Please someone help... My spark plugs are fouled out and I can't get to them with my standard wrenches or sockets... The headers are in the way... I can't get it started to even take it to a mechanic and it is my daily driver... I was able to get 1 plug out... PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!

 

try from underneath. the backs may be easier from underneath.

 

You're going to have to get dirty. Crawl under the car if you have to. It is possible to get most plugs out from above the car, but the passenger side may give you trouble. All I can really say is keep trying. I do mine with a 5/8 combination wrench from below the car on the passenger side and above the car on the drivers side, but I have aftermarket headers.

Im assuming that you pulled the front drivers side plug out and it is badly fouled?

 

My favorite Header/spark plug tool is a closed end wrench, with that oh so little Z-bend at the end. It works for me.

Ron


------------------
'82 Trans Am
'81 Camaro Z-28
'94 Vette LT1 Coupe
'00 Impala LS


[This message has been edited by ronterry (edited December 04, 2001).]

 

First of all thanks for ya'll answering me.. I called SECO performance here in Alabama... and the dude told me about and s- shaped offset 5/8" wrench.... He didn't have any and he couldn't remember where he got his... can anyone help with that????

 

You should be able to find one at any auto parts store. If not try like Sears.

A flat closed end will not work, but I remember getting a hole set of these Z or S bend wrenches at Autozone ???

Oh also, some spark plug sockets have a hex or nut shape at the end that you can get a regular flat wrench on it that might work, but nothing beats those off set wrench or what ever the he## there called.


Ron

------------------
'82 Trans Am
'81 Camaro Z-28
'94 Vette LT1 Coupe
'00 Impala LS



[This message has been edited by ronterry (edited December 04, 2001).]

 

Some even go one step farther and shorten the socket so that it is just long enough to fit the plug into it; then cut a slot down the length of one flat the width of the ceramic so you can slide the socket over the plug and then down over the hex, then use a regular wrench on the male hex end for the application of force. (I guess that's actually two steps farther.)

Accel shorty plugs help somewhat.

Me, I think I'll wait until I pull the engine to change the plugs. Much easier to get at on the engine stand...

------------------
82 Berlinetta, orig V-6 car, now w/86 LG4/TH700R4, 2300 stall TC. Ported World 305 heads, Crane PowerMax 2050 cam. ZZ3/4 intake, oil pump, pan & baffle. Accel HEI SuperCoil & module. Hooker 2055 headers, 3" Catco cat & 3" catback w/dual-opposite Flowmaster 80. 2.93 limited slip. Spohn SFCs waiting to be installed. AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Daily year-round driver. Best ET, speed TBD...
57 Bel Air, my 1st car. '66 396, 9.7:1 forged TRWs, Weiand Action+, Holley 750VS w/4150 conversion, GK 270 cam, Magnum rockers, Jacobs Omnipack, 1-3/4" Hedders & 3" Warlocks, TH400 w/TCI Sat Night Special conv & Trans-Scat shift kit, MegaShifter, 3.08 8.2" 10-bolt w/Powertrax, AMSOIL syn lubes bumper-to-bumper. Idles smooth @ 700 RPM in D. Best 15.02/95.06 @ 5800' Bandimere (corrected 13.93/102.4 @ sea level).

 

I change all eight from underneath, i find it alot easier that way, buts its still a PITA for a fat guy with huge arms and hands
I wish I could shrink myself and crawl into my engine bay.

 

SLP HAS A SHORTY SOCKET WHERE THEY HAVE THE
RATCHET DRIVE END DRILLED OUT SO THAT THE PLUG EXTENDS PAST AND THRU IT. YOU WOULD HAVE
TO USE A WRENCH TO GET IT OFF. I MADE UP MY
OWN WITH AN OVERAL LENGTH OG 1-5/8 IN. LONG.
I CUT THE CENTER SECTION OUT AND WELDED THE
2 PCS TOGETHER. I HAVE BOSCH PLUGS SO I
DRILLED A 7/16 HOLE THRU FOR THE PLUG TO PASS
THRU. I HAVE HEADERS AND IT WORKED GREAT. YOU
WOULD NEED ACCESS TO A LATHE AND WELDER. HOPE
THIS HELPS.

 

I dont have any problem getting to my spark plugs from underneath with a standard plug socket and rachet. Then again, I dont have headers either!

------------------
j.wolfe
_ ____ _
91 GTA L98 MSD K&N 195,000
Best time: 14.389@95.49 (VMP) Done with 193,000 miles and no engine work what so ever.
"...Deception..." Brandon Sloan * ...wounds heal and chics dig scars...

 

I can get to all my plugs from the top, with headers. I use a standard plug socket and 3/8 in. open end wrench (I think).

 

You know, I love this car (had it for just a little over a year now), but this is the first car I've ever owned that I had to jack up, and remove the spark plugs from underneath!! And it's still a pain! I sure can't wait for when I do the engine swap, I can get rid of all of this CRAP that's in the way! I could reach the first cylinder on both sides from up top, but that's it! The rest of them, I had to get underneath to get out & in.

How long do you guys think these splitfire plugs will last? I've never ran them before, but a friend of mine said he tried them once in his pickup, and they only lasted 6 months........

I sure wished I had read these posts before I started, too!
I had a real bad miss (305 TPI) in it, but since I put a set of them there "splitifires" in it, it seems to be running like a champ!

Here's a picture of what these bosch's look like once they were out: