Spark Plugs
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 20
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From: Enterprise, AL
Spark Plugs Well my buddy had just gotten a 2001 Z28 ( i may have said it was a 2000 in a few posts awhile back. i thoguht it was until he corrected me)
Anyway it has ~69K miles on it so we were changing the oil and doing plugs. Good time to do both...
Well, Im a Ford person and have done spark plugs on all my friends' Mustangs with NO problem at all. I could do mine in like 30 minutes and thats including taking the intake off...
I get to doing his plugs while hes changing the oil... I get the coil off and all and go to getting the plug out. It takes a few minutes to find the angle and all and to get the socket seated right. I get it off and all is good so far. We gap the plugs and go to put the first one in. I drop it, then drop it again and it disappeared. Look and look never find it. We say forget this and go to get the old one to put it back in. ( a storm was rolling in) Well I dropped that one too and it disappeared as well. We looked ALL over the K member and never found em. Turns out they went into the drain pan for the oil and we found when dumping the oil...
We get a new plug in there and call it a day...
We started considering making it someone elses problem, but there arent a whole lot of trustworhty mechanics around here except for Pilcher, but I dont want to waste his time with somehting so simple. (he builds motors for a living. has a 5 sec vette)
We are probably going to give it another shot soon..
So my question is, is there an easier way to changing the plugs? What are the little tips and tricks you guys do to change them on LS1s?
Anyway it has ~69K miles on it so we were changing the oil and doing plugs. Good time to do both...
Well, Im a Ford person and have done spark plugs on all my friends' Mustangs with NO problem at all. I could do mine in like 30 minutes and thats including taking the intake off...
I get to doing his plugs while hes changing the oil... I get the coil off and all and go to getting the plug out. It takes a few minutes to find the angle and all and to get the socket seated right. I get it off and all is good so far. We gap the plugs and go to put the first one in. I drop it, then drop it again and it disappeared. Look and look never find it. We say forget this and go to get the old one to put it back in. ( a storm was rolling in) Well I dropped that one too and it disappeared as well. We looked ALL over the K member and never found em. Turns out they went into the drain pan for the oil and we found when dumping the oil...
We get a new plug in there and call it a day...
We started considering making it someone elses problem, but there arent a whole lot of trustworhty mechanics around here except for Pilcher, but I dont want to waste his time with somehting so simple. (he builds motors for a living. has a 5 sec vette)
We are probably going to give it another shot soon..
So my question is, is there an easier way to changing the plugs? What are the little tips and tricks you guys do to change them on LS1s?
Launching!
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 232
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From: fenton, MO
theres a couple diff ways people found it easier to do. myself, i just reached in there and fought the car for 2.5 hours to get them all in but what you can do is take of the headers and go from underneath, the underneath view without the headers gives you enough clearance to just pop them all out easier and pop the new ones in and it takes about half of the time it normally does. does he have stock headers?
TECH Fanatic
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Orange Park/ Jacksonville, FL
Easiest way to do them is to take off the whole coil pack bracket. That gives you a lot more room to work with. The #8 plug will take some combination of a short ext. and a swivel ext. I dont remember right off the top of my head. I've never had to change any plugs from underneath the car. As mentioned above, does he have headers or stock manifolds? I have headers and can change plugs in just under an hour. Also, you said you keep dropping the plugs, are you trying to thread them in w/ your fingers, or are you putting them into the socket 1st?
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 20
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From: Enterprise, AL
He has equal length headers (not sure on brand) with a Mac y pipe and a flowmaster catback with a cutout...
We found out that he had headers after Itook a quick glance at it when Iwent under the car... Neither of us though anyhitng of it untill I noticed a brand spanking new O2 sensor then looked at the entire exhaust...
I ended up going from under neath the car to get that one in. I tried both methods. Fingers and putting it in the socket.
I took the AIR valve off to make some room, but that didnt really help on plug number 1.
My main problem is that the metal wires that go to the fuel lines are getting in the way so badly that I can barely even squeeze a wrench in there and when I do get it in there, its so tight against each other that the switch on the rathect will get shifted and start loosening... Im stumped...
Ive never had a car be THIS difficult just to change a SINGLE plug. Ill probably take a seldge hammer to the damn car if we make it to #8... lol
We found out that he had headers after Itook a quick glance at it when Iwent under the car... Neither of us though anyhitng of it untill I noticed a brand spanking new O2 sensor then looked at the entire exhaust...
I ended up going from under neath the car to get that one in. I tried both methods. Fingers and putting it in the socket.
I took the AIR valve off to make some room, but that didnt really help on plug number 1.
My main problem is that the metal wires that go to the fuel lines are getting in the way so badly that I can barely even squeeze a wrench in there and when I do get it in there, its so tight against each other that the switch on the rathect will get shifted and start loosening... Im stumped...
Ive never had a car be THIS difficult just to change a SINGLE plug. Ill probably take a seldge hammer to the damn car if we make it to #8... lol
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 20
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From: Enterprise, AL
The lines are in that region and are (what seems) steel braided?
They barely move and Im afraid to move it really...
That isnt his car. Its just a photo i found on the web...
Ive never worked on an LS1 before which is the reason I went over there to work on it. I want to learn about em. The Ford Modular motors are all simple and almost every part is interchangeable (hence the name modular)
But these LS1's amaze me, but yet **** me the **** off... lol
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Bad news man if you think the driver's side is bad with the brakes and stuff wait till you get to the passengers with the a/c.
First time for me took about an hour. And out of that hour only bout ten minutes for the drivers side LOL Now about 45 minutes taking my time. I only pull the coil pack on the passenger side and I hit number 8 from the bottom but I have the stock manifolds.
First time for me took about an hour. And out of that hour only bout ten minutes for the drivers side LOL Now about 45 minutes taking my time. I only pull the coil pack on the passenger side and I hit number 8 from the bottom but I have the stock manifolds.
Last edited by Lickeyman; Aug 9, 2008 at 07:07 PM.
It takes 30-45 minutes with LT's. #6 and #8 from the bottom. Rest from the top. One of my friends has a 402 camaro with a tubular K member and no AC or heat. It takes <15 minutes to change the plugs lol.
Damn man I was underneath my car the other day, and I have no way to get to #6 & 8 with my headers.
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 6,216
Likes: 236
From: Wichita KS / Rancho San Diego
Driver's side remove the AIR tube (two bolts) and it's breeze ... no special tools and no need to mess with the brake lines (!). Passenger side do the same and 2, 4 & 6 can be accessed. For 8, the coil pack has to come off or go in from underneath using a long extension and wobbly.
i just did mine during my header install, just take the coil packs off and it gets a lot easier! it sucks getting the very last bolt on the passenger side coil pack though, i left that one off of mine and my emissions are gone so that might have made it a little easier as well.
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 20
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From: Enterprise, AL
Well I went over there this morning and we took the old plugs back that he got and got what I as well as many others recommend NGK TR55's. We gapped them to .054 and everything was a freakin breeze.... Except #8. We got 1,2,3,4,5,6, and 7 done in just a little over an hour.
He has equal length headers which is basically and einbetween of longtubes and shorties. I tried to go from underneathe because I have damn long arms and the dont get very big untill the bicep... Well, I could get to it. the primaries are all in the way... Im afraid to stick my hand in there because I know itll get stuck... Its that tight.
I tried to over the top and I could get my fingers on the coil and wire, but could get enough of a grip to pull that off...
My buddy took a pic of me changing number #6. It looks like im putting my d*ck in the throttle body lol
Ill try to get that pic later on.
Any advice on getting #8 with equal (or midlength) headers? The collector is RIGHT where you would slide you hand up in there...
He has equal length headers which is basically and einbetween of longtubes and shorties. I tried to go from underneathe because I have damn long arms and the dont get very big untill the bicep... Well, I could get to it. the primaries are all in the way... Im afraid to stick my hand in there because I know itll get stuck... Its that tight.
I tried to over the top and I could get my fingers on the coil and wire, but could get enough of a grip to pull that off...
My buddy took a pic of me changing number #6. It looks like im putting my d*ck in the throttle body lol
Ill try to get that pic later on.
Any advice on getting #8 with equal (or midlength) headers? The collector is RIGHT where you would slide you hand up in there...
Thread Starter
Teching In
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 20
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From: Enterprise, AL
Thats what Iwas thinking, but Ive wanted to avoid that...
How would I get the #8 coil pack off?
or are all the coil packs together?
would I have to take all the wires and **** off again?
How would I get the #8 coil pack off?
or are all the coil packs together?
would I have to take all the wires and **** off again?
It's just as easy as taking a single one out. I just got done doing it a couple weeks ago, think there are 5 bolts holding it to the valve cover. /\ Above is right that the last one on the passenger side is a pain, but still not that bad.Don't forget to unplug the connector that runs to all the coilpacks, lol
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 79
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From: north vernon, IN
i have a set of lt headers and all i do is take the coil packs off and i can get in there. just keep working on it you guys will get faster, there is no reason to take it to a shop its why to easy to do. so save your money and take your time you'll get it.