statikuz Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Got myself a set of universal MSD wires and started building my own, I've got 4 of 6 done, but the three with the superlong boots that are on the right bank [as you look at the engine] are TOUGH to press down since the MSD boots aren't as long as stock and not as stiff... took me about 20 minutes to get the first one pressed down. Grr. Anyways, its a work in progress, and not that hard, just a little time consuming to crimp your own wires and stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94extreme Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 ... are TOUGH to press down since the MSD boots aren't as long as stock and not as stiff... took me about 20 minutes to get the first one pressed down. Grr... ...onto plugs? I use a dab of vaseline and the slide on and off pretty easy. making your own wires... that's kool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 How much work is it to remove the upper intake, anyway? You could thoroughly clean it out if you did take it off... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 3, 2004 Author Share Posted May 3, 2004 They're just hard to push down since the plugs are deep down under the intake and you can't get your hand down there to press them down... the stock ones have super long and stiff boots so you can push them down from the top. I guess I could take off the intake if its not too hard...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 I feel your pain. I changed plugs over the weekend, and the @#$*&!!! extension popped off, leaving the plug socket down there. Took like 15 min. with a long screwdriver and channel lock pliers to finally get the bastard out. Couldn't you just pull off the long plastic "boot" thing on the stock wires, then put it on your new ones. It just slides over your wire. This I know cause the wire slid down inside it as I pulled the plug. Thought I broke it, but I just slid it back in place and it works fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Use some WD40 on it(just a little) and the boots should slip off and back onto the new ones without being too slippery... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted May 3, 2004 Share Posted May 3, 2004 Yup, I was thinking of doing that with some nice wires rather than pay an arm and a leg for new stock ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 3, 2004 Author Share Posted May 3, 2004 Yeah, it looks like that should work, I hacked apart one of the long plastic boot things and I should be able to just put it on the new wire without any hassle... take off the MSD straight boot and put this one on and run the new wire through it. I have some dielectric grease that works pretty slick [pun intended] for sliding the boots on and off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 Please post how it goes, I'm gonna try this too soon. :idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 4, 2004 Author Share Posted May 4, 2004 Alrighty, we'll see if I can explain this. I took one wire, cut off the MSD straight terminal, crimped a socket terminal on there, slid the whole thing in the hard plastic stock boot, until I realized that those terminals weren't made to go on spark plugs. Back to the drawing board. I think I can keep the straight MSD boot [bottom], cut off that much of the plastic stock one [middle], and just slide the stock boot over the bare end of the wire so it gives me something to push the boot down with. The part in the top of the picture mounts over the right of the plastic boot-pipe thing, so the wire makes a nice 90° angle as it comes out of the top of the intake manifold... that way the wire doesn't lay against the metal of the intake and melt... even though it shouldn't, I still feel a little safer. More pictures later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 4, 2004 Author Share Posted May 4, 2004 Alrighty, here's a completed wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 The intake's not going to be hot enough to melt a plug wire, just so you know. If it is, you've got big problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 4, 2004 Author Share Posted May 4, 2004 Yeah, I didn't think so, it gets hot to the touch, but if that IS hot enough to melt a plug wire, then they're not as "heat-resistant" as they claim to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigMike Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 looks purty, spice up that engine with some color!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Boy Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 Very clever with the plug wire!!! way to go man!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 4, 2004 Author Share Posted May 4, 2004 Thanks! BigMike: I WOULD, but what exactly on there can BE colorful? =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted May 4, 2004 Share Posted May 4, 2004 Looks VERY slick. I wanna try! By the way, how much did those wires cost you? Cheaper than stock replacements? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 5, 2004 Author Share Posted May 5, 2004 Probably so, these are the MSD 8MM Heli-Core ones, and they're the set for a V8, so you can screw up twice. =) They were $50 from Summit Racing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trvlace Posted May 8, 2004 Share Posted May 8, 2004 Get the Car Quest Premium Plug wire set for your truck. They are identical to the stock wires and much cheaper than factory wires. Just use the beauty cover black pastic off the old wires if you want to that is. You can toss that mess if you like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 8, 2004 Author Share Posted May 8, 2004 Toss what mess? I hope you're referring to the "beauty cover black plastic". =) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 9, 2004 Author Share Posted May 9, 2004 Found these while scrounging earlier today, if anyone needs them: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...&category=33692 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abomb1 Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Probably so, these are the MSD 8MM Heli-Core ones, and they're the set for a V8, so you can screw up twice. =) They were $50 from Summit Racing. I think I just got those same wires. Your install looked pretty good, so I decided to do the same since I need new plugs and wires. Do you remember the part number for the kit you bought? I have the MSD-3108 on order from Autozone. Their price was $59.95, but they matched the $50 Summit price and NO handling fee! Also bought the distributor cap and rotor for $18 and $4. I'm pretty impressed with the prices at Autozone especially compared to the Checker that is across the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 Yep, the PN was 3108. =) My distributor cap was $19 from Checker... they were gonna charge like $35 or something but they pricematched their own price from www.partsamerica.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abomb1 Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 That's good to know its the same part number. Never realized how many different types of wires and ends there were until now. What did you use to crimp the ends on? Will an electrical wire stripper/cutter/crimper work? Maybe just a needle-nose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statikuz Posted May 10, 2004 Author Share Posted May 10, 2004 A nifty little tool comes with the kit... it has a hole you put the wire in so you can strip it [with an x-acto knife or leatherman or whatever] to the proper length [about 1/2" or so], then you slide the terminal onto the stripped end of the wire, which then goes between the two pieces of the crimper. The whole thing goes in a vise [the crimper has little tabs to keep itself in line], you tighten the vise down and it crimps the wire properly, keeps it round and stuff so the boot slides on right and the crimp is strong. One tip: get some dielectric grease to help slide the boots on; it helps A LOT, trust me. =) The attachment is a picture of the crimper tool. Sorry its so big, I was too lazy to resize it. =P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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