What are tips on changing spark plug wires on a 1998 Chevy S-10 pickup?

Answer 1

the way they run the plug wires on the 98 s-10 is really stupid in my opinion. if it is a 2.2l 4cldr. 1st you need to remove the air box that is just before your throttle body it is the one that has "2.2 liter" written on it( it should only held down with the two 3" hose clamps and one 10mm bolt) after that is removed i would put a clean rag inside your throttle body so nothing gets inside, Evan though the butterfly valve will be closed, it might get sucked in later if it gets closed up in there. next you will notice that they ran them weaved in and out of your intake manifold. they should be covered with that black snorkle tube. (cut and remove any zip ties and or electrical tape that might be holding the snorkle tube closed.) now don't go and pull all of the wires out at once!(it is very difficult to get them back in that way!) instead: unplug the bottom wire from your distributer, this is your 1st cylinder(the one closest to the fire wall) and on the distributer side of the plug wire tie a pretty heavy duty string so it wont fall off, then tie it to the longest new plug wire you bought(make sure you tie it to the plug side of the new wire) then gently pull it through the intake manifold( you must feed the new wire through while pulling on the old) once the new wire is in go ahead and plug it into the distubuter so you wont get them mixed up later. the next wire is the second from the bottom of the dist. and it connects to the 4th cylinder(the one closest to the front of the truck) go ahead and repeat all of the steps to pull it in, again make sure you are tying it to the right end. oh yeah that wire is supposed to be the second to the shortest. the next wire is going to be the second from the top of the dist. it leads to the 2nd cylinder, this will be the longer wire of the two that you have left. and the final wire is the top one on the dist. and it goes to the 3rd cylinder, it will be the shortest of all the plug wires. just make sure that you plug them into the dist. as you go, the other side will be very easy to see which one goes where. here is how they go, if for some reason they get messed up: 1st cyl = bottom of dist. 2nd cyl = 2nd from the top of dist. 3rd cyl = top of dist. and the 4th cyl= 2nd from the bottom of the dist. . i also hope that you change your plugs at the same time. the whole process takes about an hour. i hope this step by step helps!

Edit 5.31.9 - spark plug gap is .50 . Also, while you have the air intake cover off, spray liberally some throttle body cleaner in the throttle body to get it cleaned out. Make sure you hold the throttle open while spraying the cleaner or it will stall.