If you try to remove the wire from the boot you will most likely wreck it. The plug caps have a very snug fit and if silicone wasn’t put in them they stick to the plug from years of heat and usage. The wire terminal has a snug fit on the plug also so you can try rotating the caps slightly to break the bond but it is best if you get a proper tool or have someone more knowledgeable help you out on this.. You might need a new ignition wire set for that.

 

I found the screwdriver method to work best for me. The coat hangar wasn't strong enough. On my 2002 Avalanche, you can crawl under the truck and pop off some of the boots (at least 4) with a screwdriver. Just insert between the boot and the engine block and give a twist. The others you just pry around them with a smaller screwdriver from above and worry them back and forth till they finally come out.

 

Just for fun I went and pulled the ones off of my 07 Tahoe and applied a light coating of dielectric gel to the inside of the boot, they all came off fairly easily, the last one on the passenger side was easiest from under the truck...the second to last I could reach through the wheel well... they are not due replacement for about another 30k miles....
There was a light amount of grease in them that was getting dried out...

 

For the spark plug boot on the rear/passenger side, use either a crow bar or...even better... the tool used to turn on/off lawn sprinklers(the one that s about 29" with a "U"-shaped bottom. This fits nicely around the boot. Simply insert this tool downward, adjacent to the transmission dipstick. While lightly pulling and wiggling the boot with your left hand, gently apply a prying pressure with the sprinkle tool or crow bar with your right hand.

Honestly...this saved me over an hour of frustration each time I changed plugs or wires...which has been numerous times lately. That reason being my getting a RANDOM MISFIRE code. After much investigation, it turns out the metallic heat shields were arcing. I removed those and bought some high temp wires (Taylor 10.4 mm).

 

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks for the tip.

 

Do you really need that metal shroud around the plug end of the wire? New wire sets don't seem to come with them.

 

Yes, its a heat shield for the boot... the new set doesn't come with them because you reuse the old ones....a little scotch-brite will clean them up nicely...I took a polishing wheel to mine and they look like new