This may be a stupid question BUT.. I recently had my 4th back surgery so i am not able to do any engine maintenance for years now. I had my local repair shop change my plug wires due to a rough idle and them being original in a 1996 Grand Sport. I told him to get OEM wires. ^ mos later ,looking under the hood,I noticed that at least 1/2 of the plugs porcelain shows on all plugs . The white part of the plugs are showing. I tried to push the boot down further but it wouldn't go down ANY further. I thought that the plugs used to be covered by the boot. Of course ,i am now getting random misfires. Does anyone remember how much of their plugs are exposed? If at all.

 

Do you have a completed repair order or receipt. Anything in the "parts" section?

The OE wires are AC Delco 948C or 948D depending on which engine is in your Grand Sport.

If I want OE or Genuine parts, I often find it best to order the parts I want and take them to the shop and say "install these."

 

No didnt write anything specific. Mechanics in Southeast Florida make it known right away that they would not accept your parts

 

I seriously doubt that any shop would have gotten the Genuine GM or the correct AC Delco OE wires. How much did they charge you for the wires? If it was less than $200 for the set, you got whatever the parts store they use had in stock.

I checked for the AC Delco wires at Napa, O'Reilly and Advance. Advance can ship them to your home, but you can't get them at the stores. Neither Napa nor O'Reilly can get them. The Genuine GM parts are $196.xx list price. I doubt that any dealership would stock those wires. Repair shops get a slight discount and often mark them up beyond that list price to make something on the parts they sell.

From the pix I see, the AC Delco OE wire sets have 6 with angled boots at the spark plug that probably do show some of the spark plug insulator, and 2 with straight boots that look like they cover the entire insulator.

 

And online, both RockAuto.com and Summit Racing carry the OE wires from AC Delco for ~$75-$80 for the set.

Look for a better shop that will install the parts you bring them, or a mechanic that makes house calls and will install your parts.

 

What a ridiculous suggestion. Not knowing what was installed by the shop chosen by the OP - you 'ASSUME' and post an 'opinion piece'!!

 

OP regardless of the appearance of your car currently I see 'no reason' to dispute that the shop didn't do as you asked! When was the work done? DATE!!!!!!! You paid parts and labor to a shop/installer! That shop will have a record of products used! They're not obligated to actually document anything on a repair order other than labor/parts/tax/fees. You very well have a warrantable condition for parts/labor or portions of. Are you current misfires related?

If you've now got random misfires your conversation needs to be with the shop and NOT with the 'self appointed' advisor poster of #2, 4 & 5. His advice thus far and comments are actually WORTHLESS!!

 

OE at a repair shop or a parts store doesn't mean OEM. It represents a category of parts supposedly meeting OEM standards.Just browse Rock Auto or similar. You'll see economy parts, performance parts, OE parts .... Doesn't mean somebody intentionally screwed you if they tell you they used OE parts and the parts are not AC Delco. But while all parts are a crap shoot to some extent, not all are created equally. Disclaimer: This is merely from my head and I'll stand by it until somebody tells me how stupid I am.
To try to answer you actual original question, which I believe was "how much ... plugs are exposed?", I have same engine as you, 96 LT4. I just looked at my plug wires. They are not AC Delco, OEM. My plug wires are Moroso. None of the porcelain is exposed on any I could see without contortion.
ps- lotsa shops I've dealt with won't install "your" parts. For some, it's about the fact they warranty their work and the hassles of replacement parts they didn't buy.

 

There seem to be some doubters on this thread, so let me address some of what you've said here, and why I know this was a shady repair.

BTW, I know this because I used to operate a registered (licensed) auto repair facility in Florida. I know about the requirements and laws and regulations down there.

In Florida, the state requires that all invoices for motor vehicle repairs include an itemized list of parts installed, with the price of the parts, an itemized list of the labor operations, a statement of what was done to correct each problem reported by the customer that was on the repair order and estimate signed by the customer. If there's any warranty/guaranty on any of the parts or labor, that should also be written on the invoice, the time or mileage period of the warranty and which parts/labor the warranty applies to. The invoice also must show the registration number of the shop/repair facility, and that number must match the number on the certificate prominently displayed at the shop.

I'm not sure what "No didn't write anything specific" means exactly. If it means there was just one total for parts and labor, with no breakdown, it's really, really shady and doesn't comply with Florida law. If it means the invoice shows "Parts total: $150", that's also not following the law and regulations. If it shows "Spark plug wires: $150," that's barely within the letter of the law, but still very shady. Especially since you asked for "Original Equipment spark plug wires."

However, @WVZR-1 brought up one valid point. If the invoice shows a warranty/guaranty and you're within the time or mileage that the warranty/guaranty is in effect, you could take it back for a claim on the warranty.

Then, the question becomes, do you trust that shop to work on your car again, after they didn't follow your orders the first time. Personally, I wouldn't.

 

I doubt much of your 'proclaimed' knowledge!! Did you find 'knowledge' on sale somewhere? Holiday Inn Express has 'shuttered' their 'knowledge' affiliations!!

You don't know FOR A FACT that the shop chosen by the OP didn't do as asked!

 

It may be that the wires are fine and the wrong plugs were installed that have a longer electrode or threaded tip .

 

Possibly the wrong plugs installed because he installed them for me previously. I cant do **** anymore on my own so i have to depend on a_holes to do the work for me.

 

No Offense meant please. You people that don't live in SE Florida dont know what happens here. Ever since i moved here i realized that almost anytime you pay anyone to do anything for you ,you end up getting Fkd. Nothing goes well. 90% of the mechanics born here dont speak English(and it's not getting any better with Biden). You think they give itemized lists? They are lucky if they could spell w-i-r-e-s. And I am sure these shops employ people who aren't certified mechanics. Short of going to a dealer ,it's a crapshoot
This is not WV,GA, or Mo unfortunately. All i was asking is : How far does your spark plug boots cover your plugs because i know you guys most likely did it on your own, Has anyone heard of "Your Mechanic"/ it a service where the mechanic comes to your house and does the work .He will use your parts

 

The short answer to your question is 1/2 inch of the plug will be left uncovered with OEM wires .

 

^^^^^^^

You snapshot seems to indicate different branding of spark plug 'cabling'! One is Packard/ACD and the other is 'different'! An appearance that could be assumed appropriate for most branding? Very likely! For sure - NO!

 

"Your Mechanic" and wrench.com have both contacted me and tried to recruit me in recent years. Both are nationwide referral services that will send one of their independent technicians. Both require certifications.

In SE Florida, there are also some local mobile mechanics and shops that will send techs on house calls. Someone I know down there has had good experiences with https://mechanicsinmotionfl.com/ I personally haven't used them, so no first hand knowledge.

It won't hurt to get estimates from several of those types of businesses. Ask questions. Go with the ones that seem to answer questions and listen to you.

 

You don't know FOR A FACT that the back side of the wire on the right side of that pic doesn't have the "PACKARD DELCO" markings on it.

Those look like AC Delco wires to me in the pic that @DALE53 posted. And those look like the boots I remember on 6 out of 8 of the wires in the sets for most 1990's C4 Corvette.

 

Thanks for your faith in believing without seeing . You are 100% correct . I guess seeing Jackson's face on only one side of a $20.00 makes it counterfeit in some states .

 

Most of the parts I have purchased in the last year that we’re supposed to be “ Genuine Delco “ were made in China. WTF ?
Either there are a lot of counterfeit parts out there (Amazon) or buying a name brand means nothing.

 

I've gotten lots of counterfeit stuff on Amazon. I avoid buying auto parts on there. Especially parts that are safety related or performance related. It's just not worth the risk. At least I usually know enough to recognized the counterfeit junk and return it. I feel sorry for the unsuspecting public that doesn't know any better.

I've had much better luck getting real, genuine parts that are what the seller claims they are at RockAuto.com. The only notable exception is anything they claim to be "private label," especially if it's a "closeout" item. In the "private label" stuff, I've gotten some awesome deals on things that were actually much better quality than claimed, and I've gotten some absolute turds. It's near a coin toss (50/50) whether what you get is actually made by the company they say it is on the web site. If you can prove that it isn't what they claimed, they will refund your money and either pay the return shipping or tell you to keep it.

AC Delco has several different "lines" of parts.

The "Original Equipment" line is for parts that are identical to what GM installs at the factory. There's some Chineseum and some third world sourced parts in that line because GM uses some of that stuff to build their cars now, but it should be somewhere around 75% "Made in USA/Canada/Mexico" for the recent model cars.

AC Delco "Professional" and "Gold" series parts are more likely to be higher quality Chineseum (there's an oxymoron for you) or other imported stuff. That stuff usually isn't awful, but it's not great stuff either.

AC Delco "Advantage" is cheap, low grade "Chineseum" and third world parts that are meant to compete with the parts chain "house brands" on price. Quality isn't really a focus in those parts, it's all about the lowest possible price.