BoilerAnimal
New member
Got a new set of plugs and wires from Baja Ron on Wednesday. Took the Tupperware off Friday before going to work Friday afternoon so I could work on it Saturday. Well, I knew it would be a pretty big job from the research I had done. That was an understatement!
Everything was going fine until it came to getting the bottom half of the air box out. There was absolutely no way it was coming out without taking the brace out that was in the way. In order to do that it would require taking the frunk off to access the two bolts in front. No way was I was going to take it off. It already looked like I had parts and tools scattered all over God's Little Acre and half of France!
So..........what to do? I did a search on here about changing plugs and wires and someone (I don't remember who) said he had the same problem and just reached through the side to get the front plug and then rerouted the plug wire in the front of the engine.
Needless to say, I thought that that might be the way to go. So, armed with two LED flashlights mounted in strategic locations, I was able to put enough light on the subject to see through an opening after blocking up the bottom half of the air box with a piece of wood. I was able to reach through another opening in front of the top of the radiator.
After having no luck at all trying to get the plug wire off the spark plug I decided that I would cut a slit on the side of the boot. Good idea, except my utility knife was too big to get to the whole boot. Finished cutting it with a small Exacto knife. Then pulled the side off with a pair of needle nose pliers. Blew out the well around the plug with my air compressor to get anything trapped in there out so it wouldn't call down into the cylinder.
Tried placing my plug socket on the plug and..........dropped it between everything that it is squeezed in there. Couldn't see it anywhere and had no idea where it was. Started feeling around and found it and to my relief was able to get it in place. Next came the 3/8" drive universal joint and then a ratchet. Got the plug out and a new one prepped with thermal paste back in. I was able to get the new wire placed in the protective loom and threaded between the jugs like before and snapped in place rather easily thanks to the dielectric grease that Ron supplied.
The left side was a piece of cake. Next came putting all of the tupperware and all of the screws and push pins back in all the right places. Got that done, then came the moment of truth. Turned the key and watched the pegs do their dance and waited to push the mode button. Pushed it, said a little prayer, held my breath and............bingo! Old faithful roared to life and purred like a kitten.
Of course, I had to go for a short ride to test out my handiwork! Got back about a half hour later (it was only about 60° and I didn't wear anything more than my jacket with liner, full face modular helmet and gloves.
It was fantastic!
Got my Spyder in the garage and thought, what the heck, I'll change the oil too! So a looonnnggg day was spent on the Spyder doing what I wanted to do last fall before I started my new job and now it is ready for the fun to begin!
One question I have is, how long will these new plugs and wires last before I have to do this again? I'm hoping a good long while!
Everything was going fine until it came to getting the bottom half of the air box out. There was absolutely no way it was coming out without taking the brace out that was in the way. In order to do that it would require taking the frunk off to access the two bolts in front. No way was I was going to take it off. It already looked like I had parts and tools scattered all over God's Little Acre and half of France!
So..........what to do? I did a search on here about changing plugs and wires and someone (I don't remember who) said he had the same problem and just reached through the side to get the front plug and then rerouted the plug wire in the front of the engine.
Needless to say, I thought that that might be the way to go. So, armed with two LED flashlights mounted in strategic locations, I was able to put enough light on the subject to see through an opening after blocking up the bottom half of the air box with a piece of wood. I was able to reach through another opening in front of the top of the radiator.
After having no luck at all trying to get the plug wire off the spark plug I decided that I would cut a slit on the side of the boot. Good idea, except my utility knife was too big to get to the whole boot. Finished cutting it with a small Exacto knife. Then pulled the side off with a pair of needle nose pliers. Blew out the well around the plug with my air compressor to get anything trapped in there out so it wouldn't call down into the cylinder.
Tried placing my plug socket on the plug and..........dropped it between everything that it is squeezed in there. Couldn't see it anywhere and had no idea where it was. Started feeling around and found it and to my relief was able to get it in place. Next came the 3/8" drive universal joint and then a ratchet. Got the plug out and a new one prepped with thermal paste back in. I was able to get the new wire placed in the protective loom and threaded between the jugs like before and snapped in place rather easily thanks to the dielectric grease that Ron supplied.
The left side was a piece of cake. Next came putting all of the tupperware and all of the screws and push pins back in all the right places. Got that done, then came the moment of truth. Turned the key and watched the pegs do their dance and waited to push the mode button. Pushed it, said a little prayer, held my breath and............bingo! Old faithful roared to life and purred like a kitten.
Of course, I had to go for a short ride to test out my handiwork! Got back about a half hour later (it was only about 60° and I didn't wear anything more than my jacket with liner, full face modular helmet and gloves.
It was fantastic!
Got my Spyder in the garage and thought, what the heck, I'll change the oil too! So a looonnnggg day was spent on the Spyder doing what I wanted to do last fall before I started my new job and now it is ready for the fun to begin!
One question I have is, how long will these new plugs and wires last before I have to do this again? I'm hoping a good long while!
