adallak Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Today I finally decided to replace original ignition wires on driver side and the coil wire. I have also replaced the driver side ACDelco platinum (OEM) plugs with NGK Iridiums. The first thing what surprised me was the resistance of old and new SAME part number ACDelco wires. OLD (kOhm) NEW (kOhm) coil 2.50 4.50 #1 4.41 6.15 #3 4.60 7.40 #5 4.58 7.52 #7 6.60 11.40 I have removed the wires as a whole piece together with wire separators/holder (green dots in the picture). They are slidebly attached to the engine parts and the the metal wire guide. The latter has a hole (red dot) and a slot (blue dot) for two screws which can be engaged with rather 3/8" wrench than a 10 mm one. The screw which goes through the slot can be only reached from under the car. You only need to loosen it up and push the guide up. I found removing whole thing (see the picture) convenient because you can take it home, and in the comfort of your kitchen replicate with new wires and looms. This approach also minimizes the probability of mistakes. I have only used NYLON 3/8" ID looms which had industry standard gray strip along it. Cheap looms they sell everywhere are polyethylene and will melt right away. The factory installed loom melted inside of the guide (sure you cannot see it without removing whole thing) and the #7 wire was a little bit burned and most likely leaked voltage to the ground. The plugs had about 20,000 miles on them and looked okay, but #7 had some oil on it... Time will tell whether this replacement will make engine run smoother and will fix that annoying slight hesitation usually around 43 MPH while trying to keep momentum driving up a hill. The job can be done within some 60 minutes I guess, but I took my time to make sure everything is done properly. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Interesting - so it is not as bad of a job as it appears? Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted July 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 Interesting - so it is not as bad of a job as it appears? KHE, I have done only the driver side. The real nightmare is the passenger one. Does your 350 look similar? You know, when you have to do something like that, you realize people who designed it that way just did not have common sense. What can you say about the resistance of the wires? The difference between the original set and new one is just too noticeable. They are the same part number from AC Delco. If you want to replace yours, I know an online source with very good price for ACDelco wires. Folks on Impala SS forum (same LT1 engine) prefer Tailor ignition wires. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted July 28, 2011 Report Share Posted July 28, 2011 My Fleetwood Brougham is a 1993 which has the L05 350 TBI engine - totally different from the LT-1 350. I wished I would have waited until the 1994 model year came out before buying my car - the extra HP would have been nice. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoupeDTS Posted July 29, 2011 Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Not a bad idea to just remove it all as one piece like that. Dont know that youll get the passsenger side out like that though. Maybe if you pull one wire at a time through the by the compressor towards the exhaust manifold area. I just changed my wires less than a month ago. I got some aftermarket LT1 kit that had 10mm wires for $40 or so on ebay. The old ones I ended up cutting the boots off a few to slide them out of the holders. That drivers side metal holder that holds the far plug to the block looked rediculous so I just cut the boot and didnt reuse that thing. The other holders that were bolted on I got to those very easily from underneath near the oil filter area. I didnt use any of those holders since my new wires were alot thicker. Thicker wires I assume wouldnt arc as easy also. The wires in the new kit were also longer, I assume because the way I routed them you route them outside the manifold instead of underneath it. Just have to keep them away from moving parts like the a-arm and the hot manifold but with extra length and zip ties that is easy. The passenger side had a VERY small area the wires passed through so I used another path closer to the motor mount that had more room. Removing the belt tensioner (2 10mm bolts) is vital!! Remove the belt from the pulley, then the 2 bolts are visable. Now you can get to the wires and partially see the retainer and get a flathead screwdriver to it to pop it open. Im happy with the install. They arent ran the same as factory but they still look fine and I think the car idles smoother. My only complaint was the coil wire didnt push onto the coil. I havent figured it out yet but the inner piece doesnt fit in the coil hole. So I still have to mess with that wire. * 1966 Deville Convertible * 2007 Escalade ESV Black on Black * 1996 Fleetwood Brougham Black on Black V4P -Gone* 1983 Coupe Deville Street/Show Lowrider -Gone* 1970 Calais 4dr Hardtop GONE* 2000 Deville DTS - Silver with Black Leather and SE grille GONE* 1999 Seville STS - Pearl Red GONE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted July 29, 2011 Author Report Share Posted July 29, 2011 Not a bad idea to just remove it all as one piece like that. Dont know that youll get the passsenger side out like that though. Maybe if you pull one wire at a time through the by the compressor towards the exhaust manifold area. I just changed my wires less than a month ago. I got some aftermarket LT1 kit that had 10mm wires for $40 or so on ebay. The old ones I ended up cutting the boots off a few to slide them out of the holders. That drivers side metal holder that holds the far plug to the block looked rediculous so I just cut the boot and didnt reuse that thing. The other holders that were bolted on I got to those very easily from underneath near the oil filter area. I didnt use any of those holders since my new wires were alot thicker. Thicker wires I assume wouldnt arc as easy also. The wires in the new kit were also longer, I assume because the way I routed them you route them outside the manifold instead of underneath it. Just have to keep them away from moving parts like the a-arm and the hot manifold but with extra length and zip ties that is easy. The passenger side had a VERY small area the wires passed through so I used another path closer to the motor mount that had more room. Removing the belt tensioner (2 10mm bolts) is vital!! Remove the belt from the pulley, then the 2 bolts are visable. Now you can get to the wires and partially see the retainer and get a flathead screwdriver to it to pop it open. Im happy with the install. They arent ran the same as factory but they still look fine and I think the car idles smoother. My only complaint was the coil wire didnt push onto the coil. I havent figured it out yet but the inner piece doesnt fit in the coil hole. So I still have to mess with that wire. The #7 wire routing is not just strange, it just does not work. The loom melts and wire burns. I was wondering how people get access to that wire holder behind AC on the pas side. Looks like everybody just ignores the original routing. The idle did not chnage at all after recent replacement... So, I cannot even tell if that work did anything good to the car. I'll remember your advice concerning the tensioner. Thank you The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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