How to Replace Spark Plugs 1996-2005 Chevy Blazer S10

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In this video I am going to share some tips with you for changing the plugs. This is a 2000 S10 Blazer with a 4.3 liter. I'm not going to show you changing all the plugs but what I am going to show you is the tools I use to make the job pretty easy and the technique especially on the driver's side middle plug which is pretty hard to get to. The tools you'll need are a plug socket, you will need a universal or flexible joint and an extension and a ratchet. I set the car up on a lift, not because you have to, but because it's a little easier to film this way but if you do have a jack and jack stand, it is probably good to lift your car up because it gets this wheel down out of the way.

The best way to get to your spark plugs is right though your inner fender here. You can see here's my middle spark plug. There's my rear one back there and then my front one is there. These, the middle and front, the boots are L-shaped, so hard to film all of this but you can basically just reach in and you want to try and twist the boot on the plug a little bit and then pull. Now for this rear one, my usual method and hopefully you can see this here is to grab onto it. There are special pliers that they have for these spark plug boots but I grab onto, get a good grip with a set of needle nose pliers and again you want to take this and twist it and then pull. You always want to try and twist these because that breaks the seal with the spark plug and these two rear ones are easy to get to.

I am not going to show you actually taking them out but you want to use obviously your spark plug socket and then a 12" extension and then your ratchet and then you can easily get to your middle one and your rear one. The front one's a little harder. I'm going to reach in there and grab hold of the boot, twist it, drop out of place, put a flexible joint between your extension and your socket and then you can put it up in here but you're gonna see that but I'll use my other hand, guide it onto the spark plug and then right in there and then you can undo it. I'll do this one just to show you. Just bolt it on bolt really. There's my plug out. You can see it's kind of black and corroded.

Most of the time, on your vehicle, you've got a tag like this. Right here, you probably can't see it, but it says, Spark plug gap, 0.060". You can also find this usually in your owner's manual and the gap is the distance between the tip of the spark plug diode here and this here and this is my gauge, so it says, 0.060, right there so I want this to be able to just slide through there with a little bit of resistance. Looks like this is set just a little bit small. I'm going to pull it back so it just slides through there, so that's 0.060. When you put your plug back in, it's very crucial that you don't cross thread which means you want to thread it in and you don't want to feel really hardly any resistance so this first one in the front, I'm just going to use my socket.

For these two rear ones, it would be a lot easier because they're pretty much a straight shot. I am going to put the socket in there and then I am going to carefully guide the spark plug into its hole and then I'm going to try to get it as straight as its supposed to be. Just slowly turn the socket. This is really difficult because it's bunched up it is here. Slowly turn the socket and make sure that if I encounter any resistance, I'm going to back it out because I don't want to cross thread. I don't want the threads to get messed up on the head of the vehicle, because then you won't be able to get a plug in here and get a seal.

That's not quite working so what I'm going to do is I am going to take my extension and U-joint and I am going to try and hold the socket kind of steady and just start to spin the U-joint. Everything should spin nice and lightly and it does seem to be going straight in. The spark plug is a bit into the head. You want to hand tighten them first pretty much until you feel it seed on the head and then you can use your wrench. Plugs, they're supposed to be about 25 foot-pound, not really extremely tight. This is a small wrench so I'm going to pull it tight but you don't have to go crazy. Like I said you don't want to strip the threads on the head. They don't have to be extremely tight and you also want to be able to get them off. Now, I'll put the plug wire back on. I'll do the other two and I'll show you the other side.

From the driver's side you got some tight spaces. You can see up in there. I put the socket on there from the bottom. That's the middle plug. This plug here, not a problem, nice and straight. This plug here, you can get with the U-joint without too much problem but this middle one, what you want to do is get your socket on from the bottom. Now, what you do is basically take your extension. This is rubber right here. If you press this or you squeeze this, you'll feel the shaft is actually oval shaped inside so you want to turn your wheels just slightly so the flat part of the shaft is down and then stick your wrench in there.

You basically get into the socket just enough to get enough pressure on it to loosen it up and then when you tighten it, get enough pressure on there to get it tight. I was actually pretty amazed I was able to do it on this and this is a pretty old rusty S10 from the northeast. That's how you get to that one. Once you get it loose, then you just go up in there with your fingers and loosen the socket with your fingers and just pull the socket and the plug out at the same time. This is an impossible film but what I was able to do was without the socket, when I put in back in, I got the plug up in there and then I basically kind of held it with my forefinger into the hole and I spun it with my middle finger so you basically just kind of push on it with your forefinger into the hole and you can reach in there enough to just twist it like that with your forefinger.

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