**A DIY Guide to Replacing Spark Plugs**

When it comes to maintaining your vehicle's engine, replacing spark plugs is a crucial task that can make all the difference in its performance and longevity. In this article, we'll take a closer look at how to replace spark plugs on a Japanese import car, specifically focusing on the valve cover gasket.

If you've recently completed an oil change and noticed that the spark plugs have accumulated oil in them, it's likely time to replace them. To access the spark plugs, pull out the spark plug wires first. Once they're removed, use a spark plug socket to extract the spark plug from its housing. Be careful not to touch the spark plug's electrodes with your bare hands, as this can create a spark and potentially damage the engine.

In most cases, Japanese import cars have valve cover gaskets that need to be replaced along with the spark plugs. The valve cover gasket is usually held in place by a small ring or clip, which needs to be released before removal. To remove the valve cover gasket, simply pull it off and set it aside. This will give you access to the spark plug tubes, which require new seals to prevent oil from entering.

When replacing the spark plug tubes, make sure to get the correct type of seal for your specific engine design. If you're unsure, consult your vehicle's repair manual or contact a mechanic for guidance. Some engines may have unique designs that require special attention when replacing spark plugs and gaskets. Don't be afraid to seek advice if you're not confident in your abilities.

**Using Liquid Moly Engine Oil**

Some enthusiasts swear by the benefits of using liquid moly engine oil, which is designed to be fuel-efficient and provide improved lubrication. One popular brand, Liquid Moly, claims to have a unique additive that helps reduce friction and improve engine performance. However, it's essential to approach this with caution.

To determine if you can use liquid moly engine oil in your vehicle, consult the owner's manual or contact a mechanic for guidance. They can analyze the oil sample from your car's engine to ensure it won't be damaged by the additive. If you do decide to use liquid moly engine oil, make sure to choose an oil with the same viscosity as your existing oil, such as 0W-20.

However, some experts argue that the benefits of liquid moly engine oil may not outweigh its potential drawbacks. The additive can be dark and black in color, which might scare people away from using it. Additionally, there's limited scientific evidence to support its claims, and some aftermarket products have failed in the past.

**The Wisdom of Buying a Reliable Car**

In an interview with our team, a friend shared his experience of buying a used car that turned out to be reliable. He saved $2,000 by choosing a lower-priced model, but ended up spending even more money on repairs down the line. This anecdote highlights the importance of considering reliability when making a purchasing decision.

In general, it's recommended to opt for a vehicle with a proven track record of reliability and durability. While buying a cheaper car may seem like a good idea in the short term, it can end up costing you more in the long run. Modern cars, such as Civics and Corollas, are engineered to last for hundreds of thousands of miles without major issues.

**The Verdict on Ford Raptors**

In our next segment, we'll be discussing the reliability of two different Ford Raptors: the first generation (1996-2003) and the second generation (2009-present). According to a petrolhead enthusiast, who has extensive experience with both models, the first-generation Raptor is the clear winner in terms of reliability.

The earlier model's V8 engine proved to be more reliable over time, as it was less prone to modern technological issues. In contrast, the later models' V6 engines and GDI dual turbos introduced new variables that can increase maintenance costs. While both models have their strengths and weaknesses, the first-generation Raptor stands out as a more reliable choice.

By following these tips and advice, you'll be well on your way to maintaining your vehicle's engine and extending its lifespan. Remember to prioritize reliability and durability when making purchasing decisions, and don't hesitate to seek guidance from experts if you're unsure about any aspect of car maintenance.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enrev up your engines i got an o6 honda pilot it's not running right see under the hood or i should say after we take the stupid beauty cover off go ahead over there for the time being got six new ignition coils and spark plugs but it's still not running right as we can see inside it's an o6 so you know it's 16 years old and it does have 173 000 miles on it let's start it up now it's got the lights for the tire pressure monitoring those are all worn out by now that we don't care about but it's got kind of a shaky idle drive we can feel it kind of misfiring we can feel the steering wheel jiggling a little so let's get out the scan tool serve the family well they've had it for a long time but they don't like the misfire and the coils didn't fix it now there are no trouble coats so i'm getting out the big boy here we take that off and put on the real scan tool here it comes realize when there's no trouble codes that's just the tip of the iceberg there's all kinds of data i can feel it misfiring the data's going to show us what's going on don't rely on just generic trouble codes that's only the beginning i see many guys bring cars in here and they'll say well they told me i can't find anything wrong check engine light is not no that's not where you end that's only where you begin nothing baits a real scan tool that has all kinds of data automatically reads the vent code if you're not using the scan tool that reads the vin you're not getting all that much data you got a scan tool that just plugs in and reads data the vin is very specific everything's going to be correct on the information it's not guessing with some generic thing it's specific so when you push diagnosis you're getting a real diagnosis and when we do a smart scan look at the stuff it's testing out all kinds of stuff as it's scanning realize you're probably going to get data that you don't care about we don't care about the tire pressure monitoring system not working that's going to make the car jump at idle and run a little bit for us we're looking about the data that affects that so once the scan is done we can see what's normal what's abnormal the only abnormal thing here so far is the tire pressure monitoring system so we don't care about that at all being a smart tool and this is an old car not a smart you see a lot of it's gray that just means it's not equipped with that stuff the only red is the tire pressure mounting system that we don't care about and the computer fuel injection system so we'll go to the fuel injection system here's all these codes misfire number one misfire number two misfire number three misfire number four misfire number five misfire number six random misfire the cam shaft crankshaft signal incorrect correlation and then it just keeps doing all the misfires again so what does this tell me all the cylinder misfiring then you're gonna get random if they're all because it's kind of random right as far as i'm concerned the most important one is this code camshaft crankshaft signal incorrect correlation look at the freeze frame data the vehicle was going zero miles an hour when the code trip now when you're just idling and not moving everything on the car has to be perfect or you're gonna feel it more you feel the misfiring there's one thing that often does that on these older hondas this is the v6 engine it's old school it has a rubber timing belt hondas use rubber timing belts on these engines for a long time probably too long the belts get old they stretch this baby has 173 000 miles on it and there's no indication that the timing belt has ever been changed since the timing belt's probably never been changed it's going to stretch as it stretches all the data gets weird because it's no longer in the right position so let's look at the idling timing now here we go you can see four and a half seven nine eight and a half 10 12 all over the place with the warren timing belter chain the belt's moving around the timing changes all the time because it's not correlated right that's why it's got that code for crankshaft camshaft correlation is wrong because it's confused and this is gonna show up the most at idle because it's idling it can bounce around more so let's do another test let's rev up the engine to say 2000 rpm and look at the advance notice it doesn't bounce around much at all that hit the nail on the head when you go faster it spins faster it's tighter the timing isn't bouncing anymore the codes trip when it's just idling not when it's going at a fast speed this baby needs a timing belt if you want it to run correctly see when i have it revved up it's stained real stationary while i keep moving my foot not bouncing all over the place just a tiny half a degree difference but in an attempt to make it run better we're going to clear the crank pattern this machine shows us what to do start the engine then turn the ignition switch off then turn the ignition switch on and wait 30 seconds oh i just hate waiting for that 30 seconds we're in such a hurry these days it even annoys me and now that's cleared the pattern we have to do the relearning but we ensure it's in park neutral put the parking brake on okay it'll start the engine okay communicating turn the ignition switch off running switch on talk to the engine and wait 30 seconds since it's been an awful lot of waiting with us and we learned let's take it for a road test well i can already feel it's shaking a lot less as we step on the gas seems to be going quite well now now it is running a lot better by compensating for the wear with the computer re-correlating stuff i would if i owned this car definitely change the timing belt as soon as possible not to chance it if it breaks goodbye engine goodbye vehicle when it's as old as this thing with all that mileage on it never chance an old timing belt on a honda v6 engine the newer ones have timing chains a lot of them they'll go on have rubber timing belts make sure you change about every 100 000 miles or so so you don't ruin your vehicle over a belt that costs 50 bucks mine's just going to cost a lot more than that if you don't do it yourself and pay a mechanic but it'll save the engine and here's some bonus questions and answers yeah same body says engine oil is leaking on my spark plug chamber when i pull out the spark plugs there's oil in them i do the oil change myself what should i do i have a japanese import spark plugs are an edge right you got a valve cover gasket remove the valve cover gasket i don't know about the daihatsu mirrors i've never worked on one that's not sold in the united states but they're all pretty much designed the same way when you take the valve cover gasket off there's holes where the spark plugs fit in they're spark plug tube seals replace those seals now like i say i don't know that particular design there are a few weirdo designs out there that the seal isn't there the seal the tubes that go down have seals that go on the engine you got to unscrew those and put new seals in if it's that design you'd have to do that but normally just the seals on the spark plugs when you take the gasket off and you put new seals on the valve cover assembly itself on the inside and when you slide it on the seals keep oil from getting into the spark plugs once those in the united states are like that and that's what it needs mr nobody says should i try liquid moly engine oil i saw some oil called liquid molle special tech claims to be fuel efficient and 88 gave five stars from amazon what do you think all right well one who knows what anybody knows about oil but engineers you'd have to run an oil drive it in a car send the sample of the old used oil one of these oil sample places now giving analysis of everything that's in it it has to be done scientifically but i know about molly oil it's molybdenum by sulfate which is an additive that actually lubricates quite well if you're going to use an oil like that you got to make sure it's the same weight if your car takes 0w20 it would have to be 0w20 liquid molle oil they tried to sell that for years different companies and most of them were massive failures for one reason which is actually kind of an observed reason but it scared people away molybdenum bisulfate is dark black so your oil looks black sometimes right after the oil change and then people say oh look my oil's dirty i need to change it so that scared a lot of people away you could use it in a car but you know i don't think that kind of stuff is necessary because the modern gf6 oils are excellent oils they've engineered them for modern cars stick to that i wouldn't go with some aftermarket thing like that who knows if it works or it doesn't work bulimpton bisulfate is a very good lubricant but who knows what it does in a car over time to bearings and different things you never know i stick to what the engineers designed it only makes sense c-cass said should i save two grand and buy a yonder elantra instead of a civic or corolla no cause the civics and corollas those things could run forever the elantras can't and you're only saving two grand i'll give you a perfect example i had a customer years ago that did that and then about three four years later the elantra fell apart and i said if you would have had a civic or a corolla you'd still be driving it then they got rid of the elantra and what did they buy a corolla and then 10 years later they were still driving the corolla you gotta realize they're so much better made now if you're in a pinch let's say you're gonna buy a new car and you want to get the cheapest thing that can last at least a hundred thousand miles the young days aren't bad they generally will go that far without problems but even then some of them have engine problems but you're talking about buying used ones you said 2012 to 2014 used ones no you don't want to buy a korean car used like that if you're only going to pay two grand more for a civic girl it would be foolhard especially if you're talking about the same mileage the same year it's no brainer then petrolhead 1996 says in terms of reliability which is better a first generation ford raptor or a second generation ford raptor i would go with first generation and here's why as time goes on ford has had more and more technology they start putting in these v6 engines with gdi dual turbos the earlier raptors had v8 engines in them i like the v8 engines better they hold up longer they have less strain it's a big truck in terms of reliability a hundred thousand two hundred thousand miles i guarantee you the v8 engines are gonna be more reliable so if you never want to miss another one of my new car repair videos remember to ring that bell\n"