Spark Plug Woes

[five_o_stang]

Ok....so I'm tuning up my car today (first time iv'e done it....might I add) and I get all the wires and plugs pulled....except that pesky one in the back on the passenger side.....i dont' know the cylinder number...anyway....i cannot for the life of me get it out....not only is it awkward...but it won't budge..

Anybody got any tricks up their sleeve for this little booger?....Thanks in advance.

Eric

 

[HISSIN50]

sometimes for a tough wire, if you turn the boot back and forth like a bolt (clockwise then CC), it will break free. if you have new wires, who cares, butcher it to get it off. they make special boot pliers, but i can never get them to work worth poo.

somtimes you have to have faith and pull on the boot with one hand, while pulling on the wire gingerly, with the other. if they are decent wires, they will be ok. once off, if the wires look old, but you are gonna reuse them, ohm them out first. no point in doin a tune up and not replacing bad wires.

also, use normal, cheap copper plugs. no platinum.

use lots of dielectric grease in the boots of you new wires to help this from happening again. good luck.

 

[HISSIN50]

anti seize on the threads of the plugs is good too.

 

[sleeper89]

is your prob with the wires or the plugs. i think you're talking about the plug. if so you just have to be patient and good tools always help. do you have a "spark plug socket"? do you have a good ratchet (snap-on preferably)? have you tried to put a wrench on the spark plug socket? that plug is always a fight with all that smog tubing in the way. i usually have to contort my body in some fashion and get 2 (open) hands in there and work it out with my fingers, but you need to free it first. once it is loosened a piece of hose to go over the plug and twist it out works great.

-steve

 

[HISSIN50]

Steve, good call. i dont know what i was thinking - must be a plug he is having trouble with. i must have been too tired last night. i know I have had trouble getting the wire off back there, but i dont think most do.

i think i used a longer extension or two small extensions and a universal joint. i also have a ratchet with very small number of degrees needed to "click" - a sloppy ratchet, as many of mine are, will make you insane in there. lots of little turns and it comes out. if it wont budge, you might want to spray some PB blaster in the hole. i dont know for sure, but i dont imagine that even if that stuff made it into the cylinder, that it be be harmful. if you are worried, use something like WD-40 instead. you can also try using a longer handled wrench or find a piece of pipe that fits over the handle of your wrench and slide it on, to give more leverage.

how long have the plugs been in there?