Spark Plug Replacement

This trip has been a real learning experience. I've learned so much about automotive work, and I've gotten hands on experience that I can use universally from working on my vehicle. I feel comfortable enough to work on

other vehicles and take what I've learned from my own vehicle's mechanical failures and apply it to other cars. I met a guy at Autozone yesterday who was having alternator trouble. I offered to help him, and he accepted.

He wanted to replace the alternator on his Toyota Rav4. My experience from working on my own car gives me enough confidence to replace his alternator.

I was about twenty minutes north of Washington D.C. in a town called Woodland, Maryland, when the bucket began sputtering and losing acceleration. The accelerator had been spongy since the day I purchased the car.

I had to push the accelorator into the floor in order to pick up enough speed to get on the highway. My lack of knowledge about vehicles and engines kept me content. All I cared about was if the car drove. I wasn't focused

on how it drove. I've never had experience changing spark plugs, and the thought of having to change them made me really anxious. Was it difficult to replace the spark plugs? What if I blow up the engine? Where are the

spark plugs located? I didn't even know the location of the spark plugs in my engine. The day the bucket began running badly I drove to the local Autozone where I got no help at all. I asked the Autozone technician to

run diagnostics on my engine using the little handheld computer, but the port on my car is different than the port on the diagnostics computer. Autozone is great for things like diagnostics. They usually help you figure out the

problem with your car. They even provide free services like battery charging, windshield wiper installation, computer diagnostics, and they loan out tools for more difficult jobs. It makes me wonder why people spend so

much money on mechanics when many problems can be solved with a little research and a trip to the local automotive store. I asked if they had an adaptor or a different computer, but they said they could

only check cars from 1995 and onwards. I asked the technician if he knew what would cause sputtering and poor engine acceleration. He told me that the problem was probably with my spark plugs. I was still uncertain.

After a quick Google search, I found out that the symptoms could be caused by a few problems including the spark plugs, spark plug cables, ignition coils, and a faulty fuel pump. All of these parts are fairly cheap for my

vehicle, and I wasn't worried about spending the money. The anxiety came when I thought about all of the problems that could arrise if I did the job wrong and if my engine was unfixable, which was something I was prepared

to handle. Thank the car gods that this wasn't the case. The Autozone technician introduced me to a local mechanic who sits in the Autozone parking lot waiting for people like me with engine problems and limited knowledge

on how to fix the problems. He seemed to know about cars by the way he handled the engine. He was natural around the engine. He knew what he was doing and he knew were the parts were, so I thought. I had no idea

where the spark plugs were located at this time, and after telling him that I believed I had spark plug problems he began fidgeting with (what I know now to be) the ignition coils. He never looked at the spark plugs. My

ignorance led me to believe that the ignition coils were the spark plugs. He took one spark plug cable off of one of the ignition coils, put it back on, pulled the accelerator switch on top of the engine, and then walked to his

truck to get tools. I told him that I couldn't pay him if he worked on my car because I was out of budget and running low on cash. He seemed dissapointed, but I didn't want him to do work for which I couldn't pay him. As I

drove out of the Autozone parking lot the engine began running like it normally ran. There was still a little sputtering, but it was nothing like it was prior to visiting Autozone. I realized that the problem really was the spark plugs,

and the removal of that spark plug cable did something to the engine to make it run better. I began Googling "how to change spark plugs" and I watched numerous YouTube videos that taught me exactly where the spark plugs

were located, three in front of the engine and three in back. I waited about a day, then I returned to Autozone and purchased six brand new spark plugs. I drove to a local gas station where I switched the old ones out for the

new ones. It took me about an hour to do the job. This is a long time, but, again, my first time changing spark plugs. There was also a problem. The little metal clips located in the "boot" of the spark plug cable ripped out of

the cable. I did my best to push the clips back into the "boot," and I attached the cables onto the new spark plugs. I started the car, but there was a major problem. The bucket was sputtering and shaking like Michael J. Fox

in an Alaskan winter. I pushed on the accelerator, but the car sputtered and died. I wasn't too worried becuase I purchased a AAA package before I began my trip. I anticipated problems with the bucket. I didn't think I'd

make it past New Mexico. But here I am 3,000 miles into my trip, and the bucket is running better than it ever has. I pulled my cellphone out of my pocket, a $20 flip phone from Wal Mart, flip it open, but it was dead. I asked

the gas station attendant if he could charge my phone, but he said, "No, no. Get out of here," behind thick bulletproof glass. I realized that I was in a fairly bad neighborhood outside of D.C. Luckily, there was a fire station

right next door to the gas station with a down-to-earth fire fighter who let me charge my phone in the the wall plug next to the fire truck. After telling me how the gas station clerk treated me, he made a remark about "those

fucking foreigners" coming to our country or something like that. I just chuckled, and plugged in my phone. The comments made me a little uncomfortable, but they were harmless. I think he was attempting to appeal to me,

and make me feel comfortable. I think he was trying to side with me, but if he knew me, he'd know that I really don't give a fuck. That gas station attendant could have told me to die. I would just laugh and think of another

way to solve my problem. The firefighter kind of reminded me of the dad from That 70's Show. The one that always calls his son a "jackass." Long story short I contacted AAA, and they never showed up. I thought about

pushing my car to the street and sleeping next to the gas station for the night, but I wasn't comfortable with the location. I started my car one more time, pushed on the accelerator, and the car moved. I realized that I was

getting an ignition from at least one of the spark plugs. When I pushed the pedal down far I was able to get up to about forty miles per hour. I started driving north, and I ended up back in Maryland. The sound that the car

made was horrendous and deafening. Luckily, there weren't any police out on the highway because I would have gotten pulled over for sure. Oddly, I drove back to the same place I'd been days prior to my drive to D.C.

Righ next to an Autozone. I've thought about calling them back and demanding a refund, but I think it was more of the tow truck company than AAA. In fact, I'm sure I saw the tow truck pass by me that night and just kept

going.The next day I purchased new spark plug cables, replaced them, and the car ran like new. It cost me under forty dollars to do the entire job. Now the car picks up speed quickly, and I don't have to push the gas

pedal all the way to the floor. I have a plan for a few more repairs to the engine in order to get the best gas mileage that I can. The bucket is supposed to do 16 mpg on the streeet and 26 on the highway. It was doing

about 10 mpg with the bad spark plugs, and it's doing much better now. With a few upgrades and parts replacements I'm sure I can get the optimum gas mileage for my engine. Thanks for reading, and don't forget to donate!

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