I borrowed this car, a 1998 Honda Civic DX. It had just been paid off the week before! The heater hose developed a hole and the water leaked out. It overheated and the boots melted inside the spark plug sleeve that holds the spark plugs/wires. I do not know how to remove theses little sleeves. I tried to turn them but they just spun in place. I want to avoid taking the head off if possible. Is there away or some trick? Any help would be appreciated! Thank you!
I would use a pair of long nose pliers to grab a hold of them and pull them off, there are metal connectors inside the boots which snap onto the top of the spark plug.
I actually tried that. All it did was break off. I was actually thinking of extra long needle nose pliers (which I don't own) or a long hemostat and a blow torch...Heating up the sleeve and then using those to yank out the hardened material. Any other suggestions?
I'll try tomorrow and get some pics so all yall can see what I am talking about.
Most tool stores sell some long needle nose pliers. I don't know if you have a Harbor Freight near by?
I would only use the blow torch as a last last resort, the head is aluminum, so becareful not to heat it up too much. Harbor Freight rocks, I've seen some pretty long needle nose pliers there. Let me know how it works out.
Wow!! That's what I was afraid of, hopefully there isn't any damage to the head, there's alot of aluminum, so you might be ok. Let me know how it goes. I'm glad I could help.
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Harbor Freight...The place I love most But man, I need some REALLY long ones. LOL I'm in Azle and got a Harbor Frieght down the road from me in Fort Worth. So, let me ask you, you think the blow torch idea is a good one? I mean this stuff is melted pretty good in there. I reckon I'd heat it up to melting point and do that or just burn it off. You think that's a good idea?
Hey drsinister69. I went out there today and they already had them out. I asked how they did it and they used a blow torch. I was pretty mad because I told them not to after reading what you posted because got to thinking about it and you are right. I think the head is gonna be warped anyway because it turned the exhaust header blue and cracked it. Thanks for all your help. I will let you know if the car runs in a few days after we get the manifold fixed. The catalytic converter is welded to the old one and you can't buy a used one with it on, so we gotta do some modifying.
Hey drsinister69. I went out there today and they already had them out. I asked how they did it and they used a blow torch. I was pretty mad because I told them not to after reading what you posted because got to thinking about it and you are right. I think the head is gonna be warped anyway because it turned the exhaust header blue and cracked it. Thanks for all your help. I will let you know if the car runs in a few days after we get the manifold fixed. The catalytic converter is welded to the old one and you can't buy a used one with it on (so I am told), so we gotta do some modifying.
1998 Honda Civic DX. Melted Boots in Spark Plug Sleeve
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