Hey guys.

So here's a situation that I'm in a bit of a bind with. I'm trying to replace the spark plugs on my Blazer, but the #2 Cylinder plug seems to be over-torqued and is in quite deep, preventing my socket from getting a grip on the end of it. Looking at it, the ceramic bit on the end that the wire boot goes on to is also loose within the metal shell, and can freely spin. It does not appear to be able to slide in and out within the shell, but does spin independently of the metal nut on the shell.

Performance wise, the Vehicle runs and drives fine, and the 4.3L doesn't seem to notice it when in motion. The only time it seems to notice it is when at extended idle, wherein it will sometimes popup with a misfire on the cylinder in question. I have also witnessed the boot "Wiggle" in time with what I assume to be the sparking when sitting at idle.

Any suggestions on how I can get this plug out? I've tried lightly tapping the spark plug socket I have onto the nut and even pressing firmly against the socket and wrench when turning, but I can feel the socket jump when I turn it, implying it is just skipping over the nut.

Thanks in advance.

 

Take off the heat shield and then try to remove it.

 

Also try a regular deep socket (not spark plug specific).

 

The "nut" portion of the plug cannot go any deeper than being flush with the head at the bottom so the hex faces should be available. Can you see (boroscope?) if the hex nut faces are rounded over or broken?

George

 

I had one spark plug in mine where the heat shield was too close to the spark plug base and that was preventing the socket from going on.

Also https://blazerforum.com/forum/engine...2-plug-100848/

 

 

So overdue update, but I finally had a chance to remove the heat shielding and get a look (And pictures)

The issue appears to be that there is an "Arch" so to speak over the top of the plug, and the clearance between the arch and the plug hex is not enough to let a socket in. Or anything, for that matter, which will allow it to spin free.

I CAN spin it slightly, either by carefully jamming a flat head in and trying my luck, or using the very ends of a open end wrench. However, will it spins somewhat easily enough like that, I can only get it about 1/8th of a turn before I cant get a grip on it, and it does not spin freely enough by getting a finger in there.

Here's some photos:





Not sure where to go from here. The plug causes a misfire on extended idle and a light "tick" where I can see the end of the wire bounce up and down a bit with each tick, but otherwise it's not causing any other issues I can see? All I can think to do would be to remove the entire Exhaust Manifold on that side, which I'm not keen to do at the moment as I have no idea the shape the bolts that connect to the Y pipe are in.

I'm also worried about how I could prevent this in the future, if I ever do get it out.

Any suggestions welcome.

 

Have you tried a "non-spark plug" deep socket that may be thinner?

George

 

From the looks of it, I'd need one with pretty damn thin walls. Barely a couple millimeters, and probably the same socket shape outside as inside. I did try a non-spark plug socket I had, but even banging it in with a hammer couldn't clear the arch.