changing spark plugs, need advice
Wont hurt anything.......just make it hott and you will have to wait for it to cool down before working on it. #4,6,8 all easy as pie from bottom , like moving the starter..cause i have big forarms. #2 is a challange. make sure you gap your plugs @ .58 ,book says .60 but IMO a lil under is ok for heat expansion.................
I didn't check the plug gaps, they said they came pregapped at .55 so i didn't bother. the wires are all good we double checked last night. My friend did drop the #4 spark plug while trying to get them in, we looked at it and it didn't look like it was cracked or anything, could that still be a problem? and the TR55's are okay to use on my car right? i've talked to a few people and they said to go with $6/plug AC Delco spark plugs
My bad you are right...... i did a plug job on a car that day that needed .60.... To the OP ...read the sticker under your hood that shows serp. belt routing it will tell you stock gapping ..its very important!!!!!!
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (5)
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Central Valley, CA
hmm, okay i'll check it out lol, hopefully it's just a gapping issue. I really want my car to run right, i need to smog it already so i can put it in my name! lol
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (5)
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Central Valley, CA
hm, so today i had a hunch that it could've been the spark plug wire from the #2 cylinder. Reason being is because when we removed that spark plug it was an AC Delco spark plug, while the rest were Bosch. I was thinking that that plug wire has never been touched or maybe has been on there too long? also, it was really hard for my friend to take the plug wire off, i believe that when he took it off he probably didnt take it off right and messed up the inside of the boot or something. So i tested my theory of it being the plug wire today by removing the #2 plug wire trying to see if my car would run worse or run the same, and after i removed it and drove around it still ran the same as if i never even unplugged it at all. could this be my problem?
I put shortie headers on my car not for a performance increase, but solely for the purpose of making the plugs easier to change. It definitely helps over manifolds. No with a tube K-member its a pretty easy job honestly.
That being said, when my car was stock, what I found worked best on the passenger side was to remove the motor mount bolt and jack that side of the engine up as much as possible. Takes about 20 minutes to remove the bolt, probably saves 2 hours of frustration and at least a full square inch of skin which would have been scraped off.
That being said, when my car was stock, what I found worked best on the passenger side was to remove the motor mount bolt and jack that side of the engine up as much as possible. Takes about 20 minutes to remove the bolt, probably saves 2 hours of frustration and at least a full square inch of skin which would have been scraped off.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (5)
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Central Valley, CA
lol haven't corrected gapping yet, haven't had much time to pull any spark plug out, so all i did was remove the wire to see if it would make much of a difference last night, and this morning i turned the car on with the wire removed to see if it would spark, it did spark but from the rear of the boot and tip of the boot. Is it supposed to spark from the rear of the boot as it is close to any metal? i thought it was just supposed to come from the tip of the boot where the spark plug plugs into
Teching In
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
http://www.jegs.com/i/SLP/847/30102/10002/-1
that might help get spark plugs out. idk if anyone has this socket but it looks pretty useful
that might help get spark plugs out. idk if anyone has this socket but it looks pretty useful
If your plugs are gapped at .50, then you have serious problems. However, if they are gapped at .050, you should be good. 
My NGK's came gapped at about .055, but mine are iridium (TR55ix). Gap's a little bigger with iridiums since they don't wear down as fast. Runs perfect.
My NGK's came gapped at about .055, but mine are iridium (TR55ix). Gap's a little bigger with iridiums since they don't wear down as fast. Runs perfect.
Just my $0.02 worth, your car is 15 years old, and quite possibly has the OE plug wires. A new set of wires is highly recommended.
BTW, again, just my opinion...changing the plugs/wires on an LT1 is a PITA, to say the least. I've done mine a couple of times, over the years, and I've actually found it easier to drop the "Y" pipe, and get that out of the way, although mine is a '96 with the dual cats.
The only risk, at this point in time, as the cars get older, is breaking an exhaust manifold stud. I changed my plugs and wires for the first time, when my car was 4-5 years old (and never winter driven), and at that time I gave the studs and nuts a good dose of anti-sieze. That allowed me to easily remove them again 5 years later, when I once again replaced the plugs and wires, and once again, gave them a shot of anti-seize....
Man you are seriously overworking yourself. You should of waited till the header swap. Also get yourself lots of zip ties and some new wires. Toss those crappy bush plugs and get yourself some of those good ngk's copper (30k), platinum (50k), or iridium (100k) all depends on when you want to do the job again and how much you willing to pay for the plugs. If you don't rout those wires right your gonna be spending alot of money on wires trust me I know. You should look into the otvc wires.
This is what my lt1 looks like.
This is what my lt1 looks like.
Last edited by sepno77; Jun 10, 2010 at 01:47 PM.
Thread Starter
TECH Apprentice
iTrader: (5)
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 369
Likes: 0
From: Central Valley, CA
I have to get my car smogged first to pass emissions tests so everything has to be stock, lol if i could smog my car with those long tubes i would've waited. but so far right now everything seems fine, my friend has a set of plug wires that i'll probably be using when i smog.
If your plugs are gapped at .50, then you have serious problems. However, if they are gapped at .050, you should be good.
My NGK's came gapped at about .055, but mine are iridium (TR55ix). Gap's a little bigger with iridiums since they don't wear down as fast. Runs perfect.
My NGK's came gapped at about .055, but mine are iridium (TR55ix). Gap's a little bigger with iridiums since they don't wear down as fast. Runs perfect.
Missed the 0 lol... I also have NGK TR55's... 
Launching!
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 211
Likes: 0
From: baltimore maryland
that SLP socket is worth its weight in gold!! well i made my own, but its the same thing. just grinded down one of my spark plug sockets with flats on it so it just barely had enough to still grab the spark plug , and the shortest snubby 3/4 combo wrench i could find. made life soo much easier.
