My method of pulling plugs on my 97 X and 94 X came from doing it ONCE and while I was cursing and complaining, I thought of everything and anything that I could do to make my life easier the next time. Cause it seemed like it was taking me forever!
Here is what I came up with: (I know there is some repetition from above and some items may be obvious, sorry for that)
Take the passenger side wheel off and the skirt over the front spring. Unless you’re with the circus, both have to come off.
Get something to sit on that is comfortable cause you will be on that passenger side for a while. I have one of those plastic garden seats on wheels - $20 at Wal-Mart, Kmart etc. It works great for me. You can sit on it and literally roll down the side of the car when you are waxing and cleaning low parts on the car or use it to just park yourself. Perhaps not very manly, but for $20? and it does have a lid with a compartment so?…..put beer in it.
Get some height on that thing when you jack it up. You won’t be so crouched over. As always, put a jack stand under there. If something goes bad, you can live to tell about it.
Get good light(s) and keep em close. These plugs are in the shadows and who needs to keep getting up and down looking for better light. I know I get tired very quickly bouncing up and down for stuff.
Make or buy a tool to pop the plastic tie downs on the fender skirts. Why argue with those pops or rip something and get POed at the start of the job?
Get a spark plug boot puller, even a cheap plastic thing. My hands turned blue and looked like raw meat the first time I tried to get the boots off. Silicone suggestion comes later.
There is no law that you have to use 3/8 drive. A 1/4 drive may ease you pain in close quarters for plugs or anything else.
Get a short piece of rubber hose to put on the end of the plug. It may make it easier to remove things once loose or to get the threads started. You may not even need it, but its there, if you do. Helps most for those of us with fat fingers.
As mentioned, passenger bank plugs have that d*&^ metal pipe in front of them. First time, I found my spark plug socket with my shortest extension wouldn’t swing and a swivel didn’t help. Who needs to crack a plug fussing with a swivel? I found an “almost nothing in length” extension (no sure the exact size, but it could not have been any shorter) at Sears…it worked perfect!…. I had to build it up (i.e. 1. socket on plug 2. extension on the socket 3. the socket wrench on the extension) but it cleared the pipe and everything for good swings. That was my biggest problems the first time.
Antiseize compounded is your best friend and you will know it the next time you take them out. Again, you will not be arguing on each and every turn and/or removing chucks of the block between threads. Don’t get the s*%$# on the electrode for obvious reasons.
Your next best friend is silicone in those spark plugs. A big problem for me the first time! - no problemo the second. The spark plug boots get a few twists back and forth, then go for the big pull. I found the strong man method of “just pull” is less effective.
Finally my personal problem:
I will and can drop each and every nut, bolt, screw and spark plug that comes in contact with my fingers. These will always find themselves into the deepest, darkest part of any engine. This not only gets me pissed off but wastes usually 10 minutes and is sheer aggravation… Lesson learned? stuff a neatly rolled cloth (towel works well) under where you are working. It increases you odds of a quick recovery.
Bottom line:
It ain’t a straight six and it does take time. The above helped me a lot and I don’t dread it quite so much anymore.
Hope something in the above mess is useful to someone.
