My recently purchased 1997 Sable has 99k miles and is due for spark plug, and wire replacement.

I noticed that whenever, the car starts, on occasion, the engine shakes for a few seconds and then smoothes out. I have already replaced the PCV and the IAC, and cleaned the throttle body with Gumout, and cleaned the MAF sensor.

I noticed that the three spark plugs in the front are easily accessible but the three in the rear look somewhat difficult.
I have a ratchet, extensions, and a spark plug socket. Can I replace these three rear plugs myself with the tools I have easily, or should I pay a mechanic $200 for the job? Also, do you use Anti-Seize gel and Dielectric grease?

I have the 3.0 V6 Vulcan engine. Many say that this is a reliable engine, too. True.

Thanks.

 

very reliable and cheap to fix


the back 3 are do-able. wait until the engine is cold. Use a mirror to help see and some different length socket extensions. buy a good pair of spark plug wire pliers.

 

The plug wire "boots" that go over the coil and the spark plug should be coated with dielectric grease. The plug threads CAN be coated with anti-seize compound, copper or silver type. If you do use anti-seize compound then use 15% to 20% less torque on the plugs. For example if the torque required by the manufacturer is 20 foot pounds then the torque should be 16 foot pounds with anti-seize on the threads. USE A TORQUE WRENCH. New plugs generally come preset for the plug gap. CHECK the gap and reset it if necessary. If you end up removing the intake manifold to get at the rear three plugs GET NEW GASKETS. Throttle bodies are often coated with a film that can be ruined by "carb cleaners". Most of the current carb cleaners are aware of this and have changed their formula so that they will not harm the TB coating. You should be alright but, read the can of carb cleaner.