Our latest featured service is Spark Plug Replacement on a 2001 Subaru Forester, brought to us by a client from Burnaby, BC.
On Monday morning we were greeted by a phone call from a client whose vehicle we had just serviced the previous week. We had replaced his clutch and while the car ran great after being picked up, it started running roughly over the weekend. The check engine light also came on.
It’s always a bit distressing for us when we receive this type of call as we pride ourselves on doing great work and from this call we perceived the possibility that perhaps something from our work was not right.
We inspected the vehicle when it arrived and quickly verified that it had nothing to do with our recent clutch replacement. Diagnosis was the next step and from there we found a misfiring cylinder, something that had clearly developed since our repairs. Further exploration found the culprit: a severely worn spark plug in #4 cylinder.
We replaced the spark plugs and along with it the spark plug wires. The wires were original and at 15 years of age were living on borrowed time.
Interestingly enough the failed spark plugs were platinum plugs, an upgrade from the originally installed type. While platinum plugs last longer they provide no additional performance advantage. Yes they do last longer but require additional energy to fire. You are better off to stick with the original manufacturer recommended plug and replace them at the prescribed interval.
For more about spark plugs click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spark_plug
For more about the Subaru Forester click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Forester
