Thanks for the great info. It helped a bit more than the general 'spark plug replacement' guides out on the net. After finishing the job, I did a write-up with pictures to help. Here's a link in case anyone wants more info:

Replacing spark plugs on a Lexus RX300

P.S., mine is a '99

 

This is a good write up and fixes some of the holes in the Lexus Service Manual that does not go into the rear plug area, which is the real painful part of changing the plugs in our RXs. Good job.

 

My dealer wanted $200.00 just in labor to change my plugs; my independent did it for $65.00. Worth every penny. I watched him do it and although I am handy I am glad I didn't try it.

 

$65USD is what I gave my uncle after watching the difficult of the job.

 

Just finished this job and what a pain in the A$$. Total time took about 3 hours and I could probably do it again in about 2. Make sure you have a decent assortment of extentions for your ratchets and a decent spark plug socket that rotates. For the most part, I used the 6 inch length attached to the spark plug socket.

The front three went without any issue and only took about 20 mintues of the total job.

The rear drivers side plug was not that bad with the cruise control bracket removed, but is a bit tight. Leave the coil out on this one after the plug is replaced as it helps to get to the middle one.

The rear passenger side was a bit tougher, but if you remove the PCV valve, push the rear verticle metal tube a bit back towards the firewall at the bracket (per the first instructions in this post), and remove one nut holding on some ground wires in the way, it is doable. Removing the coil is a bit tricky, but just rotate it around and it will come out.

The rear center one was the most difficult. I don't have the largest hands, but my forearms are a bit large from years of lifting, which did not help. Actually, the most difficult part of this center one was getting the electrical connector disconnected.

Just take your time, and if you get frustrated, work on another one. There is not much room for ratchets in there, so you may only be able to go 2-3 clicks at a a time. The car seems to drive good and the check engine light is not on in the gauge cluster, so it must have been done correctly.

Thanks to this forum, I gave this a try and did it. Thankfully, the car already has 110,000 miles on it (stock plugs until now) and we will probably get a new car before this is necessary again.

Don't be afraid to give this a shot. Worst case scenario is you can't do it and put everything back together (as long as you did not break anything). If you get stuck on the front three, then just stop as this job is beyond you.

 

Good DIY. I was able to use the sort method outlined by GP1200x I did the fronts first so that I would know what I was doing in the back. Replaced the Densos with the same. 101k miles on the plugs and they still looked pretty good, hard to beat that for plug life. Because of lack of room, I used a straight hex bit (inch long) to lift the locking clip off the electrical plugs on the back plugs. Wiped a light coat of silicon on the tube where it goes over the plug and around where the electrical plug goes on, not the contacts. The plugs clicked into place nicely.

 

gp1200x, thank you so much for posting these instructions. I'm not much of a "do-it-yourself" person but I just couldn't see spending $300 for a spark plug change and knowing what tools to have handy and guidelines on how to accomplish the feats of contortion needed kept it to a 2 hour activity.

All of the comments in this whole thread were of great help. Thank you all!

 

Welcome to the Club.

The only places I know of to get the CDs are either at the dealer or online via ebay. I prefer the hardbound edition myself, but it cost a whopping $200 USD.

Are you trying to do some type of repair?

 

Thanks everyone on this thread! Because of this thread and another one, I was able to change my spark plugs! Took me about 3 1/2 hours though!

 

E-Bay has them now and then. That's where I bought mine, for a whopping $17. shipped. That's a DVD, the auto companies don't even want to sell the paper ones very bad anymore. I think most of the manufacturers want them to use the DVD's because it's a lot cheaper for them to produce the actual product and to do any updating. They also include other info on the DVD that needs updating and it's just much easier for the manuf. to handle the whole package that way. Some if not all of them send the updated DVD's on a regular basis. Not free of course. Then they time date the DVD so it doesn't work after a certain date. I bought the DVD for my wife's '02 Camry out of Canada on E-B also for about $15.

 

I tried the process outlined by gp1200x today -- not bad at all, took about 2 hours is all. Put the radio on and it is an enjoyable time -- didn't curse or feel frustrated once! A couple of notes: removing the electrical connectors for the back middle and passenger side middle doesn't require a screw driver, at least not for a 2000 RX, just push the lever on the plastic housing. Also, the key piece of hardware for me was a 1/4" female to 3/8" male adapter. This adapter allows you to use the nice and compact 1/4" ratchet with your extensions and spark plug socket which are most likely all 3/8". I went and bought one of these @ Napa after strugling w/ the first nut on the driver's side coil using my full size equipment. The adapter must be rare b/c it isn't cheap! Was like $8.50 for the little thing! But once I bought it, I could use the little 1/4" ratchet to get back in there -- I don't think I even needed universal swivel adapters after that -- just a 4", and a 3" extender. Just take your time, go step by step, and it goes fine.

 

Is 110,000 miles accurate for sparkplug replacment?

 

Yes.

Salim

 

Thanks.

 

Changed the coils and plugs today -- misfire problems. Here's a picture of the 4 "invisible" bolted items that need to be removed.