Making It Work - One Way or Another

[dscheidt]

It probably was. That's been a long time ago, so I don't remember the exact car. On the other hand, I had a 1993 Ford Ranger that had 8 spark plugs in its four-cylinder engine. Two of those were really hard to get to, as well. Why did it have 8 plugs? Well, they helped it meet the smog requirements. I didn't have the Ranger long enough to need to replace them, though, so it didn't really matter to me. It looked to me that it would be easier to pull the manifold to get to them, though.

But, yes, the hole saw made it easy. I wonder why GM didn't put an access hole in there in the first place.

the monza was designed around a rotary (wankel) engine. The wankel was a dud, and was never put into production. (fuel economy sucked, and couldn't meet the emissions standards.) the monza was supposed to be a sporty car, and so required a sporty engine. So it got a small block shoved in (producing something like 100 hp, so about as sporty as a goat), and I doubt any thought was given to maintenance. I expect most of them rusted away before they needed the spark plug changed. The BPO versions got a buick v6, which produced more power and had better economy. And you could probably change the plugs.....

 

[texasprd]

Sometimes the "making it work" approach is not so great - the practice of burning holes with a torch in the spring towers of the old Falcons/Mavericks/Comets/Mustangs/Cougars for grease fittings comes to mind. I fully agree FoMoCo should have done a better job in that area from the factory, but torching holes was a great way to create a failure point.

 

[rharman]

I don't recall the make/model but MANY years ago, when I was in my teens, I was changing plugs on my Chevy LUV truck. The mailman stopped to chat and told me of a car that needed a hole drilled though a frame member to get to one of the plugs.

 

[crasher98]

Excellent! These days, there's a YouTube video for almost everything. Thanks to all of those people taking the time to create those videos. If you can watch someone doing something, it's much easier to do it yourself. I'm glad you found the instructions for doing what you needed to do.

There are spring-type hole plugs for all common hole sizes. They just snap into the hole and you're done, without leaving a hole for water to get through to engine bay components. Good hardware stores have them, or you can order them on Amazon, as well.

thank you, this is good to know - I have a 1998 Jeep Wrangler that was a DD in the Chicago area for 10-12 years, so when I went to replace the rear shocks, on one of them first the bolt on top broke off, and then the easy out I used to try to get the broken bolt out snapped off. So I drilled a hole in the tub and got the #$%#^^&$&#%#^#@^#^#$&%* out that way, i.e., sneak attack from behind the lines. Still remember that evening! But I never did plug up that hole, just covered it up with the rug that's back there, so I think I need to be on the lookout for one of these spring plugs!

 

[Jim C.]

Having spent 60 years in the ”rust belt” where they spread salt on the roads in the winter, I guess my biggest concern with drilling a hole in sheet metal that was painted to protect it from the elements is that once that coating has been penetrated, it becomes a lot less resistant to the salt and the rust is sure to start.

Jim C.

 

[bwringer]

Having spent 60 years in the ”rust belt” where they spread salt on the roads in the winter, I guess my biggest concern with drilling a hole in sheet metal that was painted to protect it from the elements is that once that coating has been penetrated, it becomes a lot less resistant to the salt and the rust is sure to start.

Jim C.

True. Just slap a plug on a hole like that, and the whole thing will be a gaping, ragged rust hole in one winter.

I don't know what the BEST thing to spray on holes in sheet metal, and maybe that's another thread, but a couple of good thick coats of spray paint are the bare minimum. These are always in a hidden area, so neatness isn't usually required.

 

[dchawk81]

My pickup doesn't have spark plugs so.

I replaced the fuel pump not long ago. Didn't have to access the tank because it's up on the motor. The part cost about $36.

This truck is basically designed to be farm field serviceable.