a little tuneup
 

How difficult could it possibly be to do a tuneup on a Dodge 318.........plugs, wires, cap, and rotor?

I figured it'll take no more than two hours and I head out this afternoon at 1:00 figuring I'll be done by 3:30 at the latest.

Well............

Firstly, these idiots changed the distributor housing to aluminum and the cap is secured with steel screws..........5mm. I struggled with one and spent the better part of 30 minutes to get it free without breaking it. The second wasn't so lucky. Snapped off right at the top of the threaded hole, despite my best efforts. Tried to drill it.........drill walked into the aluminum, of course. Tried to free the remaining stub with a chisel..........fractured the aluminum ear that had the thread attached.:mad:

Now it needs a distributor.


Well, figure I'll do the plugs. Again, these geniuses decided that this engine needed "heat shields" around the plugs. This is a cylinder of steel that is pressed into the exhaust manifold directly around the plug. The art of the press isn't very good and some of them deform during this press affair (at the factory). The result is that you cannot get a socket around the hex of the plug.

So, the only option is to attempt to pull the shield. However, 10 years of corrosion isn't about to let that happen without a struggle. #6 wasn't too bad.........took about 30 minutes. #8 was miserable..........took two hours. The shield tore away at the top of manifold..........leaving a struggle to remove the last 3/4".

Fortunately, #5, and #7 could be removed without removing the shields.

So, at 6:00..........four plugs are installed..........no wires and no cap and rotor.

The next obstacle, possibly insurmountable, is #1 and #3. On the van, these two are within 2" of the firewall. It is absolutely impossible to remove the heat shields from these two plugs if that becomes imperative. So, I'm hoping for some luck there...........I have no good alternative.


The stupidity of Chrysler will turn a two hour job into a 10 hour job by the time I'm done. If the left head has to be removed, the job goes up to 20 hours............just for a tuneup.

The joys of inaccessible spark plugs :rolleyes:

Budget Supercars part 3 - Top Gear - BBC autos - YouTube
1:53


Trust me Brian I feel your pain. The other day a simple radiator replacement job on the G should have been no more then an hour. HOWEVER because of some unexpected plow mounts it turned into 6 hour ordeal.

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Wow! What a cascade of difficulties! Sorry, BC.

Which is why its best to trade American vehicles in every 5 years...

Every one ~ guess who used to be an engineer for Chrysler ?
You could say bitten by ones past !!! :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Took me a whole weekend to change the sparkplug wires on my '96 V-6 Camaro. I was dreading having to actually change the plugs in another year.

That's when I sold it and got into the joys of inline Mercedes diesels

You could say anything you want.

But, everyone will know that you don't have a clue about which you speak, as usual.:rolleyes:

Ahhhh.. The old fixing something until it's broke situation. I have been there many times my friend. :D

.......with a print shop, the mechanical failures are never ending............:eek:

Did ya bust any knuckles?

Actually, not a lot of force is necessary for all of the work. It's just pull......pry........repeat. The heat shields are very thin and soft and they readily deform. However, this deformation doesn't make them any easier to extract, sadly to say.

I've got to do battle with 1 and 3 today...........really loathing that job.

Will hand it to you...you have more patience than I do...i would have broke out the cutting torch after tinkering with the first plug.

That is true. Paper clips and rubber bands and duct tape have been my friend in the past. I have gone all McGiver on my printing and sign equipment. :D:D

The torch would be a bit dangerous in there...........I'd be afraid of damaging the exhaust manifold.

With 1 and 3, there isn't enough room for any tools............a socket with extensions is going to be very difficult. So, I am really praying that the heat shield isn't compromising the space for the plug socket.

Don't mind him; he's Australian and just has his particular sense of humor ;)

Mr Bad Teeth Talks About Fat Yanks - YouTube
1:00-2:00