much easier if the battery is removed ... and a swivel extension with a flat ratchet is used on a magnetic spark plug socket
Hope to never do it again! But if I did, I might remove the battery. Honestly, the hardest ones were away from the battery closest to the firewall (and frame).
Should have just taken the time to remove the battery and bracket. Yes it’s a pain but it looked like a lot more work doing what you did on that drivers side. But I can appreciate the time you took to film, I did watch this before changing mine. Thank you.
Yeah, you’re probably right! It’s hard to be smart, but it’s a good idea! Thanks for watching and sharing your experience. Next time, I’ll remove the battery. Not sure it’ll help for that driver side back one, though!!
For the rear spark plug on the battery side, here’s what worked for me. 14mm plug socket - 50mm extension - 3/8” wobbly - 3/8” ratchet. PS, the 50mm 3/8” extension is hard to find.
I just did the plugs on my moms 2017 outback and the back drivers side was the biggest pain, getting all the right length extensions together and then back out was the worst, I took the battery and tray out, I cant imagine doing it with that in place. I have a 06 STi and I guess its about the same.
If you knew the difficulty involved in removing sparkplugs when you bought the vehicle would you choose a different vehicle initially? I know I wouldn't want to bring a Subaru needing spark plugs to dealer. Some mechanics would not replace plugs and say they did
Yes. But we didn’t think of that in buying the Subaru. The pain to time owned ratio is very small. Still going strong and just turned 100k miles (knock on wood). May pass down to one of our sons at some point. It’s our main car though!
Facing the engine: left front (not too bad); left rear (pain); Right front (awful); right rear (horrible). Even at $400-500, I will probably pay someone to do this next time. Highly recommend a long handle low profile wratchet. You will probably want to remove the under-engine splash guard so you can access from under the engine. For the last one, I tried that combination of a quarter inch drive and a wobbly and a 3/8 to quarter adapter. And I could not get it into the spark plug hole.
Dealership is going to take engine out to replace my upper oil pan gasket which is covered by warranty but wont do me the favor of replacing the spark plugs while its out..
I had a quote for $200 from the dealer where we bought it which I felt was super reasonable. But I like to do things myself. Or try to do things. Think if the price is the same $200, in future I might let them do it!! Thanks for watching!
A long time. And it’s been awhile, so I don’t know. But most of the day. A lot was because I was trying to film. Stuff goes faster when you don’t do that!!
Remove all that stuff that’s in the way it makes it easier. Don’t mess with the throttle body it’s sensitive. I’d spray cleaner and wipe around the inside but don’t go crazy with it.
I commend your patience sir. "Oops. I dropped it" and "that's how it goes" is saintly compared to what comes out of my mouth when I do plugs or valve cover gaskets on a Subaru.
Haha! Well, I am not always great when the camera is off. But I realize and accept my limitations and inability!! Thanks for watching!
I would have used cuss words not created yet
I knew this was gonna be a pain as soon as I saw him bust out the flashlight.😂 nothing worse than starting a job and slowly hearing the crickets start up😅 wish me luck
I wasted a lot of time fooling with filming and something else I recall interrupting me. You’ll be fine. Good luck!!
Awesome dude hard to find videos on outbacks especially 2016 and newer good help buddy
Thanks! Glad it was helpful!
Thanks for the video. It wasn't as bad as I was expecting. What was key for me was having many options for having different lengths of extension using extensions,swivels, even a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter. I was able to get a torque wrench on all the plugs using various length extensions and swivels. Taking the battery box off is a must. Not to bad with a ratcheting 14mm box end for the two side bolts. Have a magnetic pickup tool to pull sockets out of the spark plug hole because they are deep. Also have a long flat blade screwdriver to pry apart sockets, extensions etc while the socket is still in the hole. This is necessary because they need to be taken apart before you can get them out. Also I used an impact driver and deep socket to get the battery hold down bolts off to save time. They are long. Also a quick way to put the battery tray bolts in.
I had many different length extensions. Next time (and I hope there won’t be a next time) I’ll take off the battery box. Good tips. Thanks!!
Is it possible to take the tray off without unhooking the battery? I am guessing not. I just hate having to do the window resets every time.
Im hear for research. My lady heard i was taking a four day weekend and wants me to change spark plugs in her car smh. Thanks for showing me what im up against.
Enjoy your weekend! Hopefully this will only ruin 1 out of 3 days of it!
this was a very helpful video .... thank you!!! i found that it is much easier if the battery is removed ... and a swivel extension with a flat ratchet is used on a magnetic spark plug socket
Hope to never do it again! But if I did, I might remove the battery. Honestly, the hardest ones were away from the battery closest to the firewall (and frame).
Should have just taken the time to remove the battery and bracket. Yes it’s a pain but it looked like a lot more work doing what you did on that drivers side. But I can appreciate the time you took to film, I did watch this before changing mine. Thank you.
Yeah, you’re probably right! It’s hard to be smart, but it’s a good idea! Thanks for watching and sharing your experience. Next time, I’ll remove the battery. Not sure it’ll help for that driver side back one, though!!
Thank you for the video. I'm watching before doing mine as well.
I found this after I did my 2018 but I was able to do it without removing anything also just like you thanks for video
Glad yours worked out for you, too!
I took the tray bolts out from underneath. Jacked the engine up one inch to get the driver's side. Used fuel hose to thread the plugs in.
Great idea!
For the rear spark plug on the battery side, here’s what worked for me. 14mm plug socket - 50mm extension - 3/8” wobbly - 3/8” ratchet. PS, the 50mm 3/8” extension is hard to find.
Great info! Thanks!
I just did the plugs on my moms 2017 outback and the back drivers side was the biggest pain, getting all the right length extensions together and then back out was the worst, I took the battery and tray out, I cant imagine doing it with that in place. I have a 06 STi and I guess its about the same.
Yeah, for sure if I ever do it again I will remove the battery and the battery tray! Glad it went well for you!
If you knew the difficulty involved in removing sparkplugs when you bought the vehicle would you choose a different vehicle initially? I know I wouldn't want to bring a Subaru needing spark plugs to dealer. Some mechanics would not replace plugs and say they did
Yes. But we didn’t think of that in buying the Subaru. The pain to time owned ratio is very small. Still going strong and just turned 100k miles (knock on wood). May pass down to one of our sons at some point. It’s our main car though!
Facing the engine: left front (not too bad); left rear (pain); Right front (awful); right rear (horrible). Even at $400-500, I will probably pay someone to do this next time. Highly recommend a long handle low profile wratchet. You will probably want to remove the under-engine splash guard so you can access from under the engine. For the last one, I tried that combination of a quarter inch drive and a wobbly and a 3/8 to quarter adapter. And I could not get it into the spark plug hole.
Good info. Yeah, I thought about taking off that splash guard. Thanks!
Dealership quoted me $541 for spark plugs. Idk about you guys but its worth 6 hours of my time to do it myself.
Dealership is going to take engine out to replace my upper oil pan gasket which is covered by warranty but wont do me the favor of replacing the spark plugs while its out..
Dealership said theyd charge $316 to do spark plugs while engine is out vs the $541 while engine is still in.
I had a quote for $200 from the dealer where we bought it which I felt was super reasonable. But I like to do things myself. Or try to do things. Think if the price is the same $200, in future I might let them do it!! Thanks for watching!
Approximately how long did the entire job take you? Great description of the process, thanks.
A long time. And it’s been awhile, so I don’t know. But most of the day. A lot was because I was trying to film. Stuff goes faster when you don’t do that!!
So you did the plugs on the drivers side mainly underneath when getting them loose ?
Yes, almost all of that side was from underneath. Man, you’re bringing back bad memories!! Thanks for watching!
What was subaru thinking putting things you need to replace so hidden and inaccessible
True-though the oil filter is the best placement of any vehicle I’ve owned!
@@swatscorner That is true! makes oil changes way easier
How long did it take?
All afternoon. Probably longer than it should have. 6+ hours maybe
good fun video
Glad you enjoyed it!
My 16 Legacy is coming up soon. Currently 55k.
I waited too long and wish I hadn’t. Made a big difference!!
@@swatscorner Wow. Well I'm getting it done in the spring as I'm driving to Arizona in June.
the iridum plugs looked really good at 110K miles waste of time at 55K wait till 130 K
A 14mm swivel joint spark plug socket (with magnet) would have made this job a lot easier.
Dreading doing my 17MY Outback 2.5l now!
I was apprehensive too. May not do it again. Only saved $200 doing myself. But I won’t have to do it in this Outback again!! I hope
typo gap to .043"
I’m quoting from the article linked in the description which I think is correct. These plugs were pre-gapped, and they were all uniform and correct.
Always remember to remove your watch before working on a car
Never knew that - thanks!
I got 22k on mine so I’m thinking it’s good to go for another 150k haha man I knew this would be a drag just looking at my engine.
Yeah, I think with that low mileage I wouldn’t worry about it
Appreciate ya.
You bet!
Remove all that stuff that’s in the way it makes it easier. Don’t mess with the throttle body it’s sensitive. I’d spray cleaner and wipe around the inside but don’t go crazy with it.
Cool. Thanks
Good job...
Appreciate that!
Do yourself a favor & do the driver side first always, it will make the other side feel like a walk in the park
Hope I’ll never do again!
One hand ✋👌👌
😂
Looks like a PITA job!😅
For sure! Wanted to try it to say I did.
Good Job. I'd remove my watch first. Just sayin
Yes. Trying to do that now