Engine output and power was declining, as if I was riding with someone else with their foot on my brakes. Also, I could hear tap tap tap of the valves at night when windows were rolled up. I thought the engine was wearing out and I needed a major engine overhaul. But then I watched internet videos, bought a set of spark plugs and a spark plug socket for my socket wrench for $72 total in November, and waited till warm weather in mid-March to replace them myself. (I checked before I left the store because the socket was the wrong size, and quickly had it exchanged for the correct size spark plug socket for my 3/8" drive socket wrench. Make sure the socket fits correctly over the spark plugs, and that you get one for a 3/8" drive socket wrench. I thought all 3/8" drive spark plug sockets were the same, but they're not.) Then, when I was in a parking lot of an auto parts store, I started to remove my existing spark plugs (which probably had never been changed before), only to discover that one of my ignition wires had come loose, also.
The videos always recommend that I change the plugs AND the wires at the same time, but I had tried to get by using the original wires with the new plugs, in order to save some $. Bad idea. Fortunately, since I was already parked in front of my fav auto parts store, I just had to walk in and buy a set of new ignition wires to go with my new plugs (which I had procrastinated putting in for 4 months while engine power declined further). Thank God they had a set of wires for my Elantra in stock - otherwise I would've been stranded with an inoperative engine and a LONG walk to another store (whew!). Personally, I definitely recommend buying both plugs AND wires for this option.
Anyway, I followed internet videos for replacing my plugs (and now wires, which added another $49 to my original purchase of $72 for the plugs and the spark plug socket for my socket wrench, for a grand total of $121 for this procedure), and I was successful. And I was amazed to discover that my engine was MUCH more powerful. It was like it had been reborn - like new (almost). Now I've had other problems with other parts - possibly because the engine didn't die and I drove it a lot more so that now other parts started to wear out, like suspension parts, for example - but my engine is still running like a top 7 1/2 months later.
(And by the way, I had the tranny rebuilt about 7 months before I changed my plugs, as well. So, with both engine and tranny working well, the car started flying-up to 100mph on some days - until I started to notice suspension problems, which I am working on now - but that will be another complaint, for another day.)
So, if you think that your engine is dying (like I thought), or that your car is permanently unfixable (like I did), try changing the spark plugs (AND the wires with them, too, ha ha ha), and you might be AMAZED like I was, to find out that just the plugs (AND wires) were worn out, but that the engine itself (all the other purely mechanical parts like pistons, valves, rings, etc.) is still perfectly okay. I looked at the plugs I had removed, and the gap was off on every one, some way off - AND they all had lots of corrosion in the gap. No wonder my engine was sluggish! Plugs have to be the first thing that wear out in an engine; so, if you change them (AND the wires that go with them), you might find that nothing else has worn out yet, as I did. (Amazing. An engine overhaul or replacement can cost 4000 or 5000, or more, but by buying plugs-and then wires - and putting them in myself - I wound up spending only $121, total!)
Engine output and power was declining, as if I was riding with someone else with their foot on my brakes. Also, I could hear tap tap tap of the valves at night when windows were rolled up. I thought the engine was wearing out and I needed a major engine overhaul. But then I watched internet videos, bought a set of spark plugs and a spark plug socket for my socket wrench for $72 total in November, and waited till warm weather in mid-March to replace them myself. (I checked before I left the store because the socket was the wrong size, and quickly had it exchanged for the correct size spark plug socket for my 3/8" drive socket wrench. Make sure the socket fits correctly over the spark plugs, and that you get one for a 3/8" drive socket wrench. I thought all 3/8" drive spark plug sockets were the same, but they're not.) Then, when I was in a parking lot of an auto parts store, I started to remove my existing spark plugs (which probably had never been changed before), only to discover that one of my ignition wires had come loose, also.
The videos always recommend that I change the plugs AND the wires at the same time, but I had tried to get by using the original wires with the new plugs, in order to save some $. Bad idea. Fortunately, since I was already parked in front of my fav auto parts store, I just had to walk in and buy a set of new ignition wires to go with my new plugs (which I had procrastinated putting in for 4 months while engine power declined further). Thank God they had a set of wires for my Elantra in stock - otherwise I would've been stranded with an inoperative engine and a LONG walk to another store (whew!). Personally, I definitely recommend buying both plugs AND wires for this option.
Anyway, I followed internet videos for replacing my plugs (and now wires, which added another $49 to my original purchase of $72 for the plugs and the spark plug socket for my socket wrench, for a grand total of $121 for this procedure), and I was successful. And I was amazed to discover that my engine was MUCH more powerful. It was like it had been reborn - like new (almost). Now I've had other problems with other parts - possibly because the engine didn't die and I drove it a lot more so that now other parts started to wear out, like suspension parts, for example - but my engine is still running like a top 7 1/2 months later.
(And by the way, I had the tranny rebuilt about 7 months before I changed my plugs, as well. So, with both engine and tranny working well, the car started flying-up to 100mph on some days - until I started to notice suspension problems, which I am working on now - but that will be another complaint, for another day.)
So, if you think that your engine is dying (like I thought), or that your car is permanently unfixable (like I did), try changing the spark plugs (AND the wires with them, too, ha ha ha), and you might be AMAZED like I was, to find out that just the plugs (AND wires) were worn out, but that the engine itself (all the other purely mechanical parts like pistons, valves, rings, etc.) is still perfectly okay. I looked at the plugs I had removed, and the gap was off on every one, some way off - AND they all had lots of corrosion in the gap. No wonder my engine was sluggish! Plugs have to be the first thing that wear out in an engine; so, if you change them (AND the wires that go with them), you might find that nothing else has worn out yet, as I did. (Amazing. An engine overhaul or replacement can cost 4000 or 5000, or more, but by buying plugs-and then wires - and putting them in myself - I wound up spending only $121, total!)
- Michael T., Raritan, NJ, US