Bill Ball

OK, now here's something that it sure to raise a lot of discussion. I am replacing the plug wires, and the kit I got is the wires and distributor end wire caps. You reuse the spark plug end caps and wire spacers from the original wires. The worst part of my original wire set is the rubber sleeves that protects a good portion of the wires - mine are cracked and broken. What should I use to replace that? Doesn't appear to be a common hose I can just go down to the local parts store and get.

borland

At Kragen, Autozone, or PepBoys, they sell cable covering. The size I used was 1/4" in black which is perfect size for the S4/GT/GTS ignition wires. Very inexpensive and works great.

It's what I used when I replaced mine using the economy kit that 928Intl sold me. You just cut to length and slip it over the wire. Real easy and looks factory.

http://www.kayjayco.com/images/picCovSplitLoo43.gif

I stongly recommend you take photos of the wire routing before and after removing the wires. That will be a great help in doing the install.

the flyin' scotsman

Bill.................NAPA also carry a similar product, take an old one into them and match the size. As well as Borlands picture suggestion you may also want to replace them one at a time; remove the old and compare it to the new to get the correct length and you'll have an easy time with routing.

Bill Ball

Excellent, borland and malcolm. I saw some hi-tech stuff on Summit Racing but it was yellow. I was looking for something solid rather than split loom, though.

Thanks!

the flyin' scotsman

Bill...........the NAPA product is solid. Also, if you require the spark plug end caps I have 8 of them I took off of my car. I haven't measured their resistance as the reason I changed the entire set was the wires arcing to the cyl. head/valve covers. I went with the Nology wires complete with disti and spark plug caps hence the spares.

Bill Ball

malcolm: Thanks very much for the offer, but I think mine are fine. In fact the wires look new except for the sleeves, but at 140K miles I thought I should replace them. Off to NAPA in the next few days.

Nicole

After I heard that MArk ANderson does not use these sleeves on his own cars, I threw the stuff away and have lived without ever since.

Because of this, my car is no longer "original" - I guess that would make it a candidate for a supercharger... Just kidding!

Bill Ball

The sleeves seem to be more for abrasion protection than anything else. They are only in certain spots where the cross over an edge or somethng else to rub on, and the wires look fine in areas without the sleeves. Hey, Nicole, you have all the Jager non-original stuff, so you qualify for an SC.

borland

The sleeves are there to help minimize stray electrical current leakage to adjacient ignition wires and metallic engine parts.

Even with the high insulating properties of the ignition wires, the voltages of modern ignition systems generate some small leakage. That's why it's not a good idea to put you hands close to ignition wires while the engine is running.

The sleeves that I suggested are actually an improvement over the original OEM sleeves.

DR

Here are some photos of the original pre-assembled versions we sell that may help you with the original sleeve locations (85-95 only) and the plastic divider/mounts. First photo is 87-95, second is 85-86 32v and third is 84-86 Euro S.