My experience (as a newbie) with changing 3.1L spark plugs

[ycartf]

OK, so I had read enough about changing the plugs on a 3.1L on here and thought I would give it a try. While I was successful, it was quite an adventure.

 

From the Haynes manual and most folks' advice on here, I decided to gain access by tilting the engine (or rocking?). I took both engine support dogbones loose from the engine side and put the bolt back through the one on the passenger side, placed a lug wrench behind that bolt and levered off the bottom of that mount with both hands, got my 14 year old daughter to put the other bolt through the slave hole of the driver-side dogbone (which she did great) and I was set. I was on flat ground and thinking back had the car in park. I see no problem with rocking the engine, but then again I am 6'2" and 300 lbs. (see pictures of the process here): http://home.earthlink.net/~faulkner36303/rockingengine/id1.html

 

I used a plug wire removal tool (pliers-like) but even with that, the back three were a pill to get loose. For some reason the plug wire connections in the ends did not want to turn loose from the plugs. Couple that with not being able to pull perfectly in a straight line for those in the back and you end up with what I got - 4 of the six wires pulling loose from the spaded end - leaving them attached to the plugs. Well I was running out of daylight and did not have time enough to go get a $20 set of lifetime wires from AutoZone (will next time before starting) so I ended up using needle-nose pliers to pull the wire ends back up through the boots and into the spaded ends and then crimped the everloving stew out of them. I put a good bit of anti-seize on the wire end of each plug and a quick spray of WD40 into the ends of the boots to help prevent this next time. I also put a good bit of anti-seize in the threads of each plug (when I took them out I was holding my breath on most of them - even after spraying WD40 around the boots to penetrate. These were way too tight for plugs in an aluminum block).

 

In making room enough for my arms (that were taking a royal scraping) I disconnected the MAP sensor and went to move it out of the way (not having had any experience with hard vacuum lines). Needless to say the vacuum line to it broke so I am now going to have to patch the ends with flexible tubing.

 

Even though I ran into a couple of snags I was proud of the job I had done after it was all over ('cept the vacuum line). I notice there are a couple of other vacuum lines that have been patched with flexible tubing and I may just revamp the whole thing - making as much of it flexible as I can and color-coding it and/or writing everything down so I can repair/replace sections easier in the future. Thanks for all you guys share on here and keep up the great passing-along of info!

 

Tracy

[digitaloutsider]

Rule one: WD-40 sucks, PB Blaster is God.

 

Rule two: Dielectric grease is a million times better for spark plug boots.

[ycartf]

I knew nothing of dielectric grease but really view these plugs as just getting by until I decide to tilt the engine again and put new ones on - and investigate the PCV valve location better to hopefully replace it - so I am not heartbroken about the WD40 in there. As far as PB blaster - I could not agree with you more about it being much better (not GOD) than WD40, but I had pretty much used up my can of it and had new can of WD40. So with the dielectric grease - for future reference with new wires/boots - do I put it in the boots or on the plugs or both? Thanks again!

 

Tracy

[z284pwr]

next time try removing the alternator bracket, I think that is easier than the engine moving forward ploy personally, just a thought

 

But good job

[ycartf]

Next time I may try BOTH - my arms are still raw.

[Robby1870]

Good to hear you got it going

[92LuminaRS]

I've never been able to put a bolt through the slave hole in the passenger side dogbone, it's hits the valvecover first

[Guest TurboSedan]

it should be on the driver's side.

[92LuminaRS]

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. I always use the one on the drivers side, unless yo don't have valvecovers on I'm not sure how you could use the one on the passengers side...

[Pabz]

ycartf didnt use the slave hole on the passenger side, he put the bolt in place to use the lug wrench so he could tilt it forward, then the daugher put the bolt in the driver side slave hole. READ

[GP1138]

I cannot believe there are so many threads about changing spark plugs on the 3.1 engine...

[Intlcutlass]

Thats because theirs so many shredded arms

[z284pwr]

I cannot believe there are so many threads about changing spark plugs on the 3.1 engine...

 

Well on these cars, its rocket science to some

[DOHCRagtopguy]

If you like PB Blaster, you' love CRC Knock'er Loose Industrial penetrating oil. We just came out with it last year and it out performs any other penetrating oil on the market.

 

Comes in an Orange can.

 

Try it, you'll like it!

[ycartf]

By the way, whoever kept using the pronouns "she" and "her" a few posts back, I am a guy.....lol. Figured the mention of me being 6'2" and 300lbs in the initial post would have spoken that by itself. Thanks!

 

Tracy (male)lol

[GP1138]

By the way, whoever kept using the pronouns "she" and "her" a few posts back, I am a guy.....lol. Figured the mention of me being 6'2" and 300lbs in the initial post would have spoken that by itself. Thanks!

 

Tracy (male)lol

 

I was going to ask if you were a lesbian in your first thread, but I figured Tracy can be a guy's name too.

[95oldsVan]

I noticed between some cars,theres more room in some than the others to access the rear plugs.I have the 91 Euro 3.1 as well and need to rock the engine forward to make access easier.It sits close to the firewall and cant get my arms back there too good without the rocking method.

For some reason,I think maybe its the cutlass or grand prix,the 3.1 seems to not be as close to the firewall as the lumina?Anyone comment to that?

 

I do know when I worked on a chevy corsica with the 3.1 it had more rear engine room than the lumina but I know thats a different model of car.

 

In fact,the engine bay with the dog bones was designed this way so you could do that,such as reach the pcv valve easier,the O2 sensor and etc as well.

[92LuminaRS]

By the way, whoever kept using the pronouns "she" and "her" a few posts back, I am a guy.....lol. Figured the mention of me being 6'2" and 300lbs in the initial post would have spoken that by itself. Thanks!

 

Tracy (male)lol

 

[z284pwr]

I noticed between some cars,theres more room in some than the others to access the rear plugs.I have the 91 Euro 3.1 as well and need to rock the engine forward to make access easier.It sits close to the firewall and cant get my arms back there too good without the rocking method.

For some reason,I think maybe its the cutlass or grand prix,the 3.1 seems to not be as close to the firewall as the lumina?Anyone comment to that?

 

I do know when I worked on a chevy corsica with the 3.1 it had more rear engine room than the lumina but I know thats a different model of car.

 

In fact,the engine bay with the dog bones was designed this way so you could do that,such as reach the pcv valve easier,the O2 sensor and etc as well.

 

Yes that is correct, the back 3 plugs on our Berettas are alot easier than W-bodys, the 5spd cars are even easier, without that big bulky trans there, there is tons of room

[ycartf]

I went and bought about 20 feet of rubber vacuum line (so I now have more than half of it left over so I can easily do the other Lumina sometime) and replaced not only the broken MAP sensor vacuum line, but also every other piece of that size. There are three pieces of vacuum line that connect into the junction on the air intake or throttle body assembly (please feel free to correct my terminology if it is wrong - only way I can learn). One is a larger diameter piece that I did not have rubber tubing for - it leads to the sensor on the other side of the brake booster vacuum line from where the MAP sensor is. The one next to it in the middle (100% replaced with rubber now) leads under the plenum and out the back of it into something where it terminates into a large size elbow similar to the one under the MAP sensor. Then, last but not least, the farthest piece of vacuum hose (100% replaced with rubber now) from the large one leads into a "T". The T joins this line, the thing it is hooked to, and another piece of line (the one that I had broken) that leads out from under the plenum in the rear, turning and going into the MAP sensor. I have now replaced the vacuum line from the MAP sensor to the T, the one from the T to the junction, and the one from the junction that then leads under the plenum into the elbow on something else on the backside, with the exception of a small (maybe 1/2") piece of hard line left at each connection for me to slide this EXCELLENT rubber hose onto. I was a little overwhelmed feeling when I first pulled the plenum off, but then got to seeing and understanding where everything goes and could actually see the end of the broken line I had messed up. Heck, to get the plenum enough out of the way I disconnected what I later realized was the PCV valve line and in reconnecting and tracing it I finally found where the missing PCV valve was - replacing it with one that rattles much smoother and looser and even feels a bit lighter (think the old one has accumulation in it).