DIY: Lexus ES330 V6 Spark Plug Replacement
 

I changed my spark plugs yesterday in my 4ES (2005 ES330). I also changed the PCV Valve and cleaned the throttle body. What follows is a DIY video and quick overview of the procedure.

This procedure is the same as the 2002-2006 ES300/ES330 and V6 Camry with either the 3.0L 1MZ-FE or 3.3L 3MZ-FE engine.

Youtube Video:


Step by Step procedure:

Start with a clean, cold engine and a well light work environment. Prepare favorite beverage. Wear gloves and have a spare car available in-case you break something and have to run out :eek2: .

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Remove the engine cover by removing 3 hex nuts. Remove strut tower brace by removing 4 14mm nuts at the top of the strut tower.

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To access the rear plugs, the air filter box, air inlet tube, throttle body, intake plenum and fuel rail vacuum manifold must be cleared out of the way.
Loosen the two 10mm bolts holding the air box on and loosen the clamps around the intake tubing. Remove 4 small vacuum lines going to the front of the air box, and the EVAP line going to the fuel rail. Use an adjustable pliers to remove the valve cover vent hose. Disconnect the mass airflow sensor and remove the air box assembly.

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Works best if you remove the intake tubing in parts.

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Air intake removed.

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It seems tempting to suggest you can access the rear plugs by squeezing your hand under the throttle body. You really have to get your hands in there, and it took about 3 hours to get the driver side rear spark plug out. You also have to get really intimate with the engine....

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And you bruise up your hands really badly. Thus you have to take off the intake or else...

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Next, disconnect the electrical going to the fuel rail vacuum manifold. There is one small vacuum line going to the passenger side of the intake plenum that needs to come off. There are two 10mm nuts and one 10 mm nut with a ground wire that needs to be removed and the vacuum manifold will come off. Move it aside, no need to disconnect it from the throttle body.

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Electrical removed.

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Remove two 14mm nuts on both sides of the plenum, and four 8mm hex bolts.

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There are 3 hangers at the rear of the plenum holding it up. The one on the passenger side has a 14mm bolt.

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Two 12mm bolts holding the plenum/ throttle body assembly access from the driver side of the car.

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I bought a set of flex head ratching wrenches to remove these bolts. It made the job so much easier than using a conventional wrench. I got the 14mm bolt out in 1 min, and the 12mm bolt in the middle in about 5 mins. Its tight back there, but its not difficult.

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With all the plenum bolts loose, remove the bracket and break the intake seal and pull up the plenum off the two mounting studs. Push it back against the hangers, and it will come loose. Then wriggle the assembly off to the side. Back here, you can see where the rear hangers bolts up to.

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Put some tape over the intake to prevent crap from falling in while you work back there.

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With the plenum out of the way, there's easy access to the spark plugs. Also a good time to change the PCV valve.

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Use a 19mm wrench to loosen and replace the PCV valve. Shake it to see if it still makes a noise like the new one. I used Toyota Part # 12204-20040 for my 2005 ES330, sourced cheaper from the Toyota dealer as Lexus wanted $1 more for it!

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Remove the 10 mm bolts holding the ignition coils, and remove the wiring harness. Pull out the ignition coil. Use a 5/8" spark plug socket and a 6" extension with a 3/8" drive ratchet to remove and install new spark plugs.

When re-installing the ignition coils, there is a rubber boot that you should insure is installed. Use anti-seize on the threads and die-electric grease on the spark plug contacts. Repeat for all six plugs.

Old plug vs new plug. NGK iridium plugs were used as a replacement to the NGK iridium plugs that were in there. These plugs had 198K km (123K miles) on them, and looked really burnt out.

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Replace the intake plenum gasket.

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I used Toyota Part # 17176-20020.

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Replace the intake plenum and the 14 and 12mm bolts at the back. Then replace the front bracket and two 14mm nuts and four 8mm hex bolts. Replace the vacuum manifold and all applicable vacuum hoses. Replace the electrical connectors going to the fuel injectors.

This is a good time to clean up the throttle body. Since the car is drive by wire, I turned the ignition to ON, and floored the gas pedal with some bricks. Then I sprayed down the throttle body with some throttle body cleaner and used an old toothbrush to scrub away at the carbon deposits. Then use a cloth to wipe it all clean. You might have to disconnect the battery and reconnect after a few mins to reset the ECU if you get a check engine light because of the cleaner going through the intake.

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Finally, replace the intake tube and air box, along with a clean air filter. Reconnect the vacuum lines going to the valve cover, vacuum manifold, and the four small ones at the front. Connect the mass airflow sensor and tighten down the 10 mm bolts holding the airbox.

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Install the strut tower brace and engine cover. Start the engine and allow it to relearn idle. Go for a drive and enjoy increased throttle response, smoothness and maybe better fuel economy!

Thanks to all the help on here during my research. I hope this helps someone!

Wow. Incredibly detailed DIY. My friend recently helped me out with the spark plugs, but to be honest, I think I would have preferred this :) Thanks for all your DIY's you've been posting! I've used a few and will definitely use this in the future!

Awesome DIY!

Bravo and thank you. I'm always impressed and grateful when someone goes through the trouble to document and include pictures of their project.

Aren't you the same person who recently posted an excellent video DIY for the 3ES spark plug replacement? Thank you for making these, they're very easy to follow.

Very detailed DIY and great pictures. Thanks

Thanks for a great write-up! I just did mine this weekend, and I'm doing the plugs in my wife's Highlander today (same engine). a few observations:

* Short/stubby Gearwrenches (12 & 14mm) are also very helpful for getting to those strut bolts.

* I had a LOT of trouble getting the strut bolts started when putting things back together, they did not line up well on the holes, and you can't see where they are off, the bolt holes just don't line up. What I did to make it easier was not put ANY of the bolts/nuts on that hold the intake to the engine, and I even removed the two studs. This gave me more flexibility to move the intake around and get the bolts to stab into the holes behind there. Once you get them started (but not tight), I went ahead and bolted the intake down to the engine.

* When I started the engine up the first time, my CEL was on. I read the codes, and I had 4 of them: P0102, P0113, P0123, and P2135. All of these have to do with sensors and stuff that gets unplugged during the job (MAF, TPS, Intake air temp sensor), so apparently the ECU doesn't like to lose contact with them even if the engine is off. I reset the light, and it's been off ever since. I wonder if disconnecting the battery would keep this from happening (if you don't have a code reader)?

Yes, I posted the video for my 1MZ-FE Solara. Same procedure as 3ES. Thanks for the constructive feedback. :)

There's a Highlander 3MZ-FE DIY here.

I too started the plenum bolts first, and it took me a few minutes to catch them. I made sure I used fishing wire to tie them so the bolts don't fall back onto the engine or sub-frame. :cry:

I've driven the car about 1000 km so far and no CEL. I think my CEL was caused by burning the throttle body cleaner that was sucked in the intake. This also happened when I cleaned the throttle body in my DBW Camry a while ago.

Did you turn your ignition on without the MAF or other sensors disconnected? Maybe it remembered that they were disconnected and threw the code.

Nice write up, man.

I'll be doing this job after I finish up my timing belt.

What were the torque specs for the intake plenum bolts?

Reseting the ECU
 

How long do you think it takes the ECU to reset and "re-learn" based on the new inputs ?. I disconnected my MAF and I noticed some jerky-ness when driving at low speeds. I am thinking that the ECU is trying to figure out the proper air/fuel mixture again since the MAF was disconnect. The MAF is used to feed the air volume to the ECU.

I was thinking the same thing, maybe I did turn the ignition on and don't remember. This was part of a 3-day job (also did the timing belt, all the seals, P/S flush, trans flush, etc) which took me 3 days due to several interruptions for family obligations. The CEL did not come on when I did the Highlander, so maybe that's what caused it. :dunno:

The Highlander was much easier, went a lot quicker. I think about 2 hours total, and that was changing the oil at the same time. I would never attempt to swap these plugs without removing the intake, I don't care what people say that it can be done. It's not that big of a deal, if you have the right tools.

21 ft-lbs

Excellent DIY. Appreciate it!

Nice job on this. Thanks.

That said, I would rather be horse whipped than do that job myself.

Off to the Lexus I go.

Great write up on this speedkar9. Add note to throttle body cleaning or ACIS cleaning when you do the intake plenum removal for spark plug replacement: Per Toyota and Lexus factory repair manual, only spray throttle body cleaner or approved Toyota carb cleaner on towel and not directly on the parts cause it can ruin the electrical components. I've done multiple jobs on the V6 engines and doing as described will give you great results. If in doubt on the TB or ACIS gaskets replace if necessary.

you do not need to remove the intake plenum. my mechanic used special extender tools to replace the rear sparkplugs on my 1mzfe engine.