Dang, I finally got my '96 torn down to fix the intake leak. No wonder that puppy was leaking. Grey RTV instead of black and old gasket still under it. The same where the heads meet the intake. I'll spend a while cleaning everything squeeky clean so I get a good seal when I put it back together. I figured to put new plugs in while I was at it and found a couple of the plug wires were rubbed hrough where they were against the steering shaft. Okay, new plug wires too. Pop the distributor cap off and the rotor had weld points from arcing and the cap had electrodes nearly gone. I suspect someone dropped a used engine in this and didn't do a thing afterward.

One problem. The plug wires had been on so long with no dielectric grease that I can't get the boot off the #6 plug. I can get my arm down there but as soon as I tighten my muscles, I'm jammed. I've got several chunks of meat out of my arm now. I'm glad I got the kit with the valve cover gaskets as both of them have issues too.

When I get done, this engine will shine and should run like a scalded dog. It ran okay but didn't sound happy. Then I'll sell it. 3 cars, a truck and a bike for just me and I need to clear something.

 

I have a pair of spark plug boot pliers
I usually cant get my paws in there and still be able to give a twist and pull on a lot of cars

 

Can you get at through the fender well?

 

fixed that

 

Nope, no room. The a/c unit is in the way. I can't come up from underneath either. I'll get it somehow. If my girlfriend was taller, I'd see about getting her to try and pull it off. She's a little short and chubby to do it though.

I've got the intake torn apart and it looks like somebody dropped a newer engine into the Blazer and just swapped the intake, and didn't clean it any. I'm spending a lot more time and money on this puppy but I think it'll have a happy engine when I'm done.

 

Go through the fender well. It will be a very tight fit, as you stated, as the evaporator and blower housing is taking up a nice chunk of the engine bay. Since you are getting new plugs and wires anyway, use a razor blade and slice the boot and use a small angled pry bar (usually available in the typical 3-packs at the local auto parts store), catch as much of the boot as possible, and pry off of the manifold.

If that doesn't work, use the big pry bar from the set and break the ceramic on the plug itself and the boot should fall off with the broken ceramic insulator. Everyone here hates the #3 plug and wire on these. Being a bigger guy myself, #6 gives me nightmares :P

 

I have designed my own tool just for this. I have an old flat blade screwdriver that I bent a hook on the end. I just reach in and hook the end of the boot and pull while I tug on the top with the other hand and it will pop right off.

 

I've got all sorts of pullers and other tools that I've either acquired or made over the years. The boot is pretty well siezed on there. This has been a stinker of a week at work so I've quit fighting it until the weekend. I'll get it eventually. I had a Monza (rebodied Vega) when I ran a salvage yard. Every 1000 miles the #7 cylinder would fould the spark plug. Instead of lifting the engine, one of the guys cut a hole in the fender and used a long extension to change the plug.

 

a buddy had Monza with a shoe horned V8
Steering shaft ran between the header pipes

 

The Monza could be oredered with the 262 V-8 and turbo 200 from the factory. That's where people got the idea to swap V-8 engines into Vegas.