How do you take off cover to change spark plugs on 2009 Nissan Sentra?

Answer 1

The engine cover on the 2009 Nissan Sentra 2.0 SL is held in place with two (2) 10mm screws on the top face (visible) and also by two (2) "plug-in" type plastic tips underneath the front edge of the cover. First, using a 10mm socket, remove each of the two (2) 10mm screws and place them safely to one side. Then, grab the underside of the front edge of the engine cover with your fingers (palms facing upwards) and lift/pull upward and they should release. This will remove the engine cover and expose the intake manifold.

However .....

You will ALSO need to remove 1) the Accordion style air intake tube leading from the air filter housing; 2) the silver throttle body; 3) the intake manifold. The intake manifold is held in place by five (5) 10mm bolts across the lower front side of the intake manifold. The end bolts and middle bolt are low; the 2 remaining are higher and sit between the 2 end intake arms at each end. (it's like an alternating patter: low - high - low - high - low). Once this is done, remove the intake manifold. You'll see four (4) small individual coil packs across the top of the engine, one for each spark plug. You can remove these using a 10mm socket. Once removed, you will need a 14mm socket (and an extension bar of at least 6" or 8") to remove each spark plug. You may also need some long needle nose pliers to remove each loosened plug from its own socket cavity. Simply reverse the order of all of these steps in order to replace the plugs and put everything back together. This is about a 2 hour job, depending upon your skill and comfort level.!