[Shotimes] enthusiasm...

[Donald Mallinson]

Jason,

The only people that I know that insist on removing the intake to 
replace the rear plugs are mechanics that want the extra money, and then 
they quite often just don't touch the intake or rear plugs if the front 
three plugs get replaced and the car runs good!

really, taking the intake off is much easier on the SHO than say a small 
block Chevy.  But there is no need to remove the intake to do the back 
three plugs.  Yes, a u-joint for a socket will work, so will a "wobbly" 
extension.  Get a set of long wobbly extensions at Sears and they will 
solve a lot of problems.  Remove the vac canister on the back of the 
intake, and unplug that one PCV hose on the back, move those two things 
aside and it is easy.  Use a long set of pliers to loosen and pull the 
boots (only on the big square part, never the wire!) if your hands are 
too big to get purchase on them, and the rest is easy.  Be sure to try 
to soak up any oil/water in there before removing the plugs.  Don't 
worry if you don't get it all, any that is left will just burn off.  I 
guess all of it could but it is good to get at least the bulk of it if 
there is some there.

Make sure you get the gasket with the plug.  sometimes the gasket can 
stick to the head, and you don't notice it.  Then you double gasket the 
plug and it can work back out or leak.

Finally, when putting the plug wires back on, make sure the boot goes 
all the way down (you did use ONLY Motorcraft plugs, because most others 
are too long and will keep the boots from seating properly) and gives 
you that second satisfying click as it seats all the way.  Left only 
partially on,  you can get a misfire that is tough to detect but could 
kill your cat converters.

Don Mallinson



Jason Hartberger wrote:

> The front three spark plugs are a breeze to get to, the back three 
> require either removing the intake or the addition of a few extra sets 
> of elbows to your arms. Fortunately, the intake's not that bad to take 
> off, but it's not exactly a walk in the park, either. The vacuum lines 
> get annoying quickly. Glad to see all the tough stuff's been taken 
> care of already. looks like you got a keeper.
>
> Jason
>
> George ask me wrote:
>
>> Yes.
>>
>> The clutch was replaced, and I believe the tranny was too, if not 
>> rebuilt.  The breaks were also replaced.  The 60k tune up was done at 
>> around 140k-150k miles, don't remember, have to check the paperwork.  
>> those problematic bearings were replaced, I think a couple other 
>> things were done too...
>>
>> I think I need new spark plugs.  plus oil change, air filter, oil 
>> filter, etc.  Are the spark plugs hard to replace?  I only see three 
>> in front, and the rear ones look pretty...inaccessible...
>>
>> George
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Prochilo" To: Sent: Sunday, 
>> July 03, 2005 8:01 PM
>> Subject: Re: [Shotimes] enthusiasm...
>>
>>
>>  
>>
>>> Congrats. Do you have any history on this car? Did the previous 
>>> owner do
>>> anything to the car? There are 2 fundamental weaknesses on this type of
>>> car: clutch and brakes. As for the rest, you will learn as you go and
>>> should use a place like to this to ask and learn.
>>>
>>> Oh, and as for driving the car, sounds like you are well on your way to
>>> knowing how much fun it is to drive. Don't hesitate to zing the motor
>>> past 6K RPM on a regular basis. That's where the fun lives.
>>> -- 
>>> Cheers,
>>> Carl Prochilo
>>> 92 Ultra Red Crimson
>>>
>>> On Sun, July 3, 2005 4:44 pm, George ask me said:
>>>   
>>>
>>>> hey everybody,
>>>>
>>>> I started asking about tires, and neglected to tell you all that I 
>>>> just
>>>> picked up my first SHO!!! I'm pretty happy. It's an '89 with 160,000
>>>> miles, but still strong. It's "titanium" colored. At first, it looked
>>>> pretty dirty, cuz it was sitting under the previous owner's tree. 
>>>> But my
>>>> friend and I cleaned it, and it's beautiful.
>>>>
>>>> I'm learning to drive it, it's powerful haha. I am trying so hard 
>>>> not to
>>>> spin the tires, cuz I heard that's the worst thing you can do. Any
>>>> suggestions for a rookie? Thanks guys.
>>>>
>>>> George
>>>> Make Yahoo! your home page
>>>> _______________________________________________
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>>>>     
>>>
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>>>
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