It is time to up grade the spark plugs in my vehicle.

The last time I changed the plugs, the motor was out of the car and I used a 5/8 offset boxed end wrench. Now I think I have fouled plugs (car runs like crap from sitting-and this is due to having the spark plug wires off by one when the cap & rotor were changed---don't ask....) and I need to change them again. Due to the fact I have Edelbrock TES Headers-it is a bit difficult to do.

What tool would you recommend to change the plugs, without breaking my knuckes & causing me to throw a wrench across the street. (what type of plugs are you guys using)

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

if your carbed it not that hard if your tpied god help you. to get them out I used 5/8 spark plug socket and 3/4 wrench for the pluges that you can`t put the socket on break it and get the accel shorty plugs for headers there alot easyer to get out

 

Back when I had those crappy headers I used a 5/8" wrench too with little problems. I was able to do all 8 from the top. The driver's side was pretty easy and straightforward. On the passenger side I got down and hugged the fender, reaching way back with my right arm under the header and changed them. I could do plugs in under 20 minutes. The new SLP makes plug changes so much easier...

 

Thanks for your posts.

I will try taking them out today or tommorrow, due to the car being outside and snow on the ground, it kind of complicates things. The car is a 350 TPI motor.

What type of plugs are you guys running. I heard Bosch Plats-suck and it would be good to stick to AC Delco or Autolites.

Thanks for any help

 

No no no. Don't run Autolites. They are just as bad if not worse than Champion. The Bosch work well in a few cars, but my personal experience and almost everyone I know of has had nothing but trouble with them. My car ran rough and missed at idle when I bought it. Tried some Bosch Platinums because of the hype, same problem. I finally bought the cheapest plugs I could find - which were also OEM BTW - standard AC Delcos. And like magic, everything ran smoother and no more vibration at idle. Never tried the Autolites though - I don't put Ford parts on my car.

 

I could tune up my Old 1991 Z28 L98 in 30 minutes... Cap, rotor, coil, wires AND plugs... Just jack it up and you can get to everything pretty easy from under the car... Your 1st time, it will take longer then 30 minutes to get to some of the plugs towards the back though..... It took me a long time the 1st time i did it...

 

feel your pain, I have the same setup.Here's what I did:

I got a real cheap spark plug socket from the auto parts store
5/8" i think. make sure it has the 3/4 " hex on the 3/8 ratchet side

I cut the socket down a whole lot,until I could get it on the plug, and get a wrench to the hex on the socket. The end of the plug will come through the 3/8 drive opening.

I believe i did all of mine from underneath the car.

I use standard NGK in everything , bosch platinum's do suck,they do work well in some cars but not mine,and honestly once your headers were installed ,at that they're not worth the hastle or taking the chance the might work good.

ac delco have always worked well for me in the past too

Hope something here will help you

 

I did the same as ws6gta except I went a step further and welded a 3 1/2 bolt to the end of the socket .I've changed plugs
in cars TPI,Carbed with Edeljunks,Hooker and Headmans and it worked great for all different header types.I can change plugs in about 20 min.It's the only tool I need except gap guage and anti seize.I run NGK's,There shorter than AC Delcos but not as short as Accell's shorty plugs.

 

Sorry forgot to mention,I've never had to change plugs from underneith on any third gen car. Just lucky I guess.

 

Tried to change the plugs and they wouldn't move (cold outside I guess) took the car to my part time job & had them fix same-they also found a bad pick up coil & corrected the timing.

I was well worth the money I invested-used AC Delco plugs and it seems to make a difference-now the car runs better than before and my MSD parts help it along.

Thanks to all for their help & replies

 

Wow, talk about an old post...

But would headers help for in the future when changing plugs?
On my 95 silverado - I added borla shorty headers, and damn that made a huge difference in changing the plugs (not like it was that hard in the beginning, but at least I can see the plugs now). I wonder if the same is true for the L98s?

 

second on cutting spark plug socket.