...is there anything i need to know before i start? Im going to be using Installuniversity.com's write-up to help guide me along, and i have all the necessary tools available to do it already. The drivers side looks like its going to be easy, but the passenger side looks like its going to be a pain in the ***.

So is there anything i need to know before i go tackle this job? Ive heard many stories from people that have done it, and it sounds like it can be a pain at times. Also, what should i gap the plugs at? It says .060 but ive heard that .055 or.050 is better? Its that true? Also, of course going to put anti-seize on the threads, but is there anything i need to put in the spark plug wire boot also?

 

I gapped @ .055.

Remove your coil packs, Makes for more room. #8 is easily reached from below. The rest on the passenger side are easy. #1 was the PITA for me because w/the PS pump and other crap its a little cramped. I have never used antiseize on any plug and have never had a problem.

 

there is a special silicone grease for the boots. If you're going copper plugs .050 gap works good. And I use copper based (because of its better conductivity) antisieze with great results.

 

well i did them tonight instead of last night, and i just got done doing the drivers side which was pretty easy...started her up and no codes and everything sounded good, so i guess i did them right.

And i did run into one problem with one of the new wires though, so i put one of the old ones back on the #3 spark plug, is that ok?

Now onto the passenger side...

 

What kind of problem with the new wires?

The old one will be fine as these wires will last the life of the car as long as you don't break them although newer wires will give you just a slight bit more performance improvement (over lost power)

For the passengerside, only remove the coil packs as a last resort... Instead remove the AIR pipe first, two 10mm bolts and it just push it to the side. Becareful of the metal gasket though, it can be bent or broken with rather ease. With the AIR pipe out the way, pull the wire out and use a short extension on the plug socket. The extension will push the rachet out JUST enough to avoid the coil packs and should give you enough room to turn... If not though, use a long 5/8" plug socket with a 3/4" drive wrench and the length should still narrowly miss the coil packs.

#6 Plug has to be done from on top using the same method, I just used my left hand and turned my body so it's facing the front of the car while leaning on the passenger side fender to pull the wire out, and it's a game of feel and touch to get the socket / rachet over it.

#8 Plug was a PITA because there's barely any room between the block and the catalytic converter to give your hand any prying force to remove the wire. Just have to wrestle with it. When you get it off, you'll need a 1/2" drive rachet with a 5/8" socket, I don't think I needed an extension on this one being it was on the bottom, but use if necessary. A breaker bar works wonders btw...

When complete, grab some rubbing alcohol and plenty of bandaids. Also your tuneup will never be complete until you get down on your knee's, clamp your hands together, and PRAY TO GOD that GM DOESN'T make a simple TUNEUP into a nightmarish puzzle in the 2009 Camaro...

 

^ ^ Need4Camaro ..... your experience sounds almost exactly like mine!! Except I had to bust open the band-aids about ~5 minutes into the job, pulling the plug wires off on the driver's side, I sliced my right thumb REALLY GOOD (good = bad) on the heat shields around plug #1 or 3 ... what a gusher, and I couldn't work with my right hand at all for the entire ~4hr job (I think if that didn't happen, I would have taken about ~2 - 3hrs ). Ouch .

 

Damn, don't scare the guy too much. I think the extra work removing the coil paks is worth it to prevent this kind of carnage, or at least minimize it. I like to do #8 from the top like this:

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showthread.php?t=458308

 

I did the same thing with my pinky. Bleeding all over the fenderwhell. Funny thing was, I was in our schools automotive lab while doing half of it and the students wanted to know wtf happened. I told them I was doing a tuneup and they're like "You're having that much trouble getting a plug and wire out? Step aside..."...I said yeah you go ahead and try... I didn't care because the sooner I got it done the sooner I could crank it and leave. 5 minutes into it, he's like "Holy ****, what happened did these wires fuse into the block or something?!"...

Anyway, I'm going to tell the truth. After I was done with the entire process, both of my arms looked as if they went thoroughly through a meat grinder and proffessionally stamped "Grade A"... That happened last month and I STILL have scars on my arms from it...

I had the most trouble with the #4 wire because it absolutely WOULD NOT release. I ended up breaking it into 4 pieces before it finally released. First the wire itself broke away from the plug boot. Then the sparkplug INSIDE the bootprotector broke into halves, but it still wouldn't release! I finally get enough force to pull the boot / bootprotector off and low-and-behold it breaks away from the metal prong! The metal prong was still stuck on the sparkplug! Then I finally got the prong off and the plug looked destroyed...

 

a good pair of mechanic gloves go a long way.

Although, for the spark plug change, I didn't wear them caused I needed every mm of clearance and feel.. I did however wear powerderless latex gloves, which saved me a few times from a couple of cuts.

I think I used some extensions, swivel stuff, and one of those socket wrenches that can bend its head in various degree's..

Although now I think back about it, one of those stubby socket wrenches probably would have helped me more.

Oh, and handthread the plugs back in, so there's less chance of crossthreading it.

 

I have a 1" extension and a stubby swivel socket wrench that came from Sears that make the job so much easier.

 

alright so i got #2, 4, and 6 changed today, and im going to change #8 tommorow. It wasnt as bad as i thought, actually it wasnt that bad at all, just took ALOT of patience. The hardest part was trying to figure out how to the the ratchet/socket to get onto the plug and still have enough room to work. I used a 1 3/4 inch extender for 4 and 6, and used a 3 inch extender on #2, those 3 plugs took about an hour and a half, which included a drive up to the store to get the 1 3/4 inch extender, and i was taking my time too. So ill get around to #8 tommorow, i heard thats a real bitch...

 

From underneithe the car, the hardest part about #8 was getting the wire out... other than that though, as for removing the actual plug itself, I found #8 to be the EASIEST of all 4...

 

^ ^ ditto! WAY easier than I was anticipating!