Rubber hose spark plug trick endorsed by Chiltons
 

I remember that some people kind of turned up their noses when this was mentioned by Hammer a while back. I was changing my headlights today and was flipping through the Chiltons just looking around at stuff. Sure enough, right next to the "required tools" is a picture of a spark plug with a piece of hose on it, with a caption that "this may make installing spark plugs easier", or something to that effect.

It's not much, but with the day I've been having so far, I found it kind of amusing.

Sounds pretty redneck to me lol. I don't know anything about this but I'd now like to learn as well

That works to start the plug. its flexible so you can get around the manifold. Most good spark plug sockets have a washer inside them to do the same. I end up miss placing the piece of hose by the time I would use it.

Of course it's a "Redneck" solution...... We ALWAYS figure out the easiest way to do stuff!:icon_nut:

This is an old mechanics trick to get spark plugs threaded without cross threading them. If you cross thread, the rubber hose will twist letting you know something is wrong. Nothing redneck about it

And you can bet no one at Chilton's figured it out.

I been telling people that trick since long before Al Gore ever invented the internet (LOL), and have had an 18" piece of cut hose in my toolbox since before I ever was old enough to get a driver's license and I'm gonna be 50 in a few years and I KNOW I wasn't the first to use one...

Don't doubt this old man, I am far from a real mechanic, but I've been around the block a time or two...