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Can someone please give me a detailed description of how to route the spark plug wires neatly and out of the way? The factory way? Any way that will 100% take user error out of the equation of burning yet another set of wires up? I see these arcing near the boot to head, and wire to manifold. They aren't touching the manifold.
Also what about good looms or at least factory ones. I will also be purchasing the heat socks for the business end of the wires.
Thank you.
 

Schurkey

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WHAT ENGINE? WHAT VEHICLE?

It's illustrated in the service manual for your application. Both banks. Note that #5 and #7 plug wires are routed far apart from each other. Stock plug-wire looms may be available from the Stealership, or from the Treasure Yard.

If you've got stock exhaust, you don't need heat-socks. I'm thinking the stock exhaust had steel heat-shields, though.

What is your spark-plug gap? Are the cap and rotor contacts eroded from corrosion? Some reason your plug firing-voltage would be higher than normal?
 

User_name

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It's the same 1995 c2500 that I've had this issue with not so very long ago.
The whole dizzy got replaced about 2 months ago due to bad pickup coil.
My gap is .035".
This truck is driving me insane man
 

PlayingWithTBI

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Can someone please give me a detailed description of how to route the spark plug wires neatly and out of the way? The factory way? Any way that will 100% take user error out of the equation of burning yet another set of wires up? I see these arcing near the boot to head, and wire to manifold. They aren't touching the manifold.
Also what about good looms or at least factory ones. I will also be purchasing the heat socks for the business end of the wires.
Thank you.
I bought wires, boots, and crimper on Amazon IIRC. I bought the blue looms at O'Reillys. A package comes with 1 each, 4, 3, and 2 hole so I bought one for each side and cut one off the 3 loom. Cut each wire and routed it with the looms so they all are pretty much parallel. You can also make your own looms with zip ties too. I like to route the wires around the valve cover to facilitate removing them if I need to. I haven't had any issues with #5 & 7 ever doing it this way (or is this a Vortec thing?) With angled plugs and headers, I need the wrap on the headers for the back 2 cylinders' plugs.
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The Taylor ends for the plugs are molded so, I think it makes for better insulation too. It is a PITA getting the heat resistant boots on them. HTH

Edit: And use plenty of dielectric grease while assembling and installing them.

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Schurkey

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Keeping #5 and #7 separated is important on any engine with the 18436572 firing order. #7 fires directly after #5; when #5 has spark, #7 has a cylinderful of fuel/air mix, but no compression so the required voltage to jump the gap is very low.

Induced voltage from the #5 plug wire into the #7 plug wire can set off #7 90 degrees advanced, leading to severe engine damage especially at WFO throttle.

Other firing orders have other cylinder pairs that would be succeptible to this same problem. The issue is consecutive cylinders physically close to each other so the plug wires run parallel for most of their length, allowing the best transfer of radiated energy from one wire to the other.

"Better" plug wires helps. Old, "solid core" non-resistor wires would be the worst in this regard.
 
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User_name

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OK. What about looms? My factory ones have turned to dust. And I hate using zipties to secure the wires. I was thinking something like this
 

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Cadillac Bob

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5.7’s came factory with heat shields but they erode away over time but I just did the Kevlar/fiberglass sheathings on plugs since same thing just the far driver side plug get too hot an get burnt but those should prolong the problem/heat. Unless you’re going to make your own wires to run a lil longer so that it’s surely far enough away from heat but that’s not for me!! Lol but put them on first then connect them to your spark plugs the fit tight and don’t like the elbow connectors other than actual wrapping your headers only other option would be taking high temp vinyl and wrap each entire plug wire or buy some of those insulation pads/blankets/wraps that they use in racing!? Here’s pick of a wrap and high temp vinyl gray is top side or finished side herringbone is inner or non-coated side that’s good for 600 degrees I use it to make removable insulation “pads” at work as it’s part of what I do in my trade.the belt was a joke to another co worker but vinyl also comes in that silver
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Erik the Awful

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I used this stuff to protect the #6 and #8 plug wires on WCJr from the header. It's less expensive than buying two "spark plug wire boots" for $20 a piece, and I still have some left over.
 
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