16 in the same time as 8?

[moparedtn]

It's spark plug changin' time up here on the ridge...yay.

Thank God I did the Ram last fall (anyone who's ever changed the 16 plugs in
the hemis in late model Rams knows my pain there), but it's time to do the GTX
(440 with crap Hedman's) as well as the wife's '12 Charger R/T (another 16 plug
hemi).

Yep, that's a set of original Champion J-11Y's (AKA Mopar P-34P) plugs.
Those get pricier every time I go looking for them, but I digress...

I got to thinking - I almost want to believe I can swap out the 16 in the hemi
as fast as I can the 8 in the 440; the Heman's make for a royal pain in the ***
on the 440, whereas the 16 in the hemi are pretty straight-forward, yet you
have more to fuss with unbolting and bolting stuff there.

Figured I'd make it interesting and informally time the two efforts and run a fun
poll on here - so what do you think?

 

[Kern Dog]

My 2007 Ram is a pisser. The 4 under the brake booster are a matter of skill and dexterity.
My Charger has 2" TTI headers. 6 of them are accessible from overhead, cyls # 1 and 3 have to be done from underneath but I can do the Charger in just over a half hour. The truck always takes 1 1/2 hours or more.

 

[33 IMP]

I went thru the plug change on my 440 with hooker adjustables, and then wrote down exactly which combination of ratchet,wrench, socket and extension worked best for each plug, and whether i had to get it from the front ,top or bottom. Just gather the tools, and have at it!





Now if i could just figure out what i did with it!

 

[Kern Dog]

 

[moparedtn]

My 2007 Ram is a pisser. The 4 under the brake booster are a matter of skill and dexterity.
My Charger has 2" TTI headers. 6 of them are accessible from overhead, cyls # 1 and 3 have to be done from underneath but I can do the Charger in just over a half hour. The truck always takes 1 1/2 hours or more.

Precisely the same situation here. My '04 Ram is identical to what you describe - it takes a combination of swivels, nimble fingers and my physically laying across the top of the engine to get those plugs under the booster.
The GTX is somewhat different. The plugs for 4 & 6 are the real biyotches due to the Hedman's.

The Charger? It's pretty much a blow and go. Just get the big slab o' plastic engine cover off, grab a 10mm and the spark
plug ratchet setup and get after it. It almost (I say, ALMOST) tempts me to use "powered" tools to speed the process
more and even if that made sense, I won't. Steel plugs in aluminum heads say no-no. Don't want to strip delicate threads.

 

[moparedtn]

I see someone is selling a set of (8) J-11Y's right now.
They're sorta rare, of course, but there's still plenty of them out there (eBay).
Just as a reference, this set of 10 I just bought was less than $50 shipped.
Just sayin'.

 

[BB BELLA]

the magnum r/t is a lot easier to lean over than a truck fender but I usually do it over a 2 night period,one bank a night!
I worked on offshore boats for 20 yrs with big blocks stuffed 1" apart at the manifolds and bulkheads 3" ahead of the crank pulley,their isn't a car in the world that gives me concern about plug changes!I hooked a $500 gold chain on something one time and down it went to the bilge,not worth retrieving, someone later changing a motor on tim horton's 42' scarab eagle got a good bonus!

 

[moparedtn]

the magnum r/t is a lot easier to lean over than a truck fender but I usually do it over a 2 night period,one bank a night!
I worked on offshore boats for 20 yrs with big blocks stuffed 1" apart at the manifolds and bulkheads 3" ahead of the crank pulley,their isn't a car in the world that gives me concern about plug changes!I hooked a $500 gold chain on something one time and down it went to the bilge,not worth retrieving, someone later changing a motor on tim horton's 42' scarab eagle got a good bonus!

How about the far bank on a V6 FWD ride? Always been my "favorites" - hell, on some of them, you have to
take motor mounts loose and rotate the damn engine.
Or like on the Fusions and such, where you have to remove everything (including intake, etc.) from the top of the engine.
Yeesh....

 

[moparedtn]

Hmmm, not much response to my silly poll so far.
Well, I reckon we'll find out tomorrow when I get after them.

 

[BB BELLA]

probably because not too many people have a 16plug 5.7. I voted gtx for myself,guys who have never had to work with a crowfoot or modify a wrench/socket for an application could likely do the hemi faster! My neighbour has trouble with his mower,i had to pull the head and repair the plug threads.that's 100% failure rate. I hid his ratchet set before he got at the sled and 4 wheeler!

 

[moparedtn]

Ok, here goes....
I'll be using the clock in the shop as a timer. Clock will begin on each car when all the expected
tools and such are in place on my makeshift fender covers and the engine is ready to be attacked.
I'll take a random pic of each engine bay right before I start on them and post it.

It appears as of now the poll is indicating a 3 to 1 margin in favor of the GTX (9 votes to 3).
We shall see....Corn Huskers applied to the digits and away we go!

 

[moparwacko]

About 1 hr to change the plugs in my 383 w/TTI headers. But as far as the Mrs. knows it's a 2 day affair.
07 Hemi Charger took about 3 hrs., but that included refreshments.......

Btw, doesn't anyone clean their plugs anymore? I have an old plug blaster that I use and about the 4th time I get new ones.

 

[Cranky]

How many miles are on your plugs? Shoot, the ones in my V6 Dakotas are easy but the 95 is still on it's 2nd set

 

[dadsbee]

Btw, doesn't anyone clean their plugs anymore? I have an old plug blaster that I use and about the 4th time I get new ones.

At $53 bucks each they only get dropped twice. If they hit the floor, they hit the bucket. Other than that clean, gap, pressure test and back in! (and I do the same with my car plugs!)

 

[Cranky]

At $53 bucks each they only get dropped twice. If they hit the floor, they hit the bucket. Other than that clean, gap, pressure test and back in! (and I do the same with my car plugs!)
View attachment 948375

How do you clean them? Used to bead blast the ones from my cars but they didn't seem to last nearly as long as new ones but that was with point ignition systems.....

 

[dadsbee]

You done yet Ed???

 

[dadsbee]

How do you clean them? Used to bead blast the ones from my cars but they didn't seem to last nearly as long as new ones but that was with point ignition systems.....

Just added a picture of what I use.. sure wouldn't want to buy that today by the looks of things! Think I paid $200 in '95, looks like it's 900 bucks now. Yes it uses an air / media blast chamber and then spark tests while under cylinder pressure.

 

[moparedtn]

I have decided to work downhill, from hardest to get at to easiest.
That means the GTX is up first, specifically the passenger side:

You will notice I have taken the heater hoses and shoved them up out of the way.
Other than that it's time to grip and rip!
Started: 1:42pm
Ended: 2:29pm
Several dropsies. #6 alone makes me cuss like five sailors.
Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE Hedmans?

Next up - the Charger!

 

[moparedtn]

The shot of the setup for the Charger:

Time is 2:45pm. Chaaaarge!

 

[cosgig]

The shot of the setup for the Charger:
View attachment 948381

Time is 2:45pm. Chaaaarge!

ooh, I love a good cliffhanger!!......