I want to do the plugs today and was hoping for some advice as to how to get at the plugs that are against the fire wall? Are there any special tools I can buy to make the job alot easier. I figure the money I will save on labour can go towards tools and you can never have enough tools. Thanks.

Jeff.

Ive done my plugs with and without the bar,with the bar on I got the bloody knuckles,the 2 minutes it takes to remove bar you will save with the extra room you have to work with

Dealers and auto shops allways remove the strut bar. It makes the job so much easier and faster.

Remove the bar, takes 2-3min at the most, and the job takes about an hour tops.

Just remove the bar, not the brackets that mount to the tower.

Jay

I remove it everytime I have to do my rear plugs and it makes a helluva difference! Your knuckles will thank you!

There are specific ratchets with a pivoting head that are made for spark plugs (and almost everything else). I use it all the time for almost everything so it was definitely worth the money for me (about 15-20 bucks)

i just did mine ...without removing the bar....this car is easy compared to the same year {97} dodge caravan.,...talk about a knuckle buster! thank god gm was thinking about plug replacement with bonnies! have fun!

You're referring to the universal joint adapters, right? I like using those too, but it'* hard to determine a feel for the torque when using a universal adapter. Especially with spark plugs, you don't want to strip out the head!

Be careful with the universal adapters. Its easy to break the plug with them
as the torque is sometimes applied at an angle.

I'm not exactly sure what the '97 looks like, but if you have the engine lift bracket back there, it'* very helpful to remove that part.