I have a 3.8L caravan - after some intermittent rough idling,I noticed that one of my front-side spark plug wires is rubbing againstthe metal stand-off bracket which holds the 3 front ignition wires. Ironically, this bracket is supposed to prevent the wires from touching the engine and preventgrounding, but the wire has rubbed there enough to show some arcing when the engine is running.

It seems obvious that I need new wires (or at least some real good electrical tape). Can anyone recommend a good set of wires for this engine?
Also, do you know if the 3.8L comes from the factory with 100k platinum spark plugs, or should I just change them while I'm at it? I have about 38k miles on the factory plugs & wires.

-Scott

 

I think the consensus is factory wires usually go 80-100K, so go with something that works. Others like the NAPA house brand.
Champion dual platinum, NGK dp's, and Autolite dp's all have fanboys. You want to install 100K mile dual platinum plugs because it's such a pain in the a$$ job.

 

Thanks - I'll replace the spark plug wires, and possibly pull the front plugs to check for deposits. The rear sparky's look pretty tough to get at on this engine - I'm hoping that I won't see any reasons to replace them just yet! (I saw on another post that the 3.3L and 3.8L engines come from the factory with 100K platinums.)

 

I do rear sparkies from underneath, van on jack stands. Some do all but the front one from underneath and the front by removing the alternator bracket. My '99 had Champion coppers on it and it was obvious that the rear/front had never been changed. So I don't know if all 3.3/3.8's came with platinums. I would change all of them and the wires. That way you know that everything is fresh and optimal even though yours only has 38K miles. Cheap insurance really.

 

I had a few free minutes this afternoon, so I pulled the front 3 plugs just to take a look. The factory supplied Champion RE14PLP5's looked pretty good except for one whose gap was approaching 0.060" (the sticker in the engine compartment calls for 0.050"). I adjustedthe gapaccordingly. Apparently these are original platinum plugs and are (according to the owner's manual) expected to last between 60k-100k miles depending on which maintenance schedule you believe.

With the newer 3.8L engine design "it appears" like I might be able to get to those rear sparkies from the top. However, I do seem to recall changing the rears on my '94 caravan from the bottom as you suggested. We'll see.... it's never as easy as it seems it should be. This may be a good project for a warmer day...

 

Well, I got a warmer day - so I got busy replacing the wires. Mopar has changed the 3.8L engine design a little bit such that I was able to get to the rear spark plugs from the top - There is just on vacuum line that seemed to be continually in my way.

The spark plugs are mounted at an angle (The front sparkies 'tilt' towards the passenger side, and rears 'tilt' towards the drivers side.) If you're a right handed person, and have a small arm (like me), you'll probably be able to reach these from the top.

 

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