I struggled with the rear plugs last time I changed these out. The rubber grommet in the spark plug socket has such a good grip on the plug, that the socket kept coming off of the extension and I could not get the socket out of the cylinder. Or, the ball mechanism on the extension was weak and perhaps did not keep a good enough grip on the socket. Took forever but I ended up having to use an extremely thin pair of needle nose plyers to get it out.

Any suggestions or good tricks on how to get the socekt out after the new plug is installed and torqued?

 

try a different extension? It should come right out

 

Nice write up. How often should platinum plugs be replaced? I used to changing regular plugs every other year.

 

Couple of thoughts:
- Autozone has a new spark plug socket with a magnetic insert instead of rubber or foam - doesnt hold as tight so less likely to jam up. Well worth the five or six dollars; works like a charm.
- When I have worries about a socket coming off, I put a couple of turns of electrical tape over the extension and socket where they join.

 

Thanks for quick response. Only removed the screws from the valve. Didn't remove any hoses. Checked thoroughly in the end that nothing is unplugged and all hoses are in place. Is it possible that any spark plug coils might have gone bad?

 

If that were the case, I think you'd be getting misfire codes (and thus, a flashing CEL), not emissions and O2 sensor codes.

 

I know this is an old post but get a regular 5/8ths socket without the grommet in it. Use the spark plug socket and once the spark plug is threaded but not tight, pull it back out and then switch to the regular 5/8ths socket. Also, just use the extension without the ratchet on it to catch the threading.