I have long suspected the leads on the valver were not up to much partly due to age etc and had to repair a connector at the distributor end a while ago. Once I had fixed it I decided to buy a full kit but could not find a 'decent' set for less than £40! Being tight I soon found the cable being sold, so bought 4m worth and decided to strip my old set and use the connectors on the new leads effectively making up a new set, guaranteed to fit as using existing bits !
I thought I'd share this as it wasn't difficult, and with a bit of patience and care most readers on here will have enough knowledge to do it. I'd recommend doing one at a time so you do not get the leads mixed up OR clearly labelling them (ask me how I know!)
Give yourself between 45 mins to 1 hr if competent with experience to 2 hrs or more if taking your time and you're new to this.
You will need a small ended flat screwdriver to separate the connectors from the HT leads
A larger flat head screwdriver to widen the connectors to take the new leads.
I used a sharp Stanley blade, but you can use wire strippers too.
Also a pair of mole grips or similar to clamp the connectors in place once lined up.
Finally some ignition cable. I bought from ebay as there are plenty of options, 7mm or 8mm with various claims, I used 7mm ! (Various colours available red, green, blue and black)
I started with the HT lead from the ignition coil to the distributor cap.
Once removed I peeled back the rubber insulation boot to bare the connecot and then worked the small flat head screwdriver to force apart the connector. When you look at it , this makes sense. Pull back the rubber insulator boot and put onto the new HT Lead. Remember to put the HT Lead into the thin end first allowing the wire to poke through the large end.
Cut back the insulation on the new HT Lead and apply the old connector (or new if you bought these too) and remember to ensure you have plenty of the bare copper wire making a good contact with the connector. THIS PART IS KEY as a poor contact will render these useless. Once you're happy with the contact, squeeze the clamps on the connector tightly, but try to ensure they do not piece the insulation as this will weaken the lead and when you next need to remove it, it can separate.
Once satisfied, put the rubber insulator boot back and admire. I then replaced this part on the car and used the wire to measure the distance before cutting it back to affix the other end which was the same process. When complete, I replaced this on the car and started it to ensure it worked well with good contacts before starting the process on the others.
The spark plug ends are effectively the same process, but the connector is slightly different, being straight not right-angled AND you need to remember the correct sequence in putting it back together as to there is a plastic insulator which goes into the boot, then a longer plastic insulator then finally the rubber boot at the bottom protecting the connector which slides over the spark plug end. Once again, when you look at them it will all make sense.
I noticed an increase in mpg to 33-34 on MY car on a 300 mile round trip to Bristol Airport from NW London this morning at a sensible speed too and the car definitely feels smoother for it.
If anyone doesn't feel comfortable doing this, but wants the leads let me know as I will gladly offer this service to others with valvers for a fee much less than a set of new AND you could choose 7 or 8mm and your choice of colour in red, black, blue or green. I could do the 8 valve models, but would need the measurements of the cables. The only thing I would do differently maybe would be to go for 8mm as little difference in price !
PM me!
Good Luck !
