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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
I would like to change my spark plugs on my 97 concours. Is this a procedure that a rookie mechanic can do? (I have changed brakes, belts, hoses and my radiator before) Does anyone know a website that gives instructions?

Thanks in advance for any responses.
P.S. How do you know when you should change them? My car is slow to start half the time (4-6 seconds).
 

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miishmiish said:
I would like to change my spark plugs on my 97 concours. Is this a procedure that a rookie mechanic can do? (I have changed brakes, belts, hoses and my radiator before) Does anyone know a website that gives instructions?

Thanks in advance for any responses.
P.S. How do you know when you should change them? My car is slow to start half the time (4-6 seconds).
Are you changing the plugs because of the slow to start? That prop. is not the problem. The plugs are easy to change. Make sure you get the right ones. As for the slow to start. Do you mean slow crank or takes time to start but cranks normal speed??
 

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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
cadfan said:
Are you changing the plugs because of the slow to start? That prop. is not the problem. The plugs are easy to change. Make sure you get the right ones. As for the slow to start. Do you mean slow crank or takes time to start but cranks normal speed??
First off, thanks for the response; much appreciated.
It cranks normally but just takes really long at times, and at other times ignintes instantly-totally random. I am scared that one time when I really need it, it may not start at all. I thought maybe changing the plugs would help, but how do you know if it's time to change the plugs? ALSO, how do you access the four plugs behind the engine? Do I have to remove a whole bunch of things to get to them?
Thanks for any assistance.
 

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miishmiish said:
First off, thanks for the response; much appreciated.
It cranks normally but just takes really long at times, and at other times ignintes instantly-totally random. I am scared that one time when I really need it, it may not start at all. I thought maybe changing the plugs would help, but how do you know if it's time to change the plugs? ALSO, how do you access the four plugs behind the engine? Do I have to remove a whole bunch of things to get to them?
Thanks for any assistance.
It sounds like the fuel pressure regulator diaphram has a hole in it. Remove the 4 nuts holding the engine cover on. Remove it. You will see,as you look at the engine from the front, the plen. injectors. On the rearward side of the plen. you will see alittle vac hose going into a round almost black and goldish round object that sits in the fuel rail. A small silver clip holds it in place. This is the fuel pressure reg. Remove the vac. hose at the top. Look for wettness or the smell of fuel. If you smell or see any, you will need to rreplace this. Pretty easy. As far as the plugs go, the northstar run plat. plugs that generally go 100,000 miles. Sometimes they break down. You will notice this in a misfire. Access to the plugs in back in easy too. The best way is to remove the cross bar. Then remove the spark plug wires from the coil paks making sure you know where they go. If orig. they will be marked. Disconnect and remove the coil paks. 4 10mm bolts- 1 on each side and 2 on the bottom rear. Once you got that out the plug are under the pak. Install in reverse order. If not the fuel reg. then maybe crank position sensors. Are there any troulbe codes?
 

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
cadfan said:
It sounds like the fuel pressure regulator diaphram has a hole in it. Remove the 4 nuts holding the engine cover on. Remove it. You will see,as you look at the engine from the front, the plen. injectors. On the rearward side of the plen. you will see alittle vac hose going into a round almost black and goldish round object that sits in the fuel rail. A small silver clip holds it in place. This is the fuel pressure reg. Remove the vac. hose at the top. Look for wettness or the smell of fuel. If you smell or see any, you will need to rreplace this. Pretty easy. As far as the plugs go, the northstar run plat. plugs that generally go 100,000 miles. Sometimes they break down. You will notice this in a misfire. Access to the plugs in back in easy too. The best way is to remove the cross bar. Then remove the spark plug wires from the coil paks making sure you know where they go. If orig. they will be marked. Disconnect and remove the coil paks. 4 10mm bolts- 1 on each side and 2 on the bottom rear. Once you got that out the plug are under the pak. Install in reverse order. If not the fuel reg. then maybe crank position sensors. Are there any troulbe codes?
There is no wetness or smell of fuel. I don't detect misfiring -I assume that I would detect it through random losses of power. But I don't feel that, and my check engine light is not on, and I recently passed a smog test. I got three codes from my dash:

IPC U1255
RSS C1783
RSS C1785

I got a ton of other codes but they were all "history" and these were the only current ones. What do you think?
P.S. I should tell you I have the "service ride control" signal on, as does pretty much every caddy owner I have spoken too. And my odometer/speedometer is out too (which also makes my car jump by gassing itself at random times). -I just bought the car and all this crap happened literally the next day.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
 

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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
cadfan said:
Are you changing the plugs because of the slow to start? That prop. is not the problem. The plugs are easy to change. Make sure you get the right ones. As for the slow to start. Do you mean slow crank or takes time to start but cranks normal speed??
I changed my plugs following your exact instructions printed out beside me. THANK YOU very much. You saved me 100 bucks and the peace of mind knowing it was done right with decent plugs (bosch platinum).
 

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Discussion Starter · #10 ·
Ralph said:
OK, must just be the DTS that has them then. How is the car running now, does it start a lot quicker?
Nope. Still has the same problem. But after driving it a few miles, it is noticeably smoother and quieter. I think I may change the plug wires too; I heard they make a big difference as well.
 
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