Whats up? I recently picked up an '89 GTA and am in the process of giving it a tune up...all spark plugs have been replaced ( it wasnt no walk in the park let me tell ya) except for good ol #8 spark plug which is in a very tight spot since the car came with hedman hedders! i've tried getting to it from the top using a ratchet and swivel head spark plug socket but no luck...then i tried using t-handle spark plug socket tool with a swivel head but no luck as well ..I tried these methods thru the bottom but im SOL too! I really dont want to take off the header to access it....any suggestions????

Thanks very much in advance!
L8R!

 

Have you tried using a spark plug socket with just a box wrench? I have hedmans and on 6 out of 8 plugs I have to use the box wrench. A ratchet turns out to be useless.

 

havent tried a box wrench yet.....does it matter if the spark plug socket has a swivel head on it?

 

Not in my case.
If you can get the socket onto the plug the box wrench will remove it.

 

Damn!! Couldn't get the damn plug out that way as well! the socket wouldn't even fit in the space between the header and the head! I tried shortening the socket by removing the swivel part via a hex screw that it has but not even that way could I get the socket over the plug. Getting to it under the car was a failure too! I guess I gotta remove the starter (which I dont want to do) to get to it then huh?

 

OK I've got a couple of suggestions. If I remember correctly when my car had manifolds (I understand this isn't your case) I had to get to it from underneath. That may help depending on how your headers are routed. What I do with headers is take a 1/2 drive socket, the kind that has the hex on the back, and cut it off about 1 1/2 long. Now it's short enough to slip it on the plug and the plug small end can stick through the socket. Then I take a 13/16 open end wrench and use it on the outside of the socket. In fact, it's the best/easiest way to do all my plugs.

 

Phoenix, assemble a collection of misc. tools and narrow it down to what you need for that plug. I have the same problem on my El Camino with headers. Each plug takes a different set-up but they all come out. I use an open or box wrench on some, plug socket with a 3/4 socket attached to that with a ratchet, plug socket with open end wrench, some I need to remove from under the car etc. It takes me all day to change plugs but I don`t have to do it very often. The bigger problem for me was getting a wrench or socket on the header bolts. I have tried 12 pt. 5/16 & 12pt 3/8, and every header bolt known to man and there are still some that I can`t tighten enough to keep the header gaskets from blowing out. My `88 Iroc still has the stock exhaust manifolds and that`s the way I am keeping it, constant header problems are not worth the trouble to me.

 

i have a 12point snap-on crow foot that i use . works great from underneath , looked but no pn# on it . i would recomend this crow foot to all with headers . [ damn i have a lot of tools , 45+ years working on aircraft does that to you ]

 

When all else fails, crow foot ftw.

 

It's not a gasket problem, it's a bolt problem.
1. Most bolts that come with headers are too short. Check the depth of the threaded hole in the heads and you'll see. Use as long of a bolt as you can without bottoming out. Get 12 point bolts (they come in 1/8" length increments).
2. The heat cycling will loosen any bolt which is why exhaust manifold bolts came with fold-down sheet metal locks.
3. Use loctite to hold them tight. The coolant in the heads will keep the loctite from breaking down from the heat if the bolts go deep enough in the heads.
4. Best of all, since the pipes tend to pass over the bolt heads, your best friend will be a small ground-down combination wrench for the bolts that aren't "socket friendly"
It works.

 

hey jim , went on snap-on website they do have them . they call them deep flare nut something . snap-on stk. # an850810b [ 27.95 ] damn i only paid a couple of bucks for mine . i did buy a whole set of them many years ago . it has saved me lot's of tears . hope this helps all .