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has been essential or almost fun to use. Nice smooth swivel for all odd angles in the engine bay and a nice magnetic action to help extract the plug or hold it in place as you carefully thread it between all the obstructions around the spark plug hole.
has been essential or almost fun to use. Nice smooth swivel for all odd angles in the engine bay and a nice magnetic action to help extract the plug or hold it in place as you carefully thread it between all the obstructions around the spark plug hole.
Thanx man! I just ordered this. Will use this Wednesday. I was taping my socket to a small extender. If you don't tape it, you could pull the extender out of the socket and now have to somehow fish the thing out of plug hole. My socket uses a foam/rubber insert to grip the top of the plug so it is very easy to pop the extender out of the Craftsman socket.
OK ... I am weak. Do I have enough spark plug sockets? Of course. Did I need to order another socket? Absolutely not. But there is a little space in the top tray of one of my tool boxes ... and I'll need to replace my plugs again in just another 24K miles!!!
has been essential or almost fun to use. Nice smooth swivel for all odd angles in the engine bay and a nice magnetic action to help extract the plug or hold it in place as you carefully thread it between all the obstructions around the spark plug hole.
I've been watching these spark plug DIY threads for a while. Planning to change spark plugs and coils on my 2010 C2S w/ 48K miles for first time in coming weeks.
Thank you to all of you for posting helpful tools, process to use, etc.
I've been watching these spark plug DIY threads for a while. Planning to change spark plugs and coils on my 2010 C2S w/ 48K miles for first time in coming weeks.
Thank you to all of you for posting helpful tools, process to use, etc.
They will creak and stick when removing them. You will pray to seven different gods in the process. Remember to chant this mantra ... It will be OK ...
That and you may want to make a token sacrifice before you begin.
But seriously ... Removing the plugs is unnerving. Just hang in there. It will be a gratifying experience.
Oh, and after removing the plugs you will debate the use of anti seize with yourself. Go with the pro tips ... Don't.
Completed my 4th plug and serp belt change (40, 80, 120, 160K)..... what I found.
1 - A lower heat shield was rotting... see pic below. I am not going to do anything about it until next plug change at 200K miles unless it starts to vibrate
2 - Cylindar 6 appears fine... I was worried about it... please review the borescope vid below and comment please
C - Ignition coils are original and look totally fine.
4 - I had a hell of a time getting the parking sensor plug back together..... I have no idea why, it would not snap.. would not get close. About 1 hour before I hooked it back up, I shot some MAF cleaner in there.. I do that to all my plugs to clear any corrosion... maybe it make the little orange/purple sponge seal in there swell. So, I took some rubber/silicon dressing, dipped a toothpick in it, and applied it to that swollen seal for lubrication. It worked.
Why I was worried about Cylinder 6... see my post from my last plug change here: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...t-is-this.html When I did that plug change, a big blob of carbon powder fell out of the hole and the plug did not look like the others... oh oh... So I was worried when I pulled this plug the other night. Result? The plug looked exactly like the others! Whew.... and no carbon falling out. So I went ahead and borescoped it. I was still worried as my oil usage has crept up a bit.... from 1.25 quart every 5K miles to maybe 1.5-1.75 quarts... but it is so hard to know as my measurements are not really good .... hashes on the side of the bottles. My Blackstone oil analyses are coming out fine. See here: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...l#post16938611
Borescope: First, I f'd up the scoping so I did not get a view of the cylinder walls. Why? I am a real live dope. First, I purchased this cheapie scope on Amazon three years ago, never used it, and Chinese maker, Distianert no longer supports it. So I wasted a solid hour dicking with it to get that video below. The scope came with a 45 degree mirror you snap on to the end. Well, the mirror was not clear... all foggy. I cleaned and polished it with window cleaner... rubbed like hell... I could not get a clear image through it. So I finally gave up. I was about to crack a thin mirror and glue on a piece of good glass, but then I thought what may happen if it dropped off in there. So it was getting late and buttoned up the car. Why am I a dope? Well this morning I was cleaning up to throw it away... and I realized it had a plastic film on the mirror. CRAP! No chit, you can not make this stuff up. I rubbed like hell and it did not roll up. I really thought it was just a piece of crap. Oh well.... I am NOT going to pull that thing apart again just to scope it again. If I need to pull the mufflers off for another reason, I will do it then.
The BAD: What I found on the piston crown. I will say.... the crown on this piston did not look like the others. It had way more of that "white" stuff than any of the others... it did look differently. BTW, I just returned from a 2,100 mile trip so the engine had a week-long Italian tuneup.
Top Tip: You can remove your bumper yourself without help. I placed two trashcans on either side of me and lifted it up onto them... this allowed me to free my hands to disconnect the parking sensor plug.
Comments on the scope?
Completed my 4th plug and serp belt change (40, 80, 120, 160K)..... what I found.
1 - A lower heat shield was rotting... see pic below. I am not going to do anything about it until next plug change at 200K miles unless it starts to vibrate
2 - Cylindar 6 appears fine... I was worried about it... please review the borescope vid below and comment please
C - Ignition coils are original and look totally fine.
Why I was worried about Cylinder 6... see my post from my last plug change here: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...t-is-this.html When I did that plug change, a big blob of carbon powder fell out of the hole and the plug did not look like the others... oh oh... So I was worried when I pulled this plug the other night. Result? The plug looked exactly like the others! Whew.... and no carbon falling out. So I went ahead and borescoped it. I was still worried as my oil usage has crept up a bit.... from 1.25 quart every 5K miles to maybe 1.5-1.75 quarts... but it is so hard to know as my measurements are not really good .... hashes on the side of the bottles. My Blackstone oil analyses are coming out fine. See here: https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...l#post16938611
Borescope: First, I f'd up the scoping so I did not get a view of the cylinder walls. Why? I am a real live dope. First, I purchased this cheapie scope on Amazon three years ago, never used it, and Chinese maker, Distianert no longer supports it. So I wasted a solid hour dicking with it to get that video below. The scope came with a 45 degree mirror you snap on to the end. Well, the mirror was not clear... all foggy. I cleaned and polished it with window cleaner... rubbed like hell... I could not get a clear image through it. So I finally gave up. I was about to crack a thin mirror and glue on a piece of good glass, but then I thought what may happen if it dropped off in there. So it was getting late and buttoned up the car. Why am I a dope? Well this morning I was cleaning up to throw it away... and I realized it had a plastic film on the mirror. CRAP! No chit, you can not make this stuff up. I rubbed like hell and it did not roll up. I really thought it was just a piece of crap. Oh well.... I am NOT going to pull that thing apart again just to scope it again. If I need to pull the mufflers off for another reason, I will do it then.
The BAD: What I found on the piston crown. I will say.... the crown on this piston did not look like the others. It had way more of that "white" stuff than any of the others... it did look differently. BTW, I just returned from a 2,100 mile trip so the engine had a week-long Italian tuneup.
Bruce, do you by chance use any sort of fuel stabilizer. The tops of my pistons have that same stuff on them and don't know what it is. Was it only on one of yours?
Hey Bruce, your video says 2000 C2S at the beginning, not a big deal but just to let you know. Hope the white stuff is not a big issue and really glad your #6 cylinder wall is ok.
FWIW the heat shields come off easily with the mufflers on and only cylinders 1 and 4 plugs are troublesome with the mufflers in situ.
So scoping cylinder 6 shouldn't be too bad.
The bad news? Modern plugs have an anti seize plating on them so you shouldn't use anti seize. But that coating is one time only use. So if you pull the plug on cylinder 6 you'll want a new plug ready to go back in that hole.
I've pulled the bumper (without plugs for park assist) on my own. Didn't think about needing a second set of hands. Good thinking with the garbage cans. Am I missing something? I didn't see any advantage to pulling the bumper off since all the surrounding heat shields were still in the way.
I believe cylinder 6 is last in line for coolant. Just wondering if that has something to do with the top of the piston ... Gas burning hotter???
Could be ash from burned oil coal. Check https://cdn2.ms-motorservice.com/fil...eben_51711.pdf as well. Your spark should also look different to the others. I would not worry too much, especially since the cylinder wall is obviously okay.