218,000 miles on spark plug

[DogLover]

I have a 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix with 218,000 miles on the 3800 v6 motor. I bought the car when it had 99,000 miles so I suspect that the spark plugs are the ones in from the factory as I have never changed them. I am thinking of changing them and was looking for advice on removing the old ones. I am afraid they will be welded in place. Should the motor be cold, warm, or hot? Any chance penetrating oil will help? Suggestions for plug boot removal?
I plan on going back with the OEM AC/Delco replacements.
Thanks, Terry

 

[Chris Meutsch]

I would spray them with PB Blaster or the like when cold and let sit in there overnight. Then use the proper socket with rubber boot inside it and see if they'll come loose. If not, perhaps run the engine for a few seconds and see if that little bit of heat will help free it up. Not too long though, if you use a flammable penetrating oil.

 

[JHZR2]

you only thought of this now?

How is the rest of the car? Any CELs? Given that the rear bank is likely very tough to access, and you may have one or many stuck, you may do more harm than good...

 

[Corvette Owner]

The 3800 engine has aluminum heads, always change plugs on an engine with aluminum heads when it is COLD.

Yes, using penetrating oil will help. Blaster PB is a good choice.

Removing the plug boots could be hard, they make pliers for that. You will probably break the wires removing them, have another new set ready to install.

Use anti-seize on the new plugs and dielectric grease on the plug connections where the boot snaps on. This will make replacement easy next time (assuming you get another 100,000 miles out of the car).

 

[ZZman]

And i thought there would be pics with this.

There better be later!

 

[mechanicx]

The 3800 has iron heads and usually, unlike sometimes with aluminum, the plugs will come out without damaging the threads. They wil probably be pretty tight if you have 200k on them. You will probably ruin a plug wire or two and need new wires.

If you have trouble accessing the rear plugs, it often is easier to just remove the two dog bone motor mounts and this will let you failty eaily pry the motor forward. Uusally there is a hole in one of the dog bones and you can't put the bolt through and hold the motor forward. Then you have plenty of room at the back of the enginne.

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
And i thought there would be pics with this.
OT Pics would be very good. Some time back a member posted some with a lot of miles, HUGE gap. Said the car ran great.

It wasn't 200+k though.

 

[Eddie]

I'd try to remove them warm in an iron head. If too tight and engine runs well, leave the plugs alone. JMO. Ed

 

[DogLover]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
you only thought of this now?


The car runs great. No service engine lights, smooth idle. Seems to not have quite as much power as it used to but this could be from 10% ethanol gas.
I will try the front plugs and see how that goes. There will be pictures but not before next week.

 

[Jakegday]

Originally Posted By: terry274
Originally Posted By: JHZR2
you only thought of this now?


The car runs great. No service engine lights, smooth idle. Seems to not have quite as much power as it used to but this could be from 10% ethanol gas.
I will try the front plugs and see how that goes. There will be pictures but not before next week.


dont let the rear ones intimidate you! this is ALL you need to get them out...

the absolute hardest part was pulling the old wires off. after 200,000 miles, i can imagine you will struggle even more then i did. i would recommended having new wires on hand just in case

 

[Virtuoso]

A couple months ago, I pulled the (from the looks of them) original 11 year old, 195,000 mile plugs from our 2.4L Malibu. Gap on one was over .100" and the others were not much better. Amazing it ran as well as it did..in fact, not much change with new plugs really.

Take your time, and gradually apply torque to them until they pop out. I didn't use any PB blaster, etc, but these plugs were straight up, and I was avoiding having anything enter the chamber.

Jakegday makes a great point about your wires, now would be the time to replace, if for any other reason that one will probably disintegrate when you remove it.

 

[4ever4d]

Modern ignition systems have such a high voltage spark,it's amazing how they can run as well as they do on bad plugs have seen it more than once.

 

[Scienceman]

Do a complete plug/wire job and I bet you will get some power back.
Where in Tennessee are you? I'm in this great state to!

 

[onion]

Originally Posted By: DT466E_bus
Do a complete plug/wire job and I bet you will get some power back.
Where in Tennessee are you? I'm in this great state to!


I'm so sorry. I left TN about 11 years ago... and will hopefully never be back for anything more than a visit.

 

[DogLover]

DT466E, I am in Rutherford county in middle TN.
Onion, why the harsh words? TN is a great place to live!

 

[onion]

I guess it's a matter of opinion and where exactly you're talking about in Tennessee. The area I'm from in East Tennessee is a great place to live if you're a tweaker, a pill-head, and/or a welfare recipient. Not much to keep people there otherwise.

 

[DC44]

The scenery is great in East Tennessee compared to The West part which is mostly flat and scene-less. I live in Memphis and sometimes it's depressing staying here seems like people don't want to better themselves.