Hey there, Just a thread to add to the on-going h-ll that spark plug shields cause us in the salt belt. I bought a 2001 Ram Van (w/ an Elk conversion) a couple months ago and with only 55,000 on the clock it was in great shape for anything you see up here in Wisconsin. Ran it about 2000 miles and started to get a miss after hot soak starts, so I pulled the dog house and found the expected. The plugs, wires, and cap/rotor were all original. Being a tech of some experience(about 30 years) my first course of action is to take care of the basics before anything else. Ooooh my. Of all the cussing I've given GM, Ford and lately Mercedes Benz(Sprinter Vans) over time, I have a new pet peeve. Gen 2 5.2,5.9 series engines seem to have reached a new level of D. A. in engineering. Having never been exposed to this before, I began as I always do making sure I clean the area around the plug. Seeing that there was a fair amount of rust I also applied a good amount PB Blaster and let it work for a few hours. The first plug I went for was the right rear. I could not get get the plug socket down the tube. Hmm. So I clean the inside of the shield again. Same results. Hmmm. So maybe the socket is a little to big(OD). Grind it a little. Then a little more. Anyway that's not doing it, so after a little more research on Dodge Forums I figure I'll remove the tube. Supposedly a fairly easy deal. Hmmm. 20 minutes later the tube is totally destroyed and removed from the head. Anyway I now have 3 tubes and 5 plugs removed and one that is snapped off, hex from the threads. Hmm. Moving to an easy out on that one. I'll post again and let you know how it turns out!

 

I had a mother of a time removing the spark plug shields from mine, despite others claiming how easy they come out. I too had trouble getting a spark plug socket onto the plugs. Instead I found that using a regular deep socket made the task easier.

Anyways, once I got the spark plugs out I used an air hammer and pounded the side of the shield and it bent over and came right out. Prying them with a bar, or grabbing them with vise-grips to twist and pull had little effect.

 

Yeah I tried several sockets and nothing would go. 10-4 on the tube removal process. My other problem is that one tube broke off about a 1/2 inch from the bottom. Now I'm stuck digging in the recess to remove it. Of course it is the second plug from the front (can't see much). At least it is on the right bank. A little more room on that side. Anyway I put it on the back burner for the week, Cool down time ya know. I'm going back in tomorrow. I think I'd rather chew glass than pull the head. But that just might be in my future... Dan

 

Remove the front right tire and the rubber shield in the wheel well. You can access the front 2 plugs much easier through there.

 

10-4 the thru the wheel well approach. I was using it when the plug snapped off. I used a pipe nipple extractor and some heat and did get my broken plug out. Six plugs and cap rotor wires went on. I will attack the front two on the driver side when I feel a little luckier( and at work where I have a lift). A couple un-informed D A's asked how do you break a spark plug off? They don't understand this simple equation, road salt+tubes=rust. The plug that snapped was about paper thin just above the thread. Not a lot of ways to deal with it besides what was done. Of course the other way is to NOT LEAVE YOUR PLUGS IN FOR 11 YEARS!!!!!!!!! But if you wrench your always cleaning up someones mess. Thanks for your support!