Thread: question regarding stock plug wires and new ones

I bought a set of NGK wires for my car and as I was changing them I came across a metal tube with a spring attached in the end of each stock wire covering the actual spark plug. My question to you guys is when installing the aftermarkey wire set, do I still need to put this back in, or can I leave it out? Whats the purpose of this? I put them in the ends of the new wire set, but have noticed the car runs rougher at idle, not sure why. Thanks guys

It is a heat shield for the plug boots... Keep them on if the boot will accomidate it.

Probably runs better since the plugs and wires are new.

Thanks for the quick reply.

When the car is idling in park, and your sitting in the drivers seat, you can hear and feel the engine rumble/vibrate higher then lower, almost as if it has a problem. But it's not a loud sound or a violent shake, it's noticable if your looking to hear/feel it. I bought the car from a guy who only drove it a few times in the summer. It's a 99 but has 47,000 km's (canadian car). I changed the oil and filter, plugs/wires and coolant flush. Anything else you think I should do. He said he put a new air filter, I will double check, thanks.

No problem!

Yes, add a bottle of Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner in the gas tank. Do not use anything else, this stuff works and is the same GM product at the dealers, just a GM bottle. I suppose you could get it there too if you cannot find it in a store.

BG44 is also good but is more of a carbon remover, not fuel system cleaner but I am pretty sure BG makes a fuel system cleaner too.

You could also change out the fuel filter. It is located under the car, rear drivers side. Being a 99 like mine, it may be rusted onto the line and need to be cut off, like mine!

I would start that route and see if the condition goes away. It is cheap too!

I never did a fuel filter change before...is it hard? I don't like the idea of playing with fuel lines.

I used a bottle of Redline fuel system cleaner about 3 tanks ago. We don't have any Chevrons here. Can I still use the GM one even if I already used a bottle of Redline?

I'm not sure how to check if it is running on all cylinders or not? I havent really pushed it yet, but normal driving seems to be ok. I actually had #4 and #2 mixed up, but fixed it right away. Everything is in the right order now. I used NGK TR55GP, I checked one for the gap and it was pretty good, so I didn't gap any.

Thats the reason I was asking about the heat shields, I feel if they were not there I would be positive that the wire end was "snapped" on the plug tightly.

Originally Posted by 19GTP99

I never did a fuel filter change before...is it hard? I don't like the idea of playing with fuel lines.

I used a bottle of Redline fuel system cleaner about 3 tanks ago. We don't have any Chevrons here. Can I still use the GM one even if I already used a bottle of Redline?

Well if you have never done one, you may not want to try it. I have done many, so it is easy for me. However it may be rusted on and give you a lot of trouble getting off. The is a nut that faces the front of the car and gets road splash, thus rusts to the line. Working with fuel is OK, just make sure the engine and everything else is cold.

The Chevron can be bought at auto stores, or even WalMart. I do not know anything about RedLine, heard of it but never used their products. I suppose you do not need to get the Chevron then, I just use it and know it works. A friend of mine is a GM World Class Technician and he educated me on it. You can use it if you still want to after the tank with the Red Line is gone. Do not put them both in the same tank.