How to Install a Spark Plug Boot

by C.L. Rease

Stockbyte/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Spark plug wires transfer electrical current from the vehicle's ignition system to the spark plug sitting in the combustion chamber. Installing new plug wires while performing a tune-up increases the amount of spark delivered to the spark plugs. Assembling new plug wires requires installing a spark plug boot on the end of the wire. Improperly installing the spark plug boot causes a weak spark, which reduces the fuel efficiency of your vehicle.

Step 1

Cut the spark plug wire to length with a pair of wire cutters.

Step 2

Slide the cut end of the spark plug wire into the end of the stripping/crimping tool supplied with the replacement spark plugs wires. Push the wire until the end of the wire seats in the wire stripper.

Step 3

Hold the wire stripper/crimper in a bench vise while you close the vise jaws. Close the vise jaws until the stripper/crimper clicks closed. Pull the wire from the closed tool to remove the insulation from the outside of the wire. Remove the tool from the vise. Open the tool to remove the stripped section of insulation.

Step 4

Slide the narrow end of a spark plug boot over the stripped end of the wire. Push the boot three to four inches past the end of the wire.

Step 5

Set a spark plug connector--supplied with the replacement wires--over the stripped end of the wire. Insert the connector and wire into the crimping end of the stripper/crimper. Close the jaws of the vise to crimp the connector to the wire. Remove the wire from the vise. Open the tool to remove the crimped connection.

Step 6

Push the connector against a solid object to bend the connector on a 90-degree angle.

Step 7

Apply a lubricant to the section of wire sitting between the bent connector and the spark plug boot. Push the spark plug boot down the wire and over the connector.

References

Things You'll Need