The current thread on spark plug metallurgy and the difference in lifespan of the plug got me thinking: what is the biggest pain in the rear spark plug change you've experienced? The discussion in that thread had many comments referring to using long-life plugs to avoid having to do the job again, which is a massive selling point given the lack of access on many newer vehicles. It got me thinking, though, what other vehicles are a pain to do plugs on? Certainly they haven't all been invented recently... I've heard stories of the trouble people had changing plugs on the big-blocks that were stuffed into intermediate cars back in the late 60's - early 70's.
I wasn't around at that time, but here's a short list of what I've come across as being "difficult" spark plug changes:
Any F-series with a mod motor. 4.6 SOHC probably the easiest, 5.4 3V easily the worst
Any S-series truck/SUV with the 4.3
Any "cab over" van (a la Astro, Express/Savanna, E-series)
Any Toyota or Nissan V6 (especially the 3.5 Toyota and VQ engines in FWD, minivans are the worst)
Any DOHC Subaru (the SOHC is cake)
Trailblazers with the 5.3/6.0
The Opel-designed V6 in Saturns and early CTS'
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but that tends to happen when you work on so many different vehicles. So what say the collective? Which spark plug replacement really stuck it to you?
I wasn't around at that time, but here's a short list of what I've come across as being "difficult" spark plug changes:
Any F-series with a mod motor. 4.6 SOHC probably the easiest, 5.4 3V easily the worst
Any S-series truck/SUV with the 4.3
Any "cab over" van (a la Astro, Express/Savanna, E-series)
Any Toyota or Nissan V6 (especially the 3.5 Toyota and VQ engines in FWD, minivans are the worst)
Any DOHC Subaru (the SOHC is cake)
Trailblazers with the 5.3/6.0
The Opel-designed V6 in Saturns and early CTS'
I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting, but that tends to happen when you work on so many different vehicles. So what say the collective? Which spark plug replacement really stuck it to you?