Yea I already bought the correct plugs. I was more wondering if I needed to unhook the battery like some people say.Make sure you get the proper AC Delco Iridium plugs. Nothing else is worth a crap.
i did a set on an Envoy this weekend and only used a flat screwdriver, 10 and spark plug sockets. You will need 6 inches of extension for the plug socket to reach down into well for plug.
Hmmmm....I didn't think about the coil boots at all but I'll keep that in mindI agree with @HARDTRAILZ, you want AC Delco Iridium Plugs. And if you can, may as well replace all the Coil Boots while your there. Also when I did mine i took a Shop Vac to the SP Wells to remove anything that may have been in the Wells prior to removing the SP's.
Edit: I did mine with the Battery Cables in place...and i still have all my body parts, lol.
The TB was recently cleaned maybe 2-3 weeks ago so I think I'm okay there.I unhooked the battery and cleaned the throttle body of the one I did while in there. Took extra 15 minutes and now it idles better for him. Just 4 bolts for TB and 1 for battery.
I guess it'll just end up being if they look nasty, I'll put them back in until I can get some new ones.I was asked to swap the boots on the one I did, so I did and personally thought it a waste of time. I did not bother on my personal truck. The boots I took off the Voy yesterday look brand new at 125K.
Okay will do now I just need a day off to actually get around to doing them. Having to work 13 days straight cause one of our guys at the shop is out leaves very little down time :/. I'll make sure to buy myself something nice, which usually equates to buying something for the trailblazer hahaDon't do it on a hot engine, torque them to spec (which I think is printed on the top of the head), and check for oil in the wells when you're changing them. It's common in our trucks.
Also, go ahead and buy yourself something nice because you just saved yourself a good chunk of change.
It is quite possible that your Denso plugs are the same as the Delcos, which are supposedly made by NGK. If it's running fine, don't worry about it. They won't explode or anything.
Good tips. Thanks!Here are my inputs.
#1 - If you are having trouble getting to the #1 plug and coil because of the wiring loom running in front of it, just pry off the loom. Snap the plastic connector holding it to the hole. The secret here is that the plastic connector is exactly the same connector holding door panels in place, and if you break it off, you can buy new ones at any auto parts store for a few pennies.
#2 - Don't sweat plug gap. People who tell you that you MUST gap the plugs before installing are old-school. Dinosaurs are dead; we don't need to walk to school in snow twelve months of the year uphill both ways; and fire has been invented. More plugs have been damaged by people thinking they have to gap them than are improved by these little tweaks. Spark plugs have a very wide range of acceptable gaps; trying to gap iridium plugs can damage them very easily. If it's close and has not been damaged in shipping, just put them in. Gapping them more carefully than that accomplishes NOTHING. (I have seen HUGE gaps in worn-out plugs and they still run fine.)
#3 - Many owners seem to roast a coil right after a plug change. The reason is simple. They are not easy to get seated perfectly, and if seated incorrectly, can roast themselves quickly. Take the time to get them perfect and you will never need to buy a new coil. They SEEM like they are seated, but aren't. Take your time.
#4 - Forum members have tried every applicable plug known to mankind, and nothing works. Just trust us; don't piss around, don't experiment and don't believe market claims. Just get the 41-103 AC Delcos and be done with it.
I'm going to do them once outside temps jump a bit more up... and I was set on ordering Densos the whole time. So it's good I now actually tried to search for more possibilities instead of just presuming
I replaced the boots on mine just for good measure. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the stock boots but I had the new boots on hand so I threw them on.
Hardest part is getting coil #1 out and back in due to the wiring harness running over it.
Put antisieze on the plug threads and a dab of dielectric grease in the boot where the plug goes in and you're good to go. Pretty easy job.
As for the dielectric grease, should I use like a q-tip to get it in the boot or just try to pack alittle in with my finger?I replaced the boots on mine just for good measure. Nothing appeared to be wrong with the stock boots but I had the new boots on hand so I threw them on.
Hardest part is getting coil #1 out and back in due to the wiring harness running over it.
Put antisieze on the plug threads and a dab of dielectric grease in the boot where the plug goes in and you're good to go. Pretty easy job.
I used a magnetic one I picked up at O'rielly's. It was magical. Perfect tool for the job, new rubber ones hold way too tight and I was scared it would pull off of the extension down inside the head. The magnetic one held great and let go when you wanted it to.
LOL, I just found that I can get 6 original 41-103s from US eBay for less (including shipping overseas!) than if I bought 6 Densos here, locally Problem solved.
I'm just a bit worried about the shipping process... damaging a spark plug is pretty easy :/
I bought this set. Seems like it should help me nicely to get to the one plug under the firewall.
In what way are the coils tricky to seat properly, or, how can you tell the coils are seated properly? If seating new boots onto the coils is tricky, then I understand. But, if seating the coils is tricky, then I'm not sure I get it.#3 - Many owners seem to roast a coil right after a plug change. The reason is simple. They are not easy to get seated perfectly, and if seated incorrectly, can roast themselves quickly. Take the time to get them perfect and you will never need to buy a new coil. They SEEM like they are seated, but aren't. Take your time.
What usually happens is that the boot is not centered onto the plug and basically gets squished between the plug and the plug well in the head. You have to be sure that you are driving the boot and coil straight down and feel it engage the plug.In what way are the coils tricky to seat properly, or, how can you tell the coils are seated properly?