The engineer that pushed for these ought to be kicked in the groin.


I think the metal from the head rusts and pushes the stainless shield ever so slightly reducing its overall diameter, making it so a standard thickness spark plug socket won't go on.

As you can imagine, the shields come out with a fight. I've been toying with the idea that drilling a hole thru them so that a punch (or similar) can be placed thru the holes, and then use a slide hammer to pull them. BUT getting enough room to pull 5 and 6 out would be tough because of the angle.

YOUR FIX: grind down the OD of a cheap 5/8 plug socket. It will give you just enough room to get the plug out. You may need 2 or 3 to do the whole engine, as they tend to crack.

DO NOT try the pliers trick to remove the sheilds. You'll just end up removing them in pieces and it will take all day. It only works in no rust environments like arizona.