| Author |
Message |
Arnaldo Torres (Caribe)
Member
Username: Caribe
Post Number: 357
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, June 23, 2002 - 5:06 pm: | |
James, I am sorry it took a while to get back to you. I have been putting my engine and car together this last couple of days. Regarding your question, yes, I was able to open them successfully. Cut into the wire if you must to get good leverage and slowly pry it open. |
James Selevan (Jselevan)
New member
Username: Jselevan
Post Number: 14
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 12:00 pm: | |
Thank you again - I followed your instructions and "low and behold" - it worked. The terminal crimp slipped out without difficulty. I will now search locally for similar terminal crimps. Did you pry open the OEM (original equipment manufacturer) crimps successfully?
Thanks again.
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Arnaldo Torres (Caribe)
Member
Username: Caribe
Post Number: 356
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 11:18 am: | |
Thanks for the kind words, but as a matter of fact, it was my firs time doing this.
anyway, to answer your questions:
1. Yes, insert the plier from the spark plug side of the boot. Grab the wall of the terminal and pull. It should come out right away in spite of some small resistance.
2. The Crimp Terminals on my car did not have any spikes. They hold on to the wire by the crimping alone. The only thing keeping them on the boots is the pressure the boots applies over them and the portion of the wire inside of it.
3. If you pull from the spark plug side of the boot, there will be some resistance when the terminal comes out, but then, the remaining of the wire will slip out easily. The crimp terminals are VERY strong if in good condition and it will take significant more force than what the boot can apply to disconnect the terminal from the wire. The conductor or clip as I called it, if properly set, will not be affected by the pulling.
4. To reassemble, insert the cable (ignition end) back into the boot from the spark plug end of the boot. I used silicone spray as a lubricant for the boot and red sleeve during replacement but I don't know if it is the best for this application. Anyway, once the end of the cable clears the boot, pull the remaining cable until the terminal ends up been recessed back into the boot as before. I used a dielectric that I use on my boat's battery terminals to prevent corrosion on each one of the terminals. Some of my cables had rusted clips, or conductors.
Good luck! |
James Selevan (Jselevan)
New member
Username: Jselevan
Post Number: 13
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 10:21 am: | |
Arnaldo - you are a gentleman and a scholar. Thank you for sharing your experience. A few additional questions, if I may.
1 - When you say "insert a ...pliers into the boot, I assume you are entering from the spark plug extender side of the boot, not up the sleeve holding the wire.
2 - does the dual crimp terminal have "spikes" that "bite" into the boot preventing it from slipping when the extender is snapped in? If so, these spikes would prevent/hinder one from pulling the terminal out with a needle nose pliers.
3 - When pulling out the terminal, it seems as though there will be a great deal of resistance between the wire and the long sheath neck that the wire enters the boot in. I assume that the conductive clip that bridges the gap from the crimped terminal and the center conductor will break when tugging on the terminal. Is this correct?
4 - How do you reassmble?
Thanks for your help.
Jim |
Arnaldo Torres (Caribe)
Member
Username: Caribe
Post Number: 355
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 9:44 am: | |
Jim, I just went through the same procedure. The cables are simply inserted into the boot with nothing but the boot's own resistance (friction-wise) holding it in place. The actual terminal is composed of three parts: the cable itself, a dual crimp 135 degrees terminal, and a clip that connects the conductive part of the wire to the terminal.
I could not find the same terminal anywhere, hence I was very careful removing them for reuse. I bought some 135 degrees single crimp terminal from CarQuest just in case I could not reuse the OEM ones. I also bought from them the clip. In addition, I purchased a Crimping tool from MSD that attaches to your Vise for a better installation.
To remove the terminal, remove the extender, insert a long nose plier into the boot and pull the cable by the terminal. It should slip out right away. Replacing the red silicone sleeve could be a real pain, I used silicone spray and a lot of patience to put the sleeves back.
Hope it helps! |
James Selevan (Jselevan)
New member
Username: Jselevan
Post Number: 12
Registered: 6-2002
| | Posted on Friday, June 21, 2002 - 12:20 am: | |
I have found high resistance on several spark plug wires, and am trying to replace them. Has anyone removed the wire from the cam-cover oval boot on an early (1986) Testrossa? Is there a resistor in the boot? Is the wire soldered to the metal clip inserted in the flexible boot? Does the wire "screw" into the neck of the boot? Your help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Jim Selevan |
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