I brought my '14 3.6 V6 Jeep Grand Cherokee in today to have the spark plugs replaced (one cylinder misfiring) and the estimate came out to $560. I've done this myself befor on my truck and would like to do it again but I don't have time and need to get the check engine light off so it can pass inspection. The mechanic said the cost is so high because he has to take a manifold off to get to one side of the engine for the drivers side cylinders (the main reason I can't find time to do it myself). Does this sound reasonable? I just want to get the CEL off so I can trade it in and move on. He also diagnosed that my AC compressor is bad. I'm guessing it's not worth fixing it to sell it. It has 120000 miles on it.

Does anyone know the cylinder pattern for this vehicle? I tried looking it up but found a couple of different answers. Maybe the misfiring cylinder (5) is on the passenger side and I could just replace that one to get the CEL cleared and fix the problem.

What say you?

TIA

I charged a guy 175 a while back for this job on a GC.

Parts would be like $60 for good top of the line plugs. Plus a couple dollars for anti-seize and maybe a couple of manifold gaskets that would require replacing. So maybe $100 total in parts. Maybe 2-3 hours of labor at $100/hr which is the approximate going rate. I'd guess it's a bit high, but not crazy high. I did this recently in a nissan and it did take a while due to the complex manifold, but a 2014 should be relatively simple.

Jist out of curiosity, Why is this such a labor intensive effort on this car?

Several parts have to be removed to get to the three spark plugs on the passenger side. Nothing too crazy, but enough trouble that the mechanic charges a 2-3 hours of labor. While I have done almost all of my own work on my '99 Silverado, I have not messed around under the hood of this car and I'm sure it would take me 4-5 hours and a lot of cussing.

Thanks 1ags. Do you recall which side cylinder 5 was on? I've lurked here a while and seen your posts before, are you open to side jobs like this?

5 is the firewall pass side...

And yes, I'm available weekends!

You could just about buy another '99 Silverado for what the mechanic would charge.

I suggest going that route.

PM'd you. Do you mind letting me know what you think this morning? I need to let the shop know what I want to do. Thanks!

Ha, still have the Silverado. 220,000 and still going strong. The seats don't match, the CD player has a CD stuck in it from when I was in high school, and I need to replace the 4wd switch, but other than that she's great!

MouthBQ98 said:

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Parts would be like $60 for good top of the line plugs. Plus a couple dollars for anti-seize and maybe a couple of manifold gaskets that would require replacing. So maybe $100 total in parts. Maybe 2-3 hours of labor at $100/hr which is the approximate going rate. I'd guess it's a bit high, but not crazy high. I did this recently in a nissan and it did take a while due to the complex manifold, but a 2014 should be relatively simple.

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The upper intake manifold has to be completely removed to access one bank.

So, terrible design, basically. Treating serviceable components as if they were long term low failure rate components, and making them inaccessible.

MouthBQ98 said:

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So, terrible design, basically. Treating serviceable components as if they were long term low failure rate components, and making them inaccessible.

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Almost every V6 engine has this same issue.

The Ford Duratec V6 (3.0, 3.5, and 3.7), the Nissan VQ V6s, Toyotas 3.0 and 3.5L V6 in their SUVs and Cars, LFX V6 in GM cars, Pentastar, etc. Removing the upper intake isnt a PITA, just scares the typical DIYer.

They designed the manifold on the VG33 to allow for deep plug inserts, it is difficult but you can replace all the plugs on that engine without removing the manifold. It didn't take much but to leave a bit of gap for plug 2 and 5 in some of the intake ducting.

Wonder why newer designs couldn't accommodate this?

MouthBQ98 said:

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They designed the manifold on the VG33 to allow for deep plug inserts, it is difficult but you can replace all the plugs on that engine without removing the manifold. It didn't take much but to leave a bit of gap for plug 2 and 5 in some of the intake ducting.

Wonder why newer designs couldn't accommodate this?

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Because they assumed that most everyone would have a mechanic or dealer do their repair work and you and I would be afraid to check our own oil.

Good point. They guess they figure at 100,000 miles, something else under the manifold might have broken by then giving a reason to throw in changing the plugs.

SweaterusVestus said:

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I just want to get the CEL off so I can trade it in and move on.

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Sweat,

If you clear the code yourself using a cheap scantool, is the misfire intermittent enough that it will stay off long enough for you to get an inspection?

Is it driving really poorly? I'm not suggesting you pass it on to some unsuspecting individual like that, but having an inspection sticker would buy you a little time, and if you do trade it in, tell them it needs plugs and let their mechanic pull the manifold.

Just a thought - I had to pull the upper intake on the Ford V-6 in my wife's car, and, while it didn't take any crazy specialized tools, it did cost me some time, and left me wondering to myself -- is nothing simple anymore?

Good luck.