billsbird

.....Whooooa, I'm having a heck of a time changing the plugs on the passenger side of my engine. Does it help a lot to raise the engine??? I need new motor mounts anyway, & already have them at my house. I was thinking that if this helps a lot I would do this at the same time. fIf it doesn't make that much difference I'd just as soon do only one thing at a time. Now if I do raise the engine, what do I need to un-bolt other than the front motor mounts??? Thanks everyone, & hope all of you had a factastic Thanksgiving ,..... Bill
Oh forgot to say in my 'sig' that it's an LT1......

2QUIK6

No need to raise the motor, but you might want to drop the starter to give you more room to get up in there from underneath.
#6 was the hardest for me because my Kooks headers don't let you get a socket on there nor will a boxed end wrench fit on it from that angle...so I took a short socket, drilled the 3/8" drive square out with a big drill so it would fit over the plug head, and then welded a 1 ft. long piece of flat steel to it at a slight angle to use as a handle on the socket to get it out.

If you do raise the motor, just remove the 2 motor mount bolts, place a jack with a block of wood on the front of the crank and slowly jack up enough to release the weight on the bolts and slide them out, then continue to jack up...can go about 1-2" that way without messing with anything else, that should be plenty to change the mounts..just be sure that everything is supported and the jack does not loose pressure and drop the motor on a hand. Once jacked up, I'd lodge some 2x4 pieces of wood under the oil pan over the cross member just in case.

billsbird

.....THANKS a bunch 2Quik6, I think I'm going to raise the engine as the mounts need to be changed anyway. I hate to take the starter off as a remember back a year or so ago when I changed it. I have stock exhaust so the y pipe gets in the way for a starter change. In fact, knowing what i know now I wish i'd of just bought LT headers to put on while I'm it.... I just cut the AIR tube off that's by plug #2 so this will help. And cut off the main unit from the front. That smog air thing-y. Now I see where the coil wire goes..... Thanks again, Bill

2000GTP

My best advice is just to try different tool combinations. I remember when I did a plug change on a stock manifolds LT1, by the time I was done, I had a whole mess of tools lying around, ratchets, extensions, swivels, sockets, wrenches, you name it. Now with long tubes, I just use two, a spark plug socket and a stubby open end wrench.

billsbird

LOL, yeah, I KNOW what you mean! .... I've got a pile of new 'stuff' laying around & I'm not even done yet.... On my way down now to get a couple of 3/8" extensions..... Thanks for the reply!!! Bill

transAMdriv3r

i just did plugs 3 days ago and i only had troble with number 2 on passenger side. for that i used a standard run of the mill spark plug 3/8drive socket and i kneels on top of the engine and used a 3/4 boxed and open end wrench and i had no trouble

billsbird

.....UPDATE; ok, now I've got all 8 plugs done, just need to finish putting the new wires on the passengers side.... Wooooooa....... What a pain it the 'rear end'.... And I now can put !a/c delete in my signiture ;()..... BUT next time I change plugs I'd say it'll be a 45 minute job, maybe less.... THANKS again to all who helped ..... Bill

scrmnws6

I was going to change the plugs today as well... I looked a the passenger side and said the hell with it... Ill do it next year when I get the car out of storage. I hope now and the time when I take the car out of storage is a long times away.