8th spark plug replaced, knock ^H^H^H^H coolant fan switch connector damaged

I finally managed to lift the car up and replace the cursed #8 spark plug. Now all plugs are new AC Delco R45TS gapped at 0.89 - 0.99 mm. Of course #1 - #7 are half a year and a few 100 km older, but you can't have everything.

While I was working on this, I tried to inspect the knock sensor coolant fan switch connector that lives near the #8 plug. The plastic around the connector simply shattered into pieces before I could detach the wire. I was left with just the connector's metal pin hanging from the wire.

Update: apparently that wasn't the knock sensor, but the sensor that controls the coolant fan. The connectors are nearly identical though...

It's surprising how bristle that connector is, knowing it's subjected to temperatures between -30 and +100 or even more, water, grime, etc.

New connector, knock sensor and knock sensor module (ESC) are on their way. Due to the transport costs from the US to Europe, it's always cheaper to order more parts at once.