Tune Up - Should I do it myself?

[voltaire1102]

I have a 2005 LR3 HSE with 54,000 miles. I'm thinking of doing a spark plug and wire change this weekend. I've always changed my own wires and plugs but this LR3 that I bought a month ago has me a little nervous in doing it. Should I just pay someone to do this or is this a simple job? Any particular wires or plugs you guys recommend?

 

[kwlr3]

Why do a tune up?

There are no plug wires and the plugs aren't to be changed (I think) until 75,000 miles. The only scheduled maintenance needed is changing the oil and filters.

If you insist on changing the plugs, you will need a plug socket with a firm rubber insert to hold the plug as you remove it, an assortment of extensions, and a universal joint.

For the time and cost involved (the plugs aren't cheap!!!) vs. negligible performance/economy gain I would say wait until 75,000 miles.

 

[nwoods]

X2. Definately not on the list of tune up items for this rig. Spend your money on tires and brakes.

 

[e24kgold]

The plugs dont need to be done until 90k according to the manual. As Nathan said put the $$ towards brakes and tires. I did the 90k service back in Feb. and couldn't really notice a performance difference with the new plugs, but I did gain 2mpg. Just did my front brakes myself with OEM rotors and EBC greenstuff 6000 pads, cost me $330.00 and 1.5 hours of my time

Here is the maint. schedule for the LR3
http://www.muddyoval.com/articles/lr3tech/LR3_05.pdf

 

[voltaire1102]

The reason I thought about changing the plugs and plug wires is because on a hot day, it was 107 heat index here today, it kind of sputters when accelerating for the first 5 minutes or so. Any other ideas?

 

[kingfishgrapeja]

From dealer recommendations and a few posts that I've read the throttle body has a tendency to get dirty and cause rough idle at startup conditions. I haven't done it yet but I can't imagine it is terribly complex to do yourself.

 

[MEDISIN]

From dealer recommendations and a few posts that I've read the throttle body has a tendency to get dirty and cause rough idle at startup conditions. I haven't done it yet but I can't imagine it is terribly complex to do yourself.

Would be worth checking into and very easy to do. One of the first things I checked when I purchased my 2006 LR3 (40,000 miles) was the air filter, housing, and tubes leading to the throttle body. You can loosen the hose clamps on the intake tube circled in yellow below. Note: this is after the engine cover is removed.

Just be careful of the MAF circled in red. Buggers can be delicate and expensive to replace.

Here's an easy to follow generic article for the procedure. Takes 30min tops.

Cleaning Engine Throttle Bodies

 

[e24kgold]

The reason I thought about changing the plugs and plug wires is because on a hot day, it was 107 heat index here today, it kind of sputters when accelerating for the first 5 minutes or so. Any other ideas?

Again there are no plug wires, rather coil packs

 

[Geotrash]

Dunno if everyone else has had the same kind of experience with platinum plugs, but I've changed the OEM Champion platinum plugs in our old Rodeo twice at 90,000 mile intervals and the ones I took out were almost indistinguishable from new, save some minor deposits both times. 50K is way too soon.

 

[e24kgold]

When I replaced mine a stuck with the stock ngk