Just do the plugs, the wires are pretty good. If you get aftermarket wires and they don't have the correct resistance, it can affect spark quality. Use a good dielectric grease on the plug boots. Use NGK or Denso plugs and you won't need to put anti-seize on the plug threads. Other brands may require anti-seize if they are not plated.

Use compressed air to blow out all debris from around the plugs before you remove them, otherwise this debris gets into the combustion chamber and causes additional wear of the rings.

 

I picked up the NGK copper plugs and Napa wires(wires looked pretty rough). Thinking it would be a quick job, all four plugs had oil on them. Oil usage is pretty low actually btw. Changed gaskets and pcv valve. I've learned so much on this site, all you guys are awesome!

 

By oil on them, do you mean around the body where they were sitting in the well or on the tips. If it is on the body where it sits in the well, that is not really an issue as oil is insulating. You can fix this if it bothers you with a valve cover gasket kit. The kit will include the little o rings that go around the spark plug wells.

Or is this what you meant by "Changed gaskets"

 

Sorry, yes i changed the valve cover gasket. Now my mileage is down ,I could get up 42 with little effort on my morning cummute to work(using Utlra Gauge) . Now I struggle to get to 38 everyday . Any input?

 

Are you sure you got the right plugs? If not, then that could be an issue. And did you check the gap on them before you installed them? Contrary to what a lot of people think, plugs do NOT come pre-gapped. You have to check them. Also, what kind of shape is your air filter and PCV valve in? Were they replaced?

 

I have the NGK plugs part #5643 that everyone has suggested to me, checked the gap on all four and they are fine. The air filter is about 4 months old and the pcv valve is about two weeks old . Stumped at this point....

 

What kind of plugs did you take out? BTW, I don't have a lot of faith in the accuracy of those mileage calculators. I always measure mine by resetting the trip odometer at each oil change and calculating the mileage based on gallons to fill the tank divided into the number of miles from the last refill. I do not get to concerned about any one particular fill up but always average the last three fill ups and keep a running tab.

BTW, I averaged 37.85 MPG on my 5 speed SL (8 valve ,single cam) in mixed driving over the life of the vehicle. I recorded as high as 44 mpg on some trips where I didn't need the AC on, but local driving in the summer with AC could be as low as 34 MPG.

 

Personally, I always use the OEM style plugs. The engineers put them in the car for a reason. I don't like NGK plugs in domestic vehicles. They seem to be more geared towards the imports, in my opionon. Look at the sticker under you hood and you should find the factory recommended plug brand and #. Toss those damn NGK's in the trash and put the factory plugs in. I don't know why the hell people can't just follow simple advice.

 

Ruby makes a point, but in part it is a point that comes from economics, Saturn used the plug they used because they most likely got a price break on them initially. Not the type of course but the brand. The Saturn ignition was designed to use plugs which were not of the up and common popular type of Platinum plugs. They pretty much last forever as far as the first owner is concerned and in the era of the 1st Saturn were mostly used in engines that changing plugs was a nightmare in accessibility. The use of them also says routine frequent changing was no longer required, but the down side is they were expensive. Fast forward 20 years, it is hardly an engine that is not made with out them. Of course dealer maintenance is almost totally ignored and the corner gas station has been gone for a long time so it makes sense to use them The first owner pays for them and the next two don't have to change plugs.
But Saturn needs NON-platinum plugs, and it is important that those plugs are the ones used, which are by the way the ones called out on the sticker on the car as Ruby points out.
Why? Because the electronics on them can give false error codes due to the electrode characteristics on miss-fires if the wrong type is used.
I personally prefer champions so that is what I use. But they are the right type and I have no problems with them.

I do not know if NGK 5643's are the right type or not, but if I have to depend on a friend who buys them for their Ford, Suburu or Plymouth to tell me what I should be using in my Saturn, consider the source and look on the label under the hood. That should point you in the proper direction. At least.

 

I used Champion double platinum plugs in my Saturn and it never missed a beat with them. I used them on the first plug change, then I tried Bosch Platinum +4 plugs but even though I never got a misfire code, they never felt quite right (?). Went back to the Champion soon after. I never tried the NGK iridium or platinum plugs in the Saturn but I have had good luck with them in my Japanese vehicles.