I am pulling, cleaning & re-gapping the plugs on my XJS, at the same time as replacing the ignition wires, cleaning the rotor, etc. But I'm having trouble getting to the plug for 6A.
This device, which I *think* is the oil pressure sending unit (am I right?) is in the way of getting a socket with extension on the plug. So, I opted to use just the socket, no extension.
My problem is that I am going to run out of room to get the socket & ratchet out of the way to remove the plug since the thing has such a long threaded neck.
Can I unscrew the oil pressure sending unit? I'm not sure what the larger unit is next to it, but I tried removing the entire apparatus since I could see two 11mm bolts that appeared to be holding it down. Unfortunately, there was some type of connection behind/underneath it that I could never get an eye on, and it seemed fairly rigid - didn't really want to let the unit move.
So, what are the suggestions as to how to get plug 6A out?
Here's the pic:
Is the circled sensor the oil pressure sending unit?? What is the big unit to the right of it??
That's the oil pressure switch for the oil warning light. Remove it if you wish.
The larger unit alongside is the oil pressure sending unit for the gauge.
A shot extension with a u-joint might make the spark plug reachable without removing anything
Cheers
DD
Doug,
Indeed, I finally figured that out. At least, the extension & U-joint got it loose enough for me to finish off using an adjustable wrench on the flats of the plug socket until it was finally hand-turnable. Just got it out & quitting for the night. Tomorrow I'll go ahead and put in new plugs; two of the insulators broke getting them out, so there's no point replacing two and not the other ten.....
My '89 doesn't have that additional sending unit blocking the plug. You might try trimming a plug socket to make it shorter. Check out Kirby's book it has lots of hints. Removing the little sender is not hard. You need to remove lots of bits on these motors to get to the plugs. Speaking of shameless plugs. Tonight I'm posting the first installment of my plug changing adventure on my blog. Good Luck!
bk, you mentioned you had difficulties with the back plug (6A). Two front plugs (1A and 1B) also typically pose some challenges. Did you remove/move away the compressor before changing 1A/1B? Or did you access them with compressor in place?
I loosened the belt that runs from the compressor from the air pump, then removed the belt from the compressor pulley. Then removed the four bolts that hold the compressor. I blocked up the compressor with a couple of short piece of two X four. My hands are pretty big and need a lot of room to maneuver.
bk, you mentioned you had difficulties with the back plug (6A). Two front plugs (1A and 1B) also typically pose some challenges. Did you remove/move away the compressor before changing 1A/1B? Or did you access them with compressor in place?
v1rok,
Yes, I moved the A/C compressor to make sure that I accessed/pulled all 12! DD was right, though - all I really needed was to put a universal joint on my socket. It was a bit of a bear getting the new one back in (because I'm paranoid about cross-threading and/or cracking insulators, so I go really slow & stop if there's any hint of binding etc.), but at the end of the day it was all sorted and seems to hum along very nicely (too nicely, in fact. Chasing down a VERY high idle right now, which evidently is all tied to air leaks....)
