How to change spark plugs

[Myfocus]

Esp to Roadblock, who intends to venture down the road of skinned knuckles and grease under the finger nails :-). Enjoy......

 

http://autorepair.about.com/library/diy/bl...pion+spark+plug

Edited January 4, 2002 by Admin

[Roadblock]

Tks Myfocus. Very interesting article.

 

Quote a few paragraphs here:

 

"I always recommend using the brand of plugs originally installed in your car from the factory. For Ford products they are Motorcraft , General Motors products use AC Delco and in Chrysler products they are Champion. In Japanese cars I would use NGK and in German cars I would use Bosch."

 

 

"If you have it, use compressed air to blow any dirt away from the spark plug area. Otherwise, clean off the old plug and the area around it with a rag or small brush. This will help prevent any foreign material from falling into the cylinder when the plug is removed."

Edited January 4, 2002 by Admin

[Roadblock]

cont'd...

 

"If you haven't done so yet, gap the new plug with a spark plug gap gauge (The proper gap can be found on the engine specifications decal under the hood). Slip the correct thickness wire or feeler between the inner and outer electrodes at the tip of the plug. A flat gauge is good; the wire type is better. When the plugs are properly gapped, the wire or feeler should slide between the electrodes with a slight drag. If the gap is incorrect, gently bend the outer electrode slightly until the correct gap is achieved. Make sure that the outer electrode is centered directly over the inner electrode. If it's not, align the two by gently bending the outer electrode"

 

Question: What is a Spark Plug Gauge?

 

I do not understand much on what is mentioned in the above paragraph.

Edited January 4, 2002 by Admin

[Pisces69]

Question: What is a Spark Plug Gauge?

 

I do not understand much on what is mentioned in the above paragraph.

 

 

Edited January 4, 2002 by Admin

[Yeobh]

Here is spark plug gauge designed for the pocket.Easy to use and store

Need more information, email me.

HTH

Edited January 6, 2002 by Yeobh

[Myfocus]

Glad you found it useful. I'm not too good at words so I try to leverage :-). I guess your question is in reference to the 3rd quoted para (below).

 

The spark plug gap gauge is like a set of feeler gauges. If you're familiar with feeler gauges, skip this para. And no, they're not for feeling around, so dun look at me if the cops catch ya! :-). think of feeler gauges as a set of thin metal sheets with specified thicknesses. U use permutations to get a specified thickness. ie, you may have thicknesses at 1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 mils (sorry, still work in imperial). To get a thickness of 5mils, slide in the 5mil sheet and adjust the gap until it the sheet _just_ feels friction. To get, say, 15mils, use the 10&5mil sheets. The above numbers are used just for illustration. Typical gaps are much wider than that.

 

You can get feeler gauges quite cheaply at many hardware shops. The spark plug gauge has std gaps so you do a little less arithmetic.

 

Hope I answered your question.

 

 

cont'd...

 

"If you haven't done so yet, gap the new plug with a spark plug gap gauge (The proper gap can be found on the engine specifications decal under the hood). Slip the correct thickness wire or feeler between the inner and outer electrodes at the tip of the plug. A flat gauge is good; the wire type is better. When the plugs are properly gapped, the wire or feeler should slide between the electrodes with a slight drag. If the gap is incorrect, gently bend the outer electrode slightly until the correct gap is achieved. Make sure that the outer electrode is centered directly over the inner electrode. If it's not, align the two by gently bending the outer electrode"

 

Question: What is a Spark Plug Gauge?

 

I do not understand much on what is mentioned in the above paragraph.