Wapsi Square Forum

Sgt. Howard wrote:Ever change sparkplugs on a Chrysler? ANY Chrysler?

Nope.

Not a masochist.

Dave wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:Ever change sparkplugs on a Chrysler? ANY Chrysler?

Are those the ones where you have to drill holes in the firewall, drop the transmission, and lift out the engine with a hoist and a couple of shoe-horns to get access to the plugs?

Well, the one where the OFFICIAL way to change the plugs was to unbolt the rear motor mounts and use a hoist to raise the back of the engine enough to get enough clearance above the frame rail for one plug was a GM product - low-end Chevy/Buick/Pontiac in the early Seventies - was originally designed for a rotary engine for the power-up option over the basic V6, but GM chickened out and went to a small-block V8 for that.

Most mechanics took a hole saw to the frame rail to make that plug accessible.

Of course, they still charged the official GM flat rate labor charge for doing it the official way.

Pulling the engine on a Bugeye Sprite can be fun, since the transmission and drive shaft have to come with it.

Cross-the-street Neighbor has an old AMC Eagle, 4x4 Sedan and it's got a roomy engine bay- except where the front most spark-plug is blocked by the A/C Pump...

in the 1993 Mercury Topaz/Ford Tempo with V6 & A/C, changing the alternator requires removing the radiator . . .

IIRC, in the late 80s Monte Carlo, changing #8 plug requires removing the inner fender . . .

And I encountered a 70s Ford pickup where changing #6 plug involved jacking the right front corner up until the gap in the coil spring aligned, then using long extensions to get the plug loose.

--FreeFlier

There's a tale of a very sad Chrysler encounter playing out over on the Whiteboard forum, starting here and here.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Pulling the engine on a Bugeye Sprite can be fun, since the transmission and drive shaft have to come with it.

Cake and ice cream. Done it more than a few times - and it's actually not hard at all, simply because you're dealing with a Tootsietoy engine and transmission. A decent engine crane and it comes right up and out, if you do yourself a favour and make sure you lift the front of the car a bit.

The only real annoyance there is that damn enclosed transmission tunnel. Why in the names of the gods they put the brake line to the rear in there I will never know - inaccessible much? Getting the stinkin' driveshaft into the back of the gearbox was an exercise in frustration, unless you cheated and mummified the front U-joint in masking tape to get it stiff enough to stick in (oo eck!). A few spins of the propshaft when in place would shred the tape and off you went.

Just Old Al wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Pulling the engine on a Bugeye Sprite can be fun, since the transmission and drive shaft have to come with it.

Cake and ice cream. Done it more than a few times - and it's actually not hard at all, simply because you're dealing with a Tootsietoy engine and transmission. A decent engine crane and it comes right up and out, if you do yourself a favour and make sure you lift the front of the car a bit.

You're right about the engine and transmission - when i did a clutch on my '69 Spridget we didn't have a hoist available, so we put a strap round the engine, put a pipe through it, and Bear and i lifted the ends and Ida stood on the fenders straddling the bay and lifted the middle.

Since i'd neglected to pick up a clutch alignment tool, we pulled the transmission, stood the engine on its nose, and used the transmission input shaft to line it up...

(I could carry the transmission by myself, as i recall, but the engine took two of us)

In the '85 Mustang with the V8, you have to remove the engine and transmission as a unit to replace the nylon timing gears . . .

--FreeFlier

Dave wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:Ever change sparkplugs on a Chrysler? ANY Chrysler?

Are those the ones where you have to drill holes in the firewall, drop the transmission, and lift out the engine with a hoist and a couple of shoe-horns to get access to the plugs?

The donor vehicle for my hot rod is a Chrysler Town and Country minivan. The sparkplug change interval is "at engine overhaul". It is not even physically possible to touch the plugs on the rear bank without removing the engine from the car... the intake and exhaust manifolds are in the way, and the only way to get to the rear exhaust manifold requires removing the cowl panel from the body and lifting the engine clear. If you're going to that much trouble you might as well pull the engine all the way out because you've already done everything but swing it over the radiator support.

Dave wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:Ever change sparkplugs on a Chrysler? ANY Chrysler?

Are those the ones where you have to drill holes in the firewall, drop the transmission, and lift out the engine with a hoist and a couple of shoe-horns to get access to the plugs?

THOSE are the EASY ONES...

Sgt. Howard wrote:

Dave wrote:

Sgt. Howard wrote:Ever change sparkplugs on a Chrysler? ANY Chrysler?

Are those the ones where you have to drill holes in the firewall, drop the transmission, and lift out the engine with a hoist and a couple of shoe-horns to get access to the plugs?

THOSE are the EASY ONES...

In the '73, you loosened three screws, released two latches, slid the doghouse back and changed the plugs. #1 was a little awkward . . . unless you had an extension less than the usual 3 inches, you had to put the socket and extension on, then put the ratchet on, but stacking a 3/8"-to-half adapter with a half-to-3/8 adapter worked fine.

--FreeFlier