[BogiesAnnex1]

I spent a few hours yesterday pulling the Accel‘s out to put NKG’s in. For my retirement/Covid driving the Accels are just too cold of a plug and my experience finds their brand of heat range choices just aren’t warm enough for mostly short trips when mounted in aluminum heads. Nothing wrong with the Accels but just putting around town isn’t what they are made for so they don’t get hot enough to burn off deposits. They were wearing well but just don’t stay clean. Gone are the days of hundred mile jaunts on I5 between customers and suppliers where the engine not only got throughly heated up but got a few hard blasts to clean out the cylinders. So it developed some misfires. Today it’s trips to Home Depot or the Senior Center where the oil temp gauge hardly gets off the cold peg.

Needless to say plug changes on engines like Frankenmouse being a 350 in an S15 with headers is an exersize in spatial economics where more space would be better but not much exists. Plugs on 6 and 8 would not even be accessible without O Ratchet or a reasonable facsimile of it. Even then it’s a time consuming battle that also requires being careful not to cross thread the aluminum heads. Patience is the byword here, unfortunately a quality that I have little of but nonetheless have to apply.

Anyway the deed is done and the truck runs great.

Bogie

 

[lmsport]

What is a TPS Ignition System? How Transient Plasma Systems Work

A Cali-based company has developed a low-temperature plasma ignition system that can replace the spark plug while reducing combustion time and temperature.

www.motortrend.com

 

[BillPac]

I feel your pain, Bogie. Changing plugs on my old '95 Ranger 4.0 V-6 was a pain as well. Now, my T-bucket is a joy to work on. Everything's right there where you can get to it (except what's underneath.) I, too, have gone to a hot plug ( AC R45LTS) for the 350 in the bucket for the reasons you stated. Seem to work well.

 

[cerial]

Exactly why my s10 is built like it is. I hate tight engine bays or removing half a dozen things to get accessibility to simple maintance items.

I admit I have drilled acess holes on some engine bays then installed metal plugs in the past. For things like a broken exhaust stud etc.

Removable inner fenders or a tilt front clip may help accessibility if you dont mind the fender cutout line.

 

[eric32]

I know your pain when changing plugs. Lucky for me I have tiny hands and finger and they just barely get in there on my headers and I have to use a hand full of tools in order to change out all my plugs in my s10 and wish I had more room but its a 96 so it is even worse then the pre 94 ones which had some room at lest compared to the later models.

I use a ratchet and socket for the front four cylinders and the last four I use a cut in half spark plug socket with a very long what is I think a 3/4 wrench to use on the socket to get to cylinder 8 which is the worse, and a wrench that is specially made for spark plugs that has a more then deep angle bend to it and I have a rough time getting it even on the two cylinders I use it on which are I believe is 5 and 6. Plus I got a passenger side dipstick which is also in my road. But its all worth it though when I am out taking it for a cruise. Also made a custom screwdriver to use for taking off my distributor cap and allow me to get behind it on the firewall which is very tight.

Now for the moment the only driving is pushing it back and forth about a foot or less in the garage for the last ten months thanks to a out of this world problem but maybe one day soon fingers crossed one way or another I will be cruising again. Which reminds me I need to get some new plugs again as well. Back to the drawing board. Have fun with your frankenmouse Bogie at least you can drive yours.

My days are far and few in between since my health is very poor and my highlight of the week is going to the chiropractor getting my back adjusted all the time and the occasion trip to Walmart which like a vacation for me since I don't go out and do much. Love hearing your guys stories and much respect to you guys who post.

 

[BogiesAnnex1]

It was built as a sleeper, actually as much to hide the V8 conversion from my wife as to mess with peoples minds on the interstate so from the outside it looks stock except for the rims and tires.

If one looks closely and knows how to connect the hot rod dots they would see it’s slammed a couple inches, not so obvious is sway bars front and rear you can see the rear bar but I guess you have to be laying down in the street, slapper bars on the rear are more apparent, dual exhaust under the rear valance panel is pretty obvious, battery in a marine box at the right rear bed. Obviously more changes that require one to get under and inside; to give it a glance out on the road it just looks like an old S15 with rims and bigger tires. No scoops, no fancy paint, no radiused wheel wells just a plain Jane truck that’s somewhat secretly packing inside and underneath where it counts.

Got caught finally by the old lady when we met from different directions at a mortgage company for some financial work one stormy evening. Her car was low on gas but instead of getting a fill up there she wanted to use the station not far from our home about 20 miles from the mortgage company. So I trailed her all the way and being a dutiful husband I pulled in next to her to stand in the wind blown rain to fill her gas tank. In the process I left the truck running and pretty soon the young kid on office duty comes running yelling, “you got a V8 in that don’t ya”. Moving ahead we get home and she turns to me and asking what I did to the truck that got the kid so excited. Paraphrased with “we had an agreement you could replace the old tired engine”. Which was an Iron Duke and a 5 speed. I said I did replace the engine as agreed but with a 350 V8 and 4 speed automatic. Needs less to say I spent a couple nights sleeping on the couch.

The problem is mostly the right side with getting to number 4 is a bit of a pain but 6 and 8 are a real duel as the header tubes are in the same line as these plugs and pretty close. Back in the days before the O-Ratchet I just loosened the right side header. Frankly except for screwing around with the header gasket and maybe including screwing around with the header, it’s probably faster to just take that thing loose to get some space for a regular wrench rather than working upside down and backwards to get a hand in there. Big palm, short fingers which is why when I play guitar it’s done slide. I hear ya on health been fighting my heart for 30 years, thanks to modern surgery, chemistry and electronics I’m still truckin’. But the sum is there are bad days and better days but looking back to my youth there are no good days like it was in those days.

Hang in there.

Bogie

 

[cerial]

Im the kind of person who will pull a engine before messing around with specialty tools.

I have made compromises working in areas where a engine hoist or pulling a front clip was "not allowed".

But generally if I need to do like a oil pan, clutch, broken bolt in the head, etc that engine is coming out vs trying to do it in the car. Especially on a 2wd.


I have done enough rear main /piliot bushing installs on my back to know to pull the engine.

If it is 2wd and you dont want to completly pull the engine I have put a carb plate on, pulled the distributior cap, fan, engine mount bolts, and lifted the engine with a cherry picker slightly while letting the trans down slightly. You may be surprised how much room this gives. Just make dang sure you dont put your paw anywhere it can be crushed.

 

[Black Max]

I spent a few hours yesterday pulling the Accel‘s out to put NKG’s in. For my retirement/Covid driving the Accels are just too cold of a plug and my experience finds their brand of heat range choices just aren’t warm enough for mostly short trips when mounted in aluminum heads. Nothing wrong with the Accels but just putting around town isn’t what they are made for so they don’t get hot enough to burn off deposits. They were wearing well but just don’t stay clean. Gone are the days of hundred mile jaunts on I5 between customers and suppliers where the engine not only got throughly heated up but got a few hard blasts to clean out the cylinders. So it developed some misfires. Today it’s trips to Home Depot or the Senior Center where the oil temp gauge hardly gets off the cold peg.

Needless to say plug changes on engines like Frankenmouse being a 350 in an S15 with headers is an exersize in spatial economics where more space would be better but not much exists. Plugs on 6 and 8 would not even be accessible without O Ratchet or a reasonable facsimile of it. Even then it’s a time consuming battle that also requires being careful not to cross thread the aluminum heads. Patience is the byword here, unfortunately a quality that I have little of but nonetheless have to apply.

Anyway the deed is done and the truck runs great.

Bogie

I figure the NGK heat range would be around 5 for that sort of driving, but have you considered using Iridium version as they last a lot longer, hence less swapping out required ?

 

[BogiesAnnex1]

Probably a good idea especially for the driving I do now.

Bogie