Your opinion. Rear plug wire shields

[AZ Ron]

I am going to do the nasty stuff Sunday.  Changing the rear spark plugs and wires, rear valve cover gasket, O2 sensor. I did the front ones late last year.

I have read that some people leave the metal heat shields off the plug wire boots.  What is your opinion?

I can tell just from looking at the crap back there that the two metal lifting ring/wiring holder thingies have got to go.  Looks like a hand shredder along the firewall. :S

[2seater]

I wasn't going to answer since I do not use the shields nor heat shields on the manifold, but I will make a suggestion. All of the different manifolds I use, including a stock type set, are ceramic coated, inside and out. I also use Accel's Extreme 9000 spark plug wires which have burn proof boots. I use the 135* ends which stand the spark plug cables almost straight up so they are quite a ways from the manifold. I know the '88-'89 are a lot more crowded in the firewall area than the '90-'91, which don't have that big harness running across behind the engine and the crank/cam sensor wiring has a separate harness that connects at the pass. rear of the engine. Something like these:

 

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/acc-9070c/overview/

[AZ Ron]

There are 30 mph winds here in Arizona today blowing from the South and dumping the desert sand into my garage if I have the door open.  Not good with the valve cover off!

Not going to be working in the garage until that wind dies down!  My garage is not air conditioned and is about 92F inside.  Maybe tomorrow.

I think I will re-use the heat shields as the GM engineers put them there for a reason.  I also notice that the wiring harness along the firewall has a silver heat shield to protect it.

[Ronnie]

Unless you are using the high temp wires I would use the heat shields on the plug wires.

[AZ Ron]

[2seater]

I agree with Ronnie to use the shields if stock type wires are being installed. I hesitated to respond since I have gone a different direction. I get into that area more than most since I experiment with modified manifolds and pull plugs more often and the hassle of those shields was a pain.

 

AZ, you are one brave fella. I cooked out a two-stroke muffler in one of my wife's kilns several years ago and I still have a limp :)

[AZ Ron]

I removed AC Delco .R45LTS6 and replaced with AC Rapidfire 14s.  Replaced the GM O2 sensor with Bosch.  I wonder if they were original after 117,000 miles.

Here is a pic of where the sensor lives just in case some you have never looked for it: