i'm installing new plug wires on my trans am. i've got the layout for what wire goes where and all of that... the driver's side seems like it's relatively easy... but i'm not really sure how you're supposed to get the passenger side wires off and the new ones on with ANY luck at all...

i've got the wires all set up. i think i'm going to have to pull the boots on the wires back, and put the inside piece on, make it click and then put the boot back over. altho, i'm not so sure i'll have enuff hand room to do that on the passenger side. anybody got any suggestions? i'm trying to avoid taking my car to the shop...

also, on a side note... anybody know how in the ****ing hell you're supposed to get the dipstick tube back after header installation? i haven't had the opportunity to get into it and see if i can do it... but the guys i had working on my car haven't had any luck with it. one of them was so angry and so sure it couldn't be done, he suggested JB welding the hole on the block shut

any help would be great, all of this new stuff is a real pain in the ***

- jay

 

Searches do wonders but let me enlighten you a bit, Passanger wires take some time its not hard at all but frustrating, you have to take off your belt tensioner to get to the opti, and easier access if you also remove the altenator good luck.

 

lucky me... my alternator is already off. car has been down for a week and a half now after the header installation. got the headers on... but we weren't done, i have been at work since except for one day. the second day, everything was finished except the dipstick tube (before i ordered the new wires and the 4' to 3' reducer for the y-pipe)... they couldn't get it in, and they bent it. i had to order a new one, and it took forever to get in.

the driver's side ones look like a piece of cake except the top one on the opti seems to go in at a weird angle. the passenger side ones, i don't really see how i'm supposed to maneuver my hand much once i get up there...

aside from that, these plug wires are a real bitch. we had to put them together. the metal clamp on the wire, and put the boot on. it sucks because they won't click over when you put them on the opti, so i looks like i'm gonna have to pull the boot down to put the wire in and make it click and then pull the boot back over. i'm just not sure i have enuff room on the passenger side to do that...

any clues on the dipstick tube?

- jay

 

Couldnt get mine back in either, so I took a file and ground down the lip at the end of the tube where it inserts into the block. Use plenty of silicone sealant if you go this route otherwise you will have a huge oil leak. Guess how I know

 

lol. i have two brand new dipstick tubes to try it out with, so hopefully i'll be in the clear. a lot of people are saying they couldn't get theirs back in...

one guys suggested that i actually jb weld the hole shut and not even bother ****ing with it because it would never go back in

so if i do it your way, i just file down the very end where it inserts into the block? when i use the silicone to seal it... do i just put it around the outside on the block where the tube sticks out? pile a bunch of the **** on there and make sure it's not going to have anything leak out? i might just jb weld it on too, i'm sure that'd work... and god knows it'd never come back out

- jay

 

I cut off about an inch or so of the tube to get it in.
Some guys on here have said it will break the tip of the dipstick off if you do this, I have not had any problems so far but I suggest you cut the tube only as a last resort.

 

Take some fine sandpaper and remove some of the paint on the dipstick tube. Then with the header still loose and plenty of lube on the dipstick tip work the dipstick in. It may take some prying to get the bend required. You should definitly be able to get it in if you still have the header loose (in place but no bolts started). This can create another problem though, getting the header bolts started. Once you have the dipstick seated and bolted in place though you should be able to contort it to clear the headers in their final position.

Definitly work at it some more before you go cutting or fileing a significant amount off.

Remember, it's not the dipsticks fault your headers are in the way

-brent

 

true true. i really don't want to have to cut or file anything off of the tube... i'd rather just get it back in there. what kind of lube should i use on it?

i have to get these two things done so i can get my car running again. down for a week and a half with only two things left keeping it from running

- jay

 

Plug wires? Man, only advice you need is just be patient, and take out whatever parts you need to to be able to get your hand in there. Go from the bottom and the top. The passenger side is more difficult, but still do-able. Just expect to tear up your hand a lil bit.

As for the dipstick tube, I just put mine in as far as I could get it, then put a lil sealant around it so there wouldn't be any leaks and just left it at that. Someone told me about a "flexible" dipstick tube... but I couldn't find this, if it even exists.

 

i figure if i strip the paint off and use the lube, it should go most of the way in without too much of a problem. i'm not sure what kind of lube i should use tho...

what kind of sealant did you use to block it off once you got it in as far as you could?

anybody else use the taylor ovc wires? after we put mine together, it seems damn near impossible to get the wires to click over on the opti with the boots over the ends. only thought i had was to pull the boots back, make it click over, then pull the boots back over... anybody have a better thought?

- jay

 

Motor oil , i just wanted to use the oppertunity to say lube haha. Please spend the time and do it right, don't leave it hanging out all ghetto or anything like that. You'll probably be glad you spent the time in the long run.

-brent

 

oh trust me... the effort to get it done right has been made. the mother****er just doesn't want to go back in. i got it about an inch, maybe an inch and a half in... and it's just ****ing stuck there. got the plug wires done with relative ease... but that dipstick tube just won't go in. i got it this far without lube... and i could redo it, but damn i'd hate to pull that thing back out after it took me this long to get it as far as it is...

i have no intentions of leaving the dipstick hanging out part-way... if i wasn't going to get the dipstick tube all the way in, i would've just jb welded the ****er shut to begin with and saved myself the stress. next step is gonna be to pull the tube back out, sand it down... and this one's for you 94 form... lube it up, and shove that sum-bitch in the hole.

here's hoping... and if hope doesn't work, here's for shoving the **** out of it instead

- jay

 

I just did my header install.....**** doing that again! But my dipstick tube is barely in there cuz i spent two hours trying to get it in and said screw it! Also I burnt one of my plug wires. I have the taylor wires in the car, but after the header install i dont wanna do **** with that car for a long while. So i drove back home to Chicago fom KC with a burnt out plug wire and a blinking SES light. Hopefully I make the drive back tomarrow ok. But screw it I dont care cuz I dont wanna do crap anymore to this car!!

 

yeah... it sucks, but what can you do? i finished my header install, and i'm still having to do new stuff to my car... i just spent another $800

plug wires are a bitch, but they can be done... just gotta make sure everything goes where it's supposed to go and that you don't incinerate one of the wires on the header... that sucks major ****...

the dipstick tube actually was easy as **** when i figured it all out. just sand down the bottom portion that goes into the block... insert the tube from underneath the A/C lines and angle it just to the side of the starter... if it goes down too far, you know you've passed the hole you're looking for. it should be right on the side of the block by the oil pan. once you get the dipstick tube at the hole... just make sure it's lined up from underneath the car... then hose that sum-bitch down with WD-40... get out quick, and shove the **** out of it. mine went in in about 30 seconds when i figured this **** out. pissed me off since i spent a good bit of time having to think about it and trying to force it when it didn't want to go... and when two other guys that were working on my car before... BENT THE DAMN THING because they couldn't figure it out. jesus...

all in all... i've done a lot of header installs, but this one was by far the worst. i know i could do another header install in no time at all... but i'm not so sure i'd want to

- jay

 

I did my header install along with a bunch of other mods and RRing my tranny for a rebuild.
Let me tell ya, it took me a week solid working on it 4 hrs a nite to get the header install done, I did not even look at the car for 4 days after that.
By then I had calmed down and finished the rest of the stuff.