308 Plug Wires for Dummies | FerrariChat

308 Plug Wires for Dummies

Discussion in 'Technical Q&A' started by Dom, Nov 20, 2004.

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  1. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    Nov 5, 2002
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    #1 Dom, Nov 20, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I did it!!! I installed new spark plug wires today in my GT4, so I thought I would post a few photos, and a description of the install. I am a Novice when it comes to mechanical stuff, so this is geared towards other's novices like myself who may hesitate to try something like this. I can confirm that this is an easy job. If I can do it, so can you.

    I had done some searching on this in the archives, and it seems that there were a few people with 308's that were happy with the Accel brand of spark plug wires, which could be obtained cheaply ($~30) from your local pep boys, kragen, etc.

    The set I used is the Accel Part #4040R. These are 8 mm wires, and work fine on the 308 cars. They use the radio supression core. They have the straight end boot, which fits right onto the plug extender on the 308 cars. I used my old extenders for now, until I can figure out where to get a set of new ones.

    The two photos below show the box of spark plug wires, and the original wires on my car. If you look closely, you can see that the wires used on my car had a 90 degree boot (these were not the stock wires), and were wired underneath the engine mount. One wire was actually crushed underneath the mount.

    (Continued in next post)
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  2. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    #2 Dom, Nov 20, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The first step in the procedure was removing the distributor caps. This was the hardest part, IMO, mainly because of access. Each cap is secured by three 8 millimeter bolts, and access to them is a PITA. I think the job could be made easier if you jack up the car, and remove the wheel and wheel well so that you can access from below. I did manage to do it without doing this, but it took a little time.

    Once you have the distributor cap off, on the inside, you will see the 4 set screws for the wires. In the middle is a button thingy, attached to a spring, that you remove to access the fifth set screw which attaches the wire from the distributor cap to the coil.

    To remove a wire, you unscew the set screw (be very careful, these are small, and they are made of brass, so if you drop it, it's not going to be easy finding it), and remove the wire.

    I labelled each of the wires prior to removing them, just in case.

    The photos below show the inside of the distributor cap, the labelled wires, and one of the wires after removal.

    (Continued in next post)
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  3. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    #3 Dom, Nov 20, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Once you remove the old wire, the next step is to cut it to length. I used the old wire as a guide to cutting the new wire, but I added a little length, under the assumption that I would rather go back and re-cut the wire than accidentally cut it too short. Anyway, I think the rule goes: measure twice, cut once.

    The accel kit comes with 8 wires, and each pair of wires is a different length. The shortest set of wires will reach the furthest spark plug well and then some. I used the shortest wires first, since, as you will see later, you will need to cut one extra wire for the second coil to distributor wire.

    Once the wire is cut to length, you simply insert the wire into the distributor cap, and insert the set screw. The set screw will pierce the wire, and presumably create the electrical connection needed.

    If you read the old archives, some posts claim that 8mm wires will fit right into the distributor cap, and some claim that the wire insulation will need to be trimmed slightly to get it to fit. In my case, I did have to trim the wire insulation slightly to get it to fit into the distributor cap. I just used a utility knife to trim it down so it would fit.

    I then removed the extender from the old wire and attached to the new wire.

    The photos below show the new wire and extender, and the first wire in place on the front bank

    (continued in next post)
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  4. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    #4 Dom, Nov 20, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Once you've done the first wire, the rest of the wires are done just the same.

    Once you've done the first four wires on the front bank, the next step is the wire from the coil to the distributor cap. The accel kit comes with one of these wires, but you need two, since we have dual distributors. No problemo. As I mentioned earlier, you can use some of the excess wire that you cut off to do this. The kit comes with a bunch of extra terminal connectors, so all you need to do is crimp one on to one of the spare wires. There are even instructions in the kit to do this. Basically, you strip 1/2" of insulation away from the spark plug wire conductor core. Fold the conductor core back along the wire, and put the terminal connector over the wire and crimp into place. You put a rubber boot over the wire, and connect it to the coil. The other end connects to the distributor cap, just like the other set of 4 wires.

    I tried to take photos of this step, but they all came out blurry, so you can't see much detail. Don't worry, the accel kit comes with the instructions, and a diagram. Even I was able to do it.

    Tada, you've now finished the first bank. Below is a photo of the front bank after installing the new wires.

    (Continued in next post)
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  5. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    #5 Dom, Nov 20, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The procedure is the same for the rear bank, but as usual, access is a PITA. Just make sure that there are no kids around to hear you swear.

    Put everything into place, and start her up. Everything worked fine for me, and I hope it will for you too.

    Dom
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  6. Gianluca

    Gianluca Formula Junior

    May 6, 2003
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    Centreville, Virgini
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    Gianluca Chegai
    Thank you for the very nice post. I am sure it will builld confidence for other DIYs to do the same.
    I am one of the ones that claim the 8mm wires do not need shaving but I mentioned also to lube the wire with silicone or Vaselline (I used Vaselline). Did you try that?

    I am very happy with the Accel wires and can not beat $ 30.00 cost!
     
  7. f355spider

    f355spider F1 World Champ
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    May 29, 2001
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    Dom,
    Nice post. BTW, I think you can safely leave your extenders alone. The original ones were kinda tan looking, and failed early...the later ones for carb cars were the black ones, which you now have...so you should be fine.

    BTW, another well thought of wire for Ferraris is the Kingsborne brand. Surprisingly, I found them on Ebay tonight:
    http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33692&item=7936173815&rd=1

    The "buy it now" price is only $70...I think they typically sell for two to three times that.

    http://www.kingsborne.com

    Dave
     
  8. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

    Feb 15, 2001
    4,367
    NY
    As I look at you entenders I see that they are different than mine on my 77 GTB. Mine have a screw type top where the wire screws into a screw post. It is not a typical spark plug cap. I wonder if you have the later type extender. I built my own wires a few years ago using bulk 7mm wire. Worked out OK but now I'm looking to build a new set. I have talked to Kingsborn and they can build different length ends to replace the extenders or they also have extenders. Still need to sort this out. Nice job here though.
     
  9. flyingboa

    flyingboa Formula 3

    Nov 27, 2003
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    Eugenio
    Very nice job and very well documented. Thank you for sharing.
    Ciao
    Eugenio
     
  10. Oengus

    Oengus F1 World Champ
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    Looks great Dom. Nice write up on the procedures......
     
  11. thecarreaper

    thecarreaper F1 World Champ
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    Sep 30, 2003
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    Savannah
    great post, many thanks for sharing this with us. my understanding is it is best to use QV / 328 extenders that do NOT have the metal clip on them. the metal clip is a cause of many iginition related problems / and failures with the carb cars. i believe these are the red or black ones.
     
  12. lou staller

    lou staller Formula Junior

    Dec 21, 2002
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    You are da man! Great job and great post! I hope others gain some confidence from your post and do the 'small' things themselves. As you found out, it's really rewarding. Great job!!
     
  13. Meister

    Meister F1 Veteran
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    Thanks! This is on my winter list of things to do. Isn't there a section here on F-chat where this procedure could be archived? I know there would be a lot of guys who could benifit from this as a refernece.
     
  14. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    Thanks everybody for the replies.

    Does anybody have photos of the other type of extender?

    Dom
     
  15. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    I tried using silicone to lube the wire, but with no success. I didn't try to force it too hard, though. I just eventually trimmed some of the insulation, and they slid right in.

    Dom
     
  16. hoffmeister

    hoffmeister Formula Junior

    Nov 1, 2003
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    Jesse
    I bought those wires off Ebay from the seller JagGraveyard.com . After a "no show" on item after waiting 2 1/2 weeks I finally called them and asked what was going on. He called Kingsborne who said they were out of the red wire and were waiting on shipment but if I wanted they would upgrade the set to a higher grade wire in the color black and UPS it second day. Plus they said they would refund me $30 for all the hassle. So bottom line is I got a set of high-end wires for my 308 for $35. Cool.
     
  17. WaltP

    WaltP Formula 3

    Nov 1, 2003
    1,505
    Cape Canaveral/Atlanta
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    Walt P
    I put a set of Kingsborne on my 308 but I thought the color was a bit dull. I recently switched to the Taylor 8mm red ones and am happier. I did have to lube them a bit to get them to fit into the cap but no trimming was necessary.
     
  18. 308GTS

    308GTS Formula 3

    Dec 27, 2001
    2,223
    TN
    Awesome Post!!! Thanks for the info. They look great. I am going to get a set. Thanks.
     
  19. 308GTS

    308GTS Formula 3

    Dec 27, 2001
    2,223
    TN
    Can I use these on my QV or GTSi safely since they have the Digiplex ignition?
     
  20. dwhite

    dwhite F1 Rookie

    I have the same question and also want to say thanks for sharing your experience.
     
  21. GTO84

    GTO84 Formula Junior

    Dec 13, 2003
    565
    The best thing to lube the wires with is soapy water. It evaporates and leaves no residue. Vaseline may mess with the integrity of the rubber. Also, you don't want the boot to slide off the end of the wire when you go to pull it off (which vaseline or silicone grease will do). The soapy water will dry and the silicone jacket will stick to the boot and kind of lock it to the wire. Ive built a few sets and the key I found to doing it right is owning a good crimper, or some dies for your vice. Otherwise the damn ends pull out of the freakin wire and make you pull your hair out when changing plugs.
     
  22. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    The accel wires require no crimping. The boot is already pre-crimped on the wires. All you need to do is cut to length, insert into distributor cap, tighten setscrew, and you are done. Real easy, even I could do it!
     
  23. Plastic308

    Plastic308 Rookie

    Jun 30, 2004
    38
    Colorado
    Full Name:
    Clark
    I bought a set of extenders from Rutlands as mine were missing. The old wires were from a VW I think and fit through the boots all the way down. I also used Accel wires (from Checker) but I got the 5040R. They are also 8mm like the 4040 s and have the inductive coil center and a pretty low resistance. I think it's 500 - 1000 ohms. At any rate they went on easily and work great...plus they are Red. Thanks to all the sage advice posted here it was a fun Saturday morning!
     
  24. cavallo_nero

    cavallo_nero Formula 3

    Nov 3, 2003
    1,707
    colorado
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    Giovanni Pasquale
    nice post, only thing i would change is how the wires are loomed, i would recommend that the wires be separated from each other the whole length and never touch any metal parts in the engine compartment. i could never understand why ferrari clumped all four wires together in a bundle, then loomed them out to each spark plug. i noticed you tie wrapped the 4 wires together at one point on the rear bank, i couldnt see the front bank configuration in your posts.
    john
     
  25. Dom

    Dom F1 Veteran
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    Yes, they are tie wrapped. I noticed that the previous set was also tie wrapped at about the same place. On the front bank, there is more room for the wires, and they are separated by the loom and don't come together. I've been thinking about redoing the rear bank, mainly because one wire is a little shorted than I would like. If I do it, will try to keep all the wires separate.

    Dom
     

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