Got to the other 7 with ease.
That back left one appears to be a pain as the A/C accumulator is right there.
I was already pretty hot and sweaty so did not feel like battling it too much.
Any tips on getting to it.
It is a 2000 if that makes a difference.

I have seen tips saying to try taking the wheel off and go through the wheel well. I have not tried it myself.

http://www.silveradosierra.com...removal-t493593.html

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
Got to the other 7 with ease.
That back left one appears to be a pain as the A/C accumulator is right there.
I was already pretty hot and sweaty so did not feel like battling it too much.
Any tips on getting to it.
It is a 2000 if that makes a difference.

Sounds a bit like the ‘72 Pontiac Grand Safari station wagon my mom used to have, except it was the AC compressor in the way. For that one, you jacked it up, popped the front tire off that side, and went in through the wheel well. That car always struck me as odd - you open up the hood and that 455 cubic inch V8 looked small in there, but that one plug was impossible to get at from on top.

Is that engine similar to the LS1 where I believe changing the spark plugs are also very hard and not recommended only every 100K miles. God Bless

My Dad had a '57 Chevy Belair. There was one spark plug he never could change.

I did a GMC Truck a while back, 5.3 engine, same. I started with a ‘boot puller’, maybe an angled extension, and some patience.

The back one or two can be a pain. I put the best plugs I can find in at about 90k. That is usually good for the rest of the vehicle life.

On these trucks I take off the wheel and tire and then remove the inner fender. It is held in with push pins that you need a plier for. The $10 one at Harbor Freight works just fine.



There is also a wiring harness clipped to it. Now all your plugs are a snap. This opens up other components for servicing as well, e.g., the exhaust manifolds, starter connections, windshield washer reservoir, and (on diesels) the glow plugs and fuel filter.

Even with this, the wires seldom all survive being pulled off the plugs. If you don't rip them off outright they may develop a miss later by carbon tracking the plugs. So have some on hand. There are two different lengths depending on the shape of the coils.

MY SIL is a GM Tech:
Stubby swivel 5/8th in eston a flex head 3/8 ratchet

or remove the fender well liner.


Or bring it to his house he'll do i t for you n/c

I was able to get to it from underneath with a wobble socket and lots of very short radius turns.

Good info gents, I am getting set to do plugs and wires on my '01' GMC Sierra. Just couldn't get to it before Winter happened.

Some things just don't change. I had the same trouble years and years ago on a 1970 Pontiac Catalina. It had a 400 cu in engine!

Some of the older Mustangs with the 351 Cleveland engine were another SOB. If I recall right the recommended method was to remove the engine, replace the plugs, ect and then reinstall the engine.

I didn't think changing the plugs on my '67 Pontiac Catalina was that bad. The real pain was having to adjust the points every 3-5,000 miles.

quote:

Originally posted by VBVAGUY:
Is that engine similar to the LS1 where I believe changing the spark plugs are also very hard and not recommended only every 100K miles. God Bless

The other 7 were easy as could be. That back one is as bugger tried the sockets with extensions and swivels from the top and figured wheel well would be the way to go.
I was already hot and sweaty and the boys wanted to fish so I did not fool with it much.

It’s a 2000 with 96k. It gets most it’s mileage in the spring and summer hauling mulch and trips down to the cabin with materials so wanted to get her tuned up nice.
I bought Autolite platinums so I should not ever need to replace them again.

I am guessing they have been swapped before as the plugs are Denso and the wires are Packard. I presume from the factory both would be Delco. But it is a GM so you never know.
The plugs did not look horrible but the front 2 plugs were about a .030 gap and all the rest right about .060. Factory calls for .040

No real issues or noticeable misses with the old stuff just wanted to get a little tune up for the season.

ooOOH. 19000 posts. Its a milestone of some type.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
My Dad had a '57 Chevy Belair. There was one spark plug he never could change.

That makes me wonder why, because there's all the room in the world. Even the "worst" one is 10 times easier than the easiest one today.

quote:

Originally posted by cas:

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
My Dad had a '57 Chevy Belair. There was one spark plug he never could change.

That makes me wonder why, because there's all the room in the world. Even the "worst" one is 10 times easier than the easiest one today.

I'm scratching my head on that one as well. Had a 57 Belair back in the day with a 283. Tons of room. Maybe he had factory AC or something.

When I had my Pontiac V8 some of the harder reach plugs was a snap to get to using the wheel well method. Very easy access.

The difficult one on the Pontiac is the #1 plug on cars with AC.

When you say left side do you mean passenger or driver's side? Left is driver. If it's passenger I lay on top of engine and reach around the back side and replace it from the rear. No problem on driver's side.