Spark plug replacement

[thisisdon]

A lifelong friend who lives in Colorado's back-country (without access to the internet) has a '96 Astro, AWD. He's an accomplished mechanic on older (50-52) Jeep wagons, but is stymied by the difficulty in replacing the plugs on his new Astro (new to him -- he bought the Astro 3 months ago, used, 90K, very good condition).

I'm asking questions in his stead: Is there some trick to getting to all six plugs? Is there a particular reference (eg., Chilton's; other?) he'd find useful?

Follow-up: Which brand plugs have other Astro owners had better luck with? (He says he thinks "most" of the plugs in it now are Delco.)

Thanks,
Don

[dewaynep]

I'm not sure if there is anything extra in the way on an AWD (shouldn't be), but It is extremely easy to get at the plugs on my '96 through the wheel wells. Pull the tires and you can easily get to all 6 plugs with some long extensions and a universal. Takes about 15 minutes total to change all six. I swore up and down how much I hated Chevy's engineers for putting the plugs where you can't get to them until I noticed I could get to them through the wheel well. Good luck.

[old_master]

AC Delco double platinum spark plugs. They'll be good for 100k. With 90k on it now, and not knowing the history of the vehicle, I would strongly recommend replacing the distributor cap, rotor, spark plug wires and fuel filter also.

[jimmypodunk]

I just changed mine. The hardest part was pulling the old wires off. You can reach them from underneath if you drive the van up onto a set of ramps. Of course you have to remove the dog house. Dewaynep's way is probably a better way though.

[CD Smalley]

I had my best luck going through the wheel wells. Sometimes I have taken each front wheel off to provide a little extra room to work too....

[boatbuster]

On my 02 AWD Astro, I removed the front wheels and the rubber skirts and had easy access to all of the spark plugs.