Hi, I'm a newbie to this site and was wondering if anyone an help me with an HT lead problem.

I'm trying to do a spark plug change and can't seem to get the HT leads off of plugs 2 & 3; am I missing something? The HT leads came off of plugs 1 & 4 with no problems.

Thank you in advance.

Justin

JT70 said:

Hi, I'm a newbie to this site and was wondering if anyone an help me with an HT lead problem.

I'm trying to do a spark plug change and can't seem to get the HT leads off of plugs 2 & 3; am I missing something? The HT leads came off of plugs 1 & 4 with no problems.

Thank you in advance.

Justin

Click to expand...

Hi Justin, and welcome,

because you'd tagged your post Grandepunto..it's appeared in the GP section also.

OK = plug leads..no great secret..
they have a metallic part that clips around the plugs top,
and a rubber sleeve that fits snugly around the ceramic insulator

chances are it's the rubber that's REALLY well seated..
DO NOT just yank on the cable.. as it'll have a 50/50 chance of doing damage without actually pulling the rubber off,
there are special tools for pulling leads by the rubber,
but I've resorted to conventional pliers before,

pull the rubber - via pliers with one hand..and also the same pressure on the cable with the other..

I suppose you COULD try a hot air gun / hairdryer on the rubber to see if it'll soften and loosen it's grip.. but then it could be too hot to actually hold while removing..,
Charlie - Oxford

Cheers Charlie, really appreciate the advice.

I'll give your suggestion re: the pliers a go tomorrow.

Thank you,

Justin

ones with a circle feature in the jaws of the pliers will work best.. so not to squasy the innards too badly.

let us know how it goes..

Cheers varesecrazy. Hoping to get a chance to have a go this afternoon. Will post how I get on.

+1 for that advice. Modern plug leads have a habit of "welding" themselves to the plugs. It's never the metal bit, always the rubber shroud. Try to twist the shroud if you can reach it, to break the seal before pulling. New leads aren't that expensive though.

Cheers Avocet. I have had a go with regular pliers, no joy; ties HT leads are well and truly stuck on. I've purchased a HT lead spanner which should arrive next week.

Can anyone advise what size socket I need to remove the spark plugs.

Thank you in advance.

Justin

I had same problem. Trouble is, leads 2 & 3 are hard to access - you can't seem to get a good grip on them with your hands! What I did was to put a cable tie round the rubber shroud & tighten as much as I could. Then I got an old wire coat hanger & cut 2 pieces of wire, each about 8 inches long. I shaped one end into a hook & the other end into a loop - I was then able to get both hooks under the cable tie & pull with both hands. It still took quite an effort though - I had to put a long screwdriver through both loops and lever upwards, but got them both off. I found that it wasn't the rubber bit that got stuck, it was the metal clips inside the leads that were really tight on the plug tips. Changing the plugs was pretty easy by comparison. Can't remember what size socket I used, but if you have the new plugs ready you can check on one of them. But use a proper deep socket, not a standard one. Good luck!

Apologies for delayed reply.

I finally managed to remove the HT leads by use of a pair of Pliers specially designed for removing HT leads (HT lead pliers). I got the form Amazon and they were about £15.00.

It was still a fiddly job as plugs 2 & 3 are pretty hard to access and they were well and truly stuck on.

I got the plugs out with use of a spark plug spanner, purchased from Halfords.