My brother had a car. He once cut the belt off to change the power steering pump. Only then, to his horror, did he realize that to put the new belt on required removing an engine mount. His garage, tools, time, and experience were too limited for the task. Had to have it towed in.
The last car I worked on in any significant manner was a ‘77’ Buik Skylark. You could replace almost any part in the engine compartment out without having to remove anything else. You could drain your radiator through the petcock valve without having to remove the radiator hose. There were actual grease fittings instead of “sealed” bearings. Pure simplicity! These days you have to wonder how the hood closes with all the crap in there.
my brother in law had a '69ish Pontiac Laurentian. It needed a special wrench to get at one of the plugs. When he got it it had been running on 7 cylinders for years.
Also, aircooled VWs had many parts that couldn’t be replaced without removing the engine but, so what, it’s like 4 bolts.
It was the Chevy Monza V-8 and I owned one. The manual explained that the motor mounts had to be loosened to jack up the engine to replace all the plugs. I learned this the hard way and after the fact because I replaced all 8 plugs without performing the above procedure. It is possible but it took 6 hours.
I had an early 90’s Chevy Lumina Z34 with a transverse mounted V-6. The recommended method to change the rear plugs was to undo a mount and rotate the engine forward.
Here’s a forum post with what looks like a fairly modern Grand Prix with the engine being tilted forward by a Canyon and a towing strap to reach the spark plugs.
Chrysler vans.
It is my understanding that this is still the case after 20+ years. According to the last mechanic that replaced spark plugs on my van, it is possible without moving the block, but it takes > 1 hour and several skinned knuckles to perform the feat. Of course he may have been whooshing me-the cost was not excessive even though the expression when he realized I needed new plugs was…
The '68 Cobra Jet (428 CID) Mustangs has a bitch of a plug. It was #8. It was not uncommon for owners, at least those who changed plugs regularly, to use a hole saw to drill an access hole in the inner fender.
That’s a GM 3800 series engine. I have one in my 99’ Buick Regal and you have to rock the engine forward to get to the rear bank of plugs. It’s just one of many reasons I can’t wait to get rid of it and get back into a Honda Accord.
