will do. gonna go looking this weekend and see what i can dig up. hopefully some good sales because of christmas! please let me know if you see any good deals so i can go look!

 

The Tool Sale presently going-on at Sears is quite a good deal.

 

Craftsman 182 pc. Mechanics Tool Set with 3 Drawer Chest > $159.00 182 - Tools + Box

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...&sbv=Craftsman

Mechanic's tool set includes 99 sockets in 1/4, 1/2 and 3/8 in. drive sizes, 21 screwdriver & nutdriver bits, 40 hex keys, 3 quick release ratchets and 14 combo wrenches. Contains sockets in both metric and standard sizes; deep well and standard depths. Comes with a plastic, portable 3-drawer chest.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...3260000P?mv=rr

 

so i tore into the powerlog today finally, after getting a really nice socket set for christmas. the only thing i need now is a good wrench set. gonna go look for them tomorrow.

my only problem today was that i couldnt figure out a way to get the bolt behind the dipstick off. the manifold, spark plug wire, and dipstick tube are all right there. cant get a socket set in there for sure, maybe a wrench, but didnt have one. sucks because i got every bolt off that was my last one, and couldnt get the job done because i didnt want to bend the dipstick tube or anything. any ideas?

good thing is now, it will only take me about 20 minutes to get the old one off now. that was a really good test run haha

one thing i did notice, i tried to take off my spark plug wires and they wouldnt move at all. i was shocked. i pulled on them with my life and they didnt move. any suggestions with that too?

 

I don't remember any bolt I couldn't hit with a deep well socket on an extension? You should be able to get to it with some sort of socket- I didn't use any wrenches when I did mine.

Assuming they're stock wires- they're probably just old and baked on. Any plug wires will be tough to pull off- they do form a kind of seal on the end of the plug- thats why you twist them before you pull. But it is possible if they're stock and have been on for awhile that you'll end up destroying them to get them off.

Its no big deal- just buy some stock replacement wires.

 

i actually had no problem getting to the bolt, a deepwell socket would work just fine. the problem i am having is that the dipstick tube is right in front of the bolt, and i have no place to move it unless i bend the tube out of the way. i tried to pull it forward to get a socket behind it, but didnt work. it only moved forward so far. pushing it to the side would bend it. its one of the lower bolts, right next to the middle tube on the left side. everything else came easy.

 

if i bent it, i would have to bend it around either tube to the side, which is a pretty big bend.

 

Assuming you took off the nut that secures the dipstick tube to the engine, just pull the dipstick tube up and out of the block, and set it aside.

 

didnt know i could take it out. but that seems wierd to me. if i take it out, how will i get it back in without being able to be under the car? its not that visible down there. pluse, wouldnt i lose some oil and maybe start a leak if it isnt sealed right? i might be jumping to the worst case scenario, but changing this powerlog is really my first adventure in doing my own mechanical stuff outside of basic maintanace.....i dont wanna be stuck without my only car haha. if you could, explain that a lil' bit more please.

 

Yeah, once you take off that nut holding the dipstick bracket to the block- the tube just pulls up and out.

Why would you need to go under the car? It goes into the side of the block- there is maybe a 3/8" hole. Just watch where it comes out of when you pull it out, and put it back in the same hole. Use a flash light to see it if you're trying to do it in a dark garage with no droplight, but its really easy to do- you can't goof it up.

Look at a picture for just about any car of a dipstick tube with the dipstick in it off the engine- the actual dipstick usually extends at leastcouple inches past the end of the tube, and obviously your oil only comes a little bit up that. What I'm trying to say is your oil level is a good deal lower than the hole the tube goes in.

It seals with an O-ring around the base of the tube. Just make sure you don't lose the oring or damage it- pull it straight out, and shove it straight back in w/ a little oil on it, and you'll be fine. People do this all the time for header and manifold installs, its no big deal.