Finally got around to getting this done - it's amazing how much free time a guy has when he doesn't have a job

Anyway, it went like this: Plugs 1-7 = 1 hour. Didn't remove anything except the air pipe on the passenger side.

Plug 8 - left the wires off 2, 4, & 6, had the air pipe off, pulled 4 bolts out of coil pack rack, loosened the far back bolt on the coil pack rack, rotated coil packs out of the way, ripped the wire out of the plug boot, jacked up the car and found less room than on top, let the car back down, knelt on the battery and cussed and sweated and finally got the plug boot off. Of course the metal clip was still on the plug. SMALL needle nose pliers from my daughter's little tool kit did the trick on that. Plug 8 = 1 hour 40 minutes.

Gearwrenches rock, buy the way.

Total time 2 hours 40 minutes. I think I can cut it in half next time

Will post pics of the plugs later. Not sure I like how they looked.

 

#8 is cake if you don't have cats from the bottom But yeah, getting the darn wires off is tougher then actually pulling the plugs.

 

Here are the plugs.....I think replacements were due.

First pic is plugs 1-4, second is 5-8

 

First time theyve been changed? How many miles are on them? I need to change mine. I have a surge cruising at slower speeds, Im thinking my wires or plugs are messed up. I have no idea if they have ever been changed on my car, and it has 130k

 

As far as I know this is the first change - I just rolled over 59,000 miles a couple days ago. I bought it Dec 27 with just under 54,000 miles. When I got the car it would idle SSSOOOOO smooth. I pulled the intake off and replaced a knock sensor and ever since the idle isn't as smooth as it was. Either I have the intake torqued a bit wrong or a fuel injector isn't seated quite right, or I damaged a wire somewhere, but one of these days I'm going to take the intake back off and reseat it and make sure everything is perfect. That should cure my slightly not perfect idle.

Surging could be the plugs/wires, but maybe also fuel filter/pump or an intake/vaccuum leak. Lots of things could cause it. Even air filter. Start with the simple stuff first!

 

You have trouble breaking number 8 loose? It was a pita on mine, until I had the idea to use a cheater bar(jack handle) over the end of the ratchet.

 

Nope - they all came loose way easier than I thought they would. Don't get me wrong, they were all plenty tight, but I guess I was expecting them to be tighter. 3/8 ratchet is all I needed (with proper extensions - didn't need a swivel for anything)

Only problem I had was the doggone wire on 8. Lost plenty of skin on that one!!

 

I changed my plugs for the first time last weekend. They look like yours, I guess they're stock? 79xxx mi.

I came at the #8 from around the top right side. I laid down on the fender and reached with my right hand to do all the screwing/unscrewing. I'm 6'3" so it wasn't too much of a stretch. I didn't have to use any exotic wrenches or pipes on the ratchet...That was nice.

I noticed that all my plugs' threads were brown and gummy like the ones in your photos. Any body know what that's all about? I put never-seize on the new ones before I put them in.

My times were a little better on the #8 than yours, but all the rest is pretty close. I took off all the coils before I even started on that side!!!

 

Probably GM's idea of budget anti-seize

 

LOL, now thats funny

 

I did mine for the first time last weekend at 25000 miles. I remove the passenger's side air pipe and coil pack rack so #8 wasn't too bad. The entire process took me around 3 hours.

 

I did my 5th or 6th plug change at 130, xxx this week. Took about 2 hours if you count setting the gap (first time I ever had any NGK's that were all over the place), applying anti-sieze to the plugs, and several breaks b/c the humidity was about 30000%, LOL. I always save number 8 for last, I get it from the bottom in about 5 min including putting dialectric grease on the wire boots.
I still bleed a little every time.

 

If it is, they got it wrong. If it's supposed to be GM's Lok-Tite, they got it wrong.

I hope those same guys aren't on the new Camaro design team!

 

I changed mine last year with about 35,000 miles and it took over 2 hours with more than half of that on the #8 passenger side one. Did same thing too, removed as much as I could and still my arms looked like they were attacked by a million little bugs.

After having headers worked on I had a tick and Just had the plugs changed again and 2 of them were so lose the spun out without a ratchet. I suspect the performance shop that installed the headers removed the plugs so they would be out of the way and forget to tighten them all down.

Anyhow, I had another shop do the plugs for 97.00 labor abd the tick is gone. The mechanic was able to remove and reinstall the plugs a lot quicker with the car in the air. And, it was worth the 97 bones to save me from that aggrevation again.



For the guy with 130k. You defiantely need to get the plugs changed and do the wires while you are at. I use the MSD 8.5 and like those.

 

Yeah, Im probably going to do them when I get the LT's and the rest of the exhaust, and do them then. Not sure exactly when, but sometime this year. It still runs good, it just surges sometimes at lower speeds.

 

The brown gummy stuff looks more like oil to me

 

It's oil. I think you might have missed some sarcasm from one of the posts above.....

Question for anyone - why oil on the threads only and not on any other part of the plug? Is it just burning off??

 

I missed the sarcasm, and yes the oil will burn off that is why it is only on the threads.

 

I changed all my spark plugs in 35 minutes the first time i tried... All from the top with a small 1/4 ratchet for the 8th plug...

I am as skinny as it gets

 

^holy crap

I've got a friend about your size. We call him the crackhead mexican and send his skinny *** in for the tight squeeze jobs