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I'll Give You News...

My newest personal story:

  • Spoonie attempts NGK and System4 alarm install.
  • Spoonie removes front passenger coil bolt, coil, & plug for practice.
  • Spoonie replaces stock front passenger coil bolt, coil, & plug after realizing how difficult the rear passenger (not to mention the rear driver side) is going to be.
  • Spoonie gives up on spark plugs
  • Spoonie pulls out pieces of System4 alarm, starts looking for a good place to mount pieces under dash.
  • Spoonie searches, searches some more, then realizes this is also going to be a PITA.
  • Spoonie gives up on System4 alarm.
  • Spoonie goes out to lunch to refresh and rethink.
  • Spoonie comes back from lunch, and he is gung-ho on replacing plugs.
  • Spoonie removes rear passenger coil bolt, coil, and gets socket onto spark plug.
  • Spoonie cannot loosen plug.
  • Spoonie thinks he can get more leverage if he just had more space.
  • Spoonie unhooks what he thinks is a vacuum tube.
  • Spoonie spouts obscenaties and suffers a heart attack as he witnesses a (small) spurt of coolant gush from aforemention 'vacuum' tube.
  • Spoonie attempts to reattach tube to connector - leak stops, but connector does not latch.
  • Spoonie tries harder and harder to latch connectors together, but connectors do not latch.
  • Spoonie suffers another heart attack, and calls in friends for reinforcement.
  • Spoonie eventually clamps hose 'shut' to prevent further leakage, then detaches connectors to see what is going on.
  • Spoonie finds a rogue O-ring not in the right place.
  • Spoonie relocates O-ring and connects latch together with a minimum of effort.
  • Spoonie breathes a sigh of relief, then spouts more obscenaties as he realizes that there is coolant on a lot of the work area, probably even in the exposed spark plug hole.
  • Spoonie attempts to remove socket from spark plug hole - all pieces of ratchet, extensions, swivels come out... except for spark plug socket (it has the rubber 'holder' inside of it).
  • Spoonie suffers yet another heart attack...takes an hour to realign swivels, extensions, etc. (remember everything is slippery because of the coolant) and remove spark plug socket with spark plug.
  • Spoonie reinstalls stock spark plug using socket without rubber insert; also reinstalls coil.
  • Spoonie starts coil bolt, gets it finger tight, and ratchets it down... and down... and down... uh, oh...
  • Spoonie inspects his work, and finds that coil plug is secure, but still just a bit loose (it can wiggle around, but can't pull out).
  • Spoonie spouts even more obscenaties, but starts the truck to see if it still operates correctly... it does.
  • Spoonie take the truck for a test drive, no problems noticed. *whew* for now
  • Spoonie cleans up tools, feels damn dejected, and swears off work on any engine internals ever again.
  • Spoonie schedules time for dealer to change "stock" spark plugs for him.
 
Anyway, I am relieved that everything still works, but I am pissed off knowing I very likely crossthreaded that coil bolt into the head. My friends do think this was the way the coil bolt was installed to begin with. I can see their point as I was very careful in reinstalling the bolt.

I don't care, I am not touching those spark plugs ever again.

I am going to pay the dealer to replace the stock plugs with the NGK's. Hopefully they can find a way to repair any possible damage under warranty.

~rick
 
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:eek: :eek: :eek:

Rick, let's do them one night this week. I'm usually home by 6:00pm

Let me know what works for you. Shoot me an email.

BTW, great story :)
 
plug nightmare

Man that was funny Spoon!

Laughing with you, not at you. Are those plugs that hard to replace! Sure sounds like it.
 
I'm getting over the shock, and (with Flash's coaching and help) I hope to tackle them again sometime, uh, relatively soon.

The good news is that the plugs I did manage to get out looked pretty good, if a bit dark and carbon-built... no breakage that I could tell. I have a few pics that I'll throw up in a little bit.

'Bolt - your little comment helped smooth me out a whole lot. There's something relieving in knowing that mine isn't the only truck with these kinds of problems. Thanks.
 
Hey Spoonie,
you may want to see a cardiologist after so many heart attacks, you cuould be on thin ice with all the added stress on the ol' ticker you know....JR:D :D
 
Flash, go ahead, but I want a copy in print for myself too! I'm at the point where I start laughing when I think about it, too. Maybe this means I need to try reinstalling again.

SLVRLTNG, heart attacks are bad, but experience is good. I know never to unplug one of those random tubes again...
 
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