Hi all

I have a problem passed on by an apparently moronic previous owner. While attempting to replace my spark plugs on my newly acquired truck, I found that half of the heat shields for the plugs have been bent, hammered and mangled to the point where I cant get a spark plug socket on 2 of my plugs. I have a slight misfire and I suspect old plugs, but I cant replace these two. is there any easy fix for this? Or am I up the proverbial creek?

Thanks

 

I had the same problem, I ended up removing mine with vise grips screwed into a slide hammer.

 

Yep. get a pair of channel locks or vice grips and yank them out.

 

Awesome thanks guys.

 

+1 on remove the stupid heat shields and throw them as far away as possible.

your mangled condition is likely the result of the previous owner attempting to remove them, hammering away for awhile, and eventually giving up. when rusted in, they can be stubborn.

soak liberally with a penetrating oil like pb-blaster. tap them back and forth with a hammer. DON'T break your spark plugs. grab them with vise grips and rock them out.

with shields removed, its easier to blow the dirt out of the plug wells, and its also a lot easier to change the plugs and not be prone to cross threading.