Welcome to the dissimilar materials edition of Tool of the Week. Specialty sockets to remove oddly shaped oxygen sensors or inner ball joints are less common choices than the oft used spark plug socket. The genius of this specialty socket is the rubber donut that grabs onto the ceramic bit of the spark plug. The donut not only makes fishing the spark plug out of the hole an easy task, but also works in reverse to hold the spark plug in the socket when it comes time to thread the plug back in!
The rule is that the spark plug socket included as a bonus with any socket set will inevitably be the wrong size for the car or truck in the driveway. The extensive spark plug socket collection in the Clunkbucket Arsenal of Tools is the end result of having a few different cars. Modifications make things more fun. Anyone who has ever had a V8 equipped with a set of headers will attest to trying nearly every variety of spark plug socket and wobbler to find something that worked. Turbochargers can present similar problems. Spark plugs can also be fished out and threaded into the hole by pushing a length of leftover fuel and vapors line pushed over the insulator.
I’d like to add that you should make sure your spark plug socket is a quality, thin-walled one.
I got my cheap one stuck down the bottom of the spark plug tube in my old Peugeot 504, and was only able to remove it by removing the head. This then lead to continuous head gasket troubles.
I have an expensive, thin-walled socket now.
I might add that sparkplugs are pretty neat too. If you happen to forget ‘lefty-loosey, righty-tighty’ they’re designed to fail in a safe way:
http://www.millertwinracing.com/CookedGallery/20050529/slides/DSCN8640.jpg
Saaaaayyy…
I didn’t know spark plugs were designed to come apart like that (in a round about manner). Unfortunately, it seems the aluminum heads usually give way long before the plug comes apart, resulting in head removal anyway. Ah well.
Plug sockets are cool, and you get used to using them, but I find it annoying that you stick the plug in there, thread it into the cylinder by hand, then tighten it to spec, only to then find the socket comes off the extension because that rubber doo-hickey has too strong a bite. “Modify” said rubber doo-hickey to reduce its grip and watch the new spark plug fall out and down the back of the engine bay.
Bah. I tossed the rubber doo-hickey entirely and just lower them into the wells with my extending magnet pick-em-up thingamajig.
I know the feeling, the extra deep 5/8″ spark plug socket in my toolbox dates from my 16V Scirocco (87 engine in an 81 body) with very deep spark plug wells. A locking extension would have helped, because after you tighten the spark plug, getting the rubber doughnut to release its grip can be a problem, although needle nose vise grips are great for pulling sockets off of spark plugs.
MAC tools makes a great spark plug socket if you have a chevy V8 with headers and
old heads using 13/16 plugs. Check it out on there website.
Looks to me like Mike has inadvertently nominated next week’s tool-of-the-week: Easy-outs…
Easy-outs and extractors will be followed up by the Heli-coil right angle drill edition.
@Brian DR1665- When you re-install, lube up the plug with some oil. I can normally get the socket off without the extension slipping out…