what i mean is no issue with a paticular type of plug when they do a tune up for that paticular engine.

 

sorry i read the starter post i had to disconect the battery do to the coil pack is in the way of the back three plugs on mine. i had to take my coil pack block completly off of the engine as well as the braket as well as the intake manifolld ambent air temp sensor. i took that sensor off do to not wanting it to snap when reaching in a tight space. i have the 3500 the 3800 might be or is completly different than mine

 

That's the experiance I had with the Dempos i.e. Denso plugs.
I had to take them out before I damage the engine.
I never tried any other brand.
I have a 2001 Monte Pace Car and a recently bought 2003 plain Jane LS.
I know my screen name is Scrappy Happy 2003 Monte owner but at this time I am not so happy not getting the car to pass state inspection for one thing, the back up lights not working when they are suppose to.
Yes, I love the style of these cars and the LS is as comfortable with the cloth seats as my 93 Buick Lightsaber was.
The Buick even had DYNORIDE and would cause you to get sleepy while driving it , it was that comfortable.
The car boggs down now starting from stop to about 40 miles an hour, but if you step into the gas it has power until you go up a hill.
Clogged cat ? arching plug wire ? bad TPS ? Crank sensor grounding out ? I once had a crank sensor grounding out on my old Chevy Lumina God rest it's soul in the junk yard in the sky.
It would stall out, no start, no power, come to find out it was the wire from the crank sensor from the back of the engine grounding out on the frame.
Bad MAP sensor ? bad MAF sensor ?
I want to rule all those out including the plugs and plug wires before I have to drop the cat.
It runs fine at idle.
I corrected it missing a little by putting 2 coil packs I had laying around from another Lumina.
Next and cheaper step before buying another Cat and finding out why the Cat went bad is buy new plugs and wire to see if it helps in acceleration.
My 2001 Pace car had really bad acceleration before I put another engine mount in it, and yes, that corrected the problem.
But I will stick with AC Delcos the cheapest I can find.
Wires ? what's a poor man to do ?
I am running out of money and time.

 

When I replace plugs, I compare my local stores to RockAuto for pricing. Bosch is certainly NOT the cheapest plugs (and least reliable from my experience). Also, ACDeclo has outsourced some of their plugs to NGK (I replaced factory ACDelco plugs in my wife's Impala and saw dual naming, ACDelco on the ceramic and NGK on the metal banding by the nut and threads).
The last 3 cars that I've had to put plugs on, I've used NGK Platinums, so far, very happy (at $2.30 plus shipping from RockAuto, beats the pants off the CHEAPEST platinums locally at $6 a plug). Again, seeing first hand that ACDelco has re-branded NGK plugs, I feel as good using these as OEM branded ACDelcos.

Scrappyhappymonte2003owner, I noticed one of your later posts your discussing problems with your own Monte. Please do not piggy back on this thread. Begin a new thread so your details don't get inter-mixed with those of someone else's thread. Makes it easier and more effective for us tyo help you.

 

anyone use zzp wires?

 

A lot of people report misses with the ZZP wires. There is no need to go away from Stock for the ignition system. If you are running colder copper plugs that need to be changed a lot, PRJ wires are good because they have high quality boots that can be pulled off easily.

 

I put new wires on a week ago with the coil pack on and what a pain it was.
At this time I have half the top end off the engine because I am getting ready to do the dreaded Intake Gasket dance.
I just bought the car 2 months ago and unless the last owner make a diary of what repairs were done on the car I have it set in my mind that no matter what GM 3.1 L or 3.4 L engine I have it's best to get it over with and replace the intake because I get coffee oil.
My Lumina had that problem 2 times and I had to do the intake on that one.
If anyone has to do this dreaded intake job it's best to do it right the first time and get the improved metal intake gasket.
At this point I know I should use ACDelco's on my car and I had problems with either Boshes or Densos on my 3.8 L 2001 Monte but, money is tight and I want to kick the can down the road until I can afford AC Delcos.
I went out and bought $ 1.69 Champion Copper Plugs.
All I know is that the 3.8 L wants the AC Delcos.
My 3.4 L Monte is close to the 3.1 L Lumina I had so I guess the Champions will have to do until more money comes in.
But I do agree on the 3.8 L Monties ? use AC Delcos unless you had a good experience with other brands.
All I know is the last plugs I had in it cause it to ping and I know that's not good for the engine.
I guess if I bought another Monte Carlo I would have a 3 car Monte ?
I love the 6th Gens beautiful car.

 

Ok, sorry about that about the piggy back.

 

Not sure what the pain point is. 3100/3400s are pretty easy to change plugs and wires on.

As you notes, it's best to get the revised metal LIM gaskets. I'm not sure when Fel-Pro began offering them, but I first became aware of them in 2008. For the record, the 3400 is a 3100 with bigger cylinders (same block). The LIM problem existed as far back or further with the 3100 in 1994. The root of the problem is not Dex (as many people quickly come to claim), the problem was that nylon/plastic was a crappy gasket material and should never have been used from the beginning.

I understand going cheap. Just so you know, AC Delco has re-branded NGK plugs (I've seen it with my own eyes, plugs with both NGK and AC Delco markings). If I'm going "cheap" on plugs, I have been buying NGK Platinum plugs via RockAuto. After shipping, it typically balances out to $3 a plug. In my opinion, for a plug of OEM quality, platinum (which usually yields 100,000 miles), $3 a plug is an awesome price. I've used them in the 3100 and 3400 engines without problems (I have yet to need them on a 3800 but don't see any issues).

 

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get these friggin wires off... 9 years and 80k worth of heat and cold weather has them glued not only inside the metal sheath but also to the plug.. I ripped all the skin off my knuckles and tore the tops off of the front 3 plug boots trying to get em changed. Its basically down to tearing them apart in small chunks with needle nose pliers to get them off.. I've tried twisting them to loosen them, I've tried everything I can think of.. i gave up after the front three. I'm dreading doing the rear 3 on the 3800.. *sigh*