Spark plug removal - hot or cold

[tenspeed]

Which is better for removing spark plugs, a hot or a cold engine?

My daughter bought a 98 Jeep with a in-line 6 and wants to install a fresh set of plugs. It should be warmish here today (32*F) so I'll give it a try after the coffee kicks in.

Thanks!

[Rayz]

I like summer better (warm engine, car, driveway....ect) :)

But I'd say that an iron head it wouldn’t matter but an aluminum head definitely cold.

[tenspeed]

Thanks Ray, I just checked with a magnet and it's iron.

She just left for some morning snow boarding so maybe I'll get them changed when she returns. At least it will keep my hands warm...

[tenspeed]

Got them done this morning. Took about 45 minutes from getting the tools out to washing up. I read the spark plug package and they said to change them in a cold engine.

The first and last plugs were almost finger tight. I showed my daughter the steps by changing the first plug and she did the rest. I was cutting them out of the plastic, checking the gap, coating the insulator with silicone and putting never seize on the threads while she was removing and installing. It went pretty fast.

[RooK]

Your daughter is a keeper. You don't see many women that know or want to get involved in vehicle innards. The more they know, the more money they can save (and show some men a thing or two).

45mins ain't bad for a plug change. I haven't worked on a 4.0 yet, so I can't say much about difficulty.