Spark plug removal

THe best thing you can do is get yourself enrolled in a basic car maintenance course at your local College/Adult Training Centre. Most will do evening classes where you can learn everything you need to know to do basic maintenance and repairs.

Is it a petrol :-)

Chris

I'd love to learn in a college. I made some enquieries and at £660 its a little out of my price range, which is a shame as I have the time to learn. That was for a 6 month course or 12 I've forgotten now. So going to try and learn with the haynes manual and the internet and hopeuflly should learn some basic skills.

Thanks for the suggestion though.

Are you making fun of me Chris :-p offcourse it is otherwise I would have a subject line saying "glow plug removal help" nanana I got ya. Yeah its a petrol. You've made me think whats the difference between a glow plug and a spark plug obviously ones for diesel and one for petrol, but they both do the same thing ? is the removal of a glowplug the same as a spark plug ?

From what I read its just a matter of unscrewing the old one and screwing a new one in, i it that simple or are they lieing to me

Actually thats a very good question, I almost turned it into a disel a few years ago at the pumps. Stupid me nearly put diesel in it!

Yes usually leads going to them. If you can find the distributor cap you can follow the leads from there. They just pull off the spark plugs.

Not all cars are like that, but most are. The 1.8 Primera has four ignition coils, one sitting directly over each spark plug, and only LT leads.

If you get a socket set from Halfords or somewhere (the Halfords own brand ones are very good IMO), there are usually a couple of sockets specially for doing spark plugs. They have a bit of rubber inside them to protect the ceramic bit I suppose, and are a decent length. You will need a socket set anyway.

There are two sizes of spark plug socket, narrow ones and wider ones. Make sure you have the right size. Most socket sets come with both anyway.

Sometimes the plugs are hard to reach and you need an extension and a universal joint with the socket. They're useful things to have and most socket sets come with them.

Until they just start to get there, then 1/4 of a turn more, or torque wrench settings if you have them. Not too tight. They feel different the first time they go in as the washers compress.

Whatever you do don't overtighten them and strip the threads in the cylinder head.

You'll need four I should think. The book will say what ones to get. They will also be able to tell you in the car spares shop if you just tell them what car you have. They come in different sizes (width and length) so you need the right ones. Usually the book gives you a couple of alternatives (Champion and NGK say).

When you buy the new sparks it will usually tell you to put in handtight then turn it so much with a spark socket wrench 1/2 a turn 3/4 of a turn etc depending on the spark plug you bought.

I'll read the boxes when I next pop into halfords. Thanks

Excellent site there. Will read through it properly with fresh eyes :)

That answers a lot of my question Ben, thanks. I will try and locate the spark plugs in the light tommorow.

I have bought a socket set from halfords. I've got the Halfords prefession vortex socket system (metric). Copying what it says is in it from the box,

1/4" racthet, 13 - metric vortex sockets, 3.5mm 13mm. Ratchet handle, vortex hollow 3" extention 1/4 drive ratchet adapter. 3/8 ratchet, 10 metric vortex sockets 10mm-19mm 1/4 drive ratchet adapter, 3/8 ratchet adapter. God knows what half of that does, so basically I have 2 different sized ratchets with sockets for each one.

What does an extention bar look like for example if I ned longer reach to get to a spark plug.

Would a normal sized socket say 19mm (assuming thats the size of the spark plug required) get a spark plug out or is a a special sized one for spark plugs ?

The rubber is purely to locate the plug centrally in the socket, and to hold it whilst it's being removed or fitted. Essential for plugs that are fitted at the bottom of long tubes, as is the case on many engines. Mike.

As will the OP's, surely?

The OP hasn't told us what engine has Polo has yet...

Chris

Take a guess. If you're far off when you find one then I think the night-school thing is a good idea.

Take a look at a socket then take a look at a spark plug and again you should be able to work out whether it would work or not.

You need to be gentle with spark plugs, esp if the engine has an alloy head. They should go in by finger tightening alone although that's not always the case and try not to snap them when tightening.

Found one.

I see what you mean I need something a lot deeper than a normal one for a spark plug, probably why they make specific ones for spark plugs.

thanks

I've found everything else apart from the universal joint, do you know of a uk supplier or a picture of one I might be able to findi t on ebay ?

Ah yes, that's why it comes out kind of stuck to the socket.

On 2007-02-09, Tishtash wrote: [...]

Sounds good, but it looks like you're missing a longer extension bar (but you might not need it, depends on the car) and plug sockets.

A bar with a 1/4" (or 3/8") square hole in one end and a 1/4" square protuberance at the other. Sounds like your socket set has a short one (only 3").

Definitely need a long one ("deep socket"), preferably with the rubber stuff on the inside. I should think Halfords do them separately. Look at where the plugs are in the car and see what else you need.

I don't know how many ignition coils on a 2001 Polo. Most petrol cars have HT leads though.

[...]

Could be three-cylinder I suppose. Unlikely to be a V12.