93 S10-Blazer Spark Plug Installatiion

[leadalto]

Since I’ve been having starting problems and most of the posts I’ve seen with similar problems start by replacing the plugs, distributor cap & rotor, and sometimes the plug wires, I thought I might do the same because it hadn’t been done for a long time.

The main thing I remember is that it was a BFD to replace the plugs. According to a spreadsheet I used to record car maintenance data, the last time I replaced the plugs, cap & rotor was at 47,000 miles in March of 1998 (when I was 61). I haven’t used the car very much so it only has around 100,000 miles.

Working in the engine compartment only, it took about 2 hours with at least 1 hour because of plug #3 to remove the old plugs. It didn’t take that long before but now I’m a bit less flexible than 8 years ago.

I saw a post by rlith, in the How-To’s, on a method to save time on the #3 plug but it wouldn’t work for me because I have more plumbing for AC and whatever else that’s in the way.

I couldn’t get my hands or tools through the rats nest shown below:
(Pics applying to the car are for a 93 S10-Blazer, 2WD, 4.3L, W engine code.)



One of the pics in his post showed a direct shot at the #3 plug. The only way I could see to get that pic was through the wheel well.

So, I pulled the drivers side wheel and took a look at what access was available (There have been posts saying that some of the plugs are accessible through the wheel well so I knew of some of the possibilities).

The wheel well liner had some cracks and was on the brittle side so rather than bending it to expose the plugs, I pushed the fasteners to loosen them and then used a fastener removal tool to pry them out. This same tool is used for removing inside door panel fasteners if you have problems with window motors or door lock solenoids.



The amount of time to pull a wheel, of course, depends on your equipment. Being old and decrepit, I rely on the leverage I can get from my tools. With a professional type floor jack and air impact wrench, the wheel comes off in several minutes. Note in the pic that it’s important, for safety, to use a stand or block of wood to support the vehicle.



Once the wheel liner was out of the way, there is easy access to all the plugs including plug#3.





I used a 5/8” Universal Spark Plug Socket with 3/8” Drive and a Neoprene insert. Each plug took only several minutes to install including torqueing them to 11-15 ft.lbs. (15-20 Nm). When’s the last time you torqued plugs in the engine compartment?

Some of the tools used are shown below:



Before installing the plugs I applied Permatex Anti-Seize lubricant 133A to the threads. Another interesting thing is that the plug gap and timing information, for your car, is found (not in the Chiltons book, but) on the underhood emission control label for your vehicle. Chiltons had a gap of .035 for spark plugs but my control label said .045, a huge difference. The AC Delco Rapidfires that I bought from Autozone were a “tight” .045 with one exception, which was about .040. Not bad, considering they need to be checked and I didn’t have to do any adjustment except for one.

Reattaching the wheel well liner was a simple, less than a 5-minute task.

After a huge sigh of relief at spending only a couple of minutes on plug #3, I thought about the passenger side bank and that it wasn’t that difficult to remove the plugs through the engine compartment. Since I was on a roll and the jack, impact wrench, and compressor was ready to go, I thought, what the hell, let’s see what the other side is like? Mind you, I’m into only minutes in pulling a wheel. I couldn’t believe what I found. The passenger side didn’t even require popping any of the fasteners. I just lifted the flap on the inner wheel liner and all the plugs were totally accessible. It only took several minutes per plug including torque to spec.



After removing and installing plugs on this car, twice, it’s obvious that doing this job by engine compartment access is the worst way to proceed when compared to the time saved, no cuts or bruised knuckles, less chance of breaking or cross threading a plug, at the extra minimal effort of pulling the front wheels (one at a time) and accessing the plugs through the wheel wells.

[blazee]

Good job.

[billibong]

I must say that I'm impressed!!
I am 41, and I had a HELL of a time getting my plugs changed - no flexibility, and serious body aches the next day. I only hope that when I'm 69 (hope I did the math right) that I am still able to change my pants, much less my plugs.

[leadalto]

Originally Posted by billibong

I must say that I'm impressed!!
I am 41, and I had a HELL of a time getting my plugs changed - no flexibility, and serious body aches the next day. I only hope that when I'm 69 (hope I did the math right) that I am still able to change my pants, much less my plugs.

billibong,

You got the math right. I'll be 69 (that great positional number) next month. I also had serious aches doing plugs the hard way but it was much worse when I had to drop the tank to replace the fuel pump. Doing it solo was a bit much. Taking it down while 1/8 full wasn't that bad but I had to empty it completely to get it in position to hook everything up. The only reason I keep doing this kind of stuff is that I can. Thank God, one's genes, eating broccoli, or whatever!

[billibong]

Like I said, I only hope I can make it that long - and be able to keep up. Luckily, the genetics are there - both of my folks still doing great and in their early 70's. Never did go for the broccoli, though - yuck!!
More power to you, and I hope you can keep it up for a long time - must be the nice California weather - I miss it....