I think I need to do a valve clearance adjustment as there's a kind of clicking/fast ticking noise coming from my engine and I thought I'd replace the spark plugs and valve gasket seal while I'm at it. So I called the dealership and the OEM spark plugs are $21.25 EACH!

Holy freaking crap!

On my last car, an old Saturn, I paid something like $1.00 per plug. Is there anything cheaper I can use that will work as well as the OEM plugs? I have a 2002 Civic EX (4 door).

Also, does $23.59 sound fair for a valve cover gasket seal set?

Thanks for your advice!

$1.00 plug = crap

Go to pep boys and get the NGK OEM plugs. Laser, or iridium NOT the cheaper NGK's. I believe a laser is around $10.00 and iridium is $7.00. Only ever put NGK or Denzo plugs in your Honda. They are a Japanese company and they know what Homda engines need when it comes to spark... That sounds like a good price I forget what I paid for my set (from Honda). You might want to do the CAM seal too.

The plugs are 100,000 mile plugs. Don't replace them if it doesn't need them.


PZFR6F-11 are the NGK plugs, Platinum.
Available at any well stocked parts store, or can usually be had on an overnight shipment.

Denso seems to be harder to get here, everyone carries NGK.

the only parts store around me that has NGK plugs is Ridge & Kramer. The last time I changed my plugs I ordered them offline for about 7 a piece; 21.25? crazy.. And ya, I guess that's not a terrible price for the seal. Make sure you use some permatex #2 around that seal. Never heard of 1.00 a plug, and if I did I would NOT buy them!

I'm at 135k, and I don't know if they've ever been replaced before.

Are these these the Denso plugs you guyes are talking about?: http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/web...r-header-58544

Appreciate your advice!

The Denso plug number I show is PKJ20CR-M11.

they only use platinum for longer life, not because its a better plug. on these cars you wont be able to tell either way. a $2 ngk vpower copper plug will be just as good if not better. just change em every few yrs.

True.
The NGK ZFR6F-11 (or 5F) are 30,000 mile plugs and would work just fine.

Dirt cheap, comparatively.
Easy to replace.

I took out my spark plugs today and here's a picture:



They say Denso PKJ20CR-M11 on them, so I guess the stock one's were replaced at some point? In any case, do they look like they need to be replaced?

Something I found slightly disconcerting when I took the plugs out is that one of the spark plug coils is very discolored compared to the others:





Is that normal?

Your reading comprehension skills are worse than mine?
Those are probably the original plugs.

I don't see true wear on them, the only way to tell is measure the gap.
They don't look fouled.
The outer porcelain looks like the rubber insert in your spark plug socket may have been dirty.
I'd wipe them off and keep using them, but I'm a tightass.
Precious metal plugs don't wear noticeably, they could easily outlast the car as long as they don't get fouled.

The seals on the plugs look like they were crushed and sealed at some point. HOWEVER, if someone pulled them out to look, and didn't get them tightened up again, they could leak combustion past the threads and cause the discoloration you see on the coil.
(Clue: Is there a bunch of brown residue packed in the threads? Were they tight unscrewing all the way out?)


Color of the coil?
Some variation can be expected.
Hard to tell what has happened in 135k miles or whatever. See above.
I bet it came out of #2 or #3.
Could just be a different lot#, meaning it came from a different batch of coils.
Could have been hot. Has the engine ever had a head gasket job?
The coil will either fire, or it won't. If you didn't have misfire codes, I would assume it is fine. Just dirty.


Make sure everything is clean and dry when you put it back together. (The rubber boots on the tips of the coils where they have to slide over the white part of the plugs.) Dirt or grease can lead to carbon tracking, or etching, into the porcelain. Then you end up with something like this:

And that ain't good. You replace the plug AND the coil when this happens, because one will lead to the other if they aren't replaced at the same time.
What's a new coil worth, about 65 bucks each?

HTH