whats the best tool for 302 spark plugs?

I had a bear of a time just tighting my plugs cant imagine when i have to replace them. The back two on the drivers side were easy, and the front one on the passenger side, and maybe the back one, cant remember. Teh second one back on each side were the worst, right across from the shock tower, and a metal bracket bolted to the exaust manifold that you have to work through to get to the plug. So what do you all use to reach and turn these? Pictures would be great.. And on a side note, what would cause the plugs to loosen up? All eight on my recently acquired 72 were loose.. So any pointers??

later chris

 

A deep-well socket of the appropriate size and a 3/8" ratchet...

 

see thats the thing, specifically the second back plugs with the thing around them, you slide on a socket but you cant get the ratchet it on cause the socket is too short, and then i couldnt find a combo that work work. Wound up using a 1/2 inch drive socket with a 3/8 reducer then a 3/8 ratchet barely reached and i was able to tighten it. I know there must be a better way...

later chris

 

ive never had a problem with a good old ratchet and 13/16th socket (in my case). i do think that sometimes i have placed the socket on the plug then attatching the ratchet, but dont recall it being a big deal

 

I have always used a long 1/2" breaker bar with a deep well socket. With the breaker bar, the angle of the bar to the socket is not fixed at 90 degrees, like a ratchet.

 

Use a regular spark plug socket with the hex top and a wrench on the socket for the hard to reach ones.

 

I found that the best tool was a die grinder or sawsall and a welder...

Cut out the damned shock towers, or at least do the tower notch mod...





NO problem reaching the plugs after doing this...I can get my entire arm in there now...

 

Those things in the way are the factory engine lift plates and they do make it a pain to change the plugs there next to. On my driver I loosend the bolts that held them and cut the plates off. Have not found a wrench that made it any better

 

My setup is a little different but I use three different tools to R&R my plugs.

Hint from Heloise: Use a short length (~6") of 3/8" rubber hose to go over the ceramic end of the plugs for easier thread starting (and to help speed up removal). And never put Varisol in the kitchen sink to wash parts. It peaves the fems.

 

I never use anything special for mine. 'Takes me about 25 minutes to change 'plugs...

 

i use a 5/8 plug socket with a hex end and a 3/4 open end wrench.

 

hey scott.. how do you know how much shock tower to cut out?

and why and when did you do this mod

 

that is a popular mod for the 351w guys for spark plug clearence


but some of them dang ole 302 guys thought the idea sounded good


just spark plug clearence and header installtion

 

'Nuff said.

At the time, I was just cussing and throwing things around the garage, and just decided I had enough and pulled off the heads for room to work, covered the engine to keep metal dust and welding slag out, and cut away.

I started this back in September '05. I asked a bunch of questions from the guys here, and got estimates in how much to cut. Since I NEVER follow the rules, I cut an extra bit off I measured and found that there is another 1/2" or so of clearance before I hit springs and stuff, and cut a bit more off than most. Then filled it in with a little thicker steel plate than most use for extra strength that I might have lost by cutting more of the tower away. Rented a Home Depot welder for a day, welded as best I could with a wire-feed welder I had never used before, and painted it all up.

Since then, I have recommended it to ALL maverick owners with V8s, it just frees up SO much room. It is amazing what an extra 6-7" in engine bay width will do for you... :bananaman

I documented the dimensions and step-by-step with pics on my website. Click on http://home.cmaaccess.com/~scodon/september2005.htm I had just gotten the GT40Ps and ordered my headers, and figured it was a good time to get on it...

Here is a pic with the heads, headers, and plugs installed. Notice all the extra room? Well worth the hassle of making the cuts...

 

Works for me.