Spark plugs

fonecrusher1

Do you absolutely have to use a torque wrench to refit spark plugs to the cars recommended torque setting or is it ok to just do it with a regular wrench & just re-tighten it to the same amount of turns it took to remove it if you know what i mean?

Its going to cost me a good few euros to buy an adjustable torque wrench.:mad:

biko

I never used a torque wrench for it, then again I never used one for anything.
Just tighten it hand tight, then a little bit more, not too much.

langdang

biko wrote: »

I never used a torque wrench for it, then again I never used one for anything.
Just tighten it hand tight, then a little bit more, not too much.

+1 Don't go gorilla on them - be more concerned about getting them threaded in right, my engine came with one cross threaded, dose.

fonecrusher1

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Do you absolutely have to use a torque wrench to refit spark plugs to the cars recommended torque setting

defo not, tight enough is fine

Tropheus

Car manuals will give you a torque for everything, but you rarely need to use a torque wrench. With experience you'll know what's tight enough.

Just get them hand tight and then anohter twist to be sure. Don't over tighten or you could break the plug which will cuase major problems.

mondeo

I have never used a torque wrench in my life to change spark plugs......You don't need to it....

fonecrusher1

Thanks lads for helping me just get on with this job without worrying about weather i had the right tools.:)
Just took out the old sparkplugs with a cheap little sparkplug remover & put the new ones in with the same tool & tightened em good & hard but not too much.

Whoever put them in last definitely over-tightened the 2nd & 3rd one.:rolleyes:

Tefral

Hand Tight only, the majority of car heads are made of aluminium, if you over tighten them you will strip the threads.

Best thing to do is just go gently, when you feel resistance, then just turn with as little force as possible, when it gets tight leave it at that.

chris85

my car manual advised of the torque setting but also advised if torque wrench unavailable, tighten with wrench till end of thread engages with engine body (easy to feel this) and then give a quarter turn extra.

fryup

use one of these couple of euro from your local factors

Hal1

My biggest worry when I changed the plugs was how tight the last guy put them in. I done a bit of homework on the correct way to remove / install them, and read the horror stories about the cermanic heads snaping off and falling into the block.

I first tried a spark plug spanner but I couldn't get a firm grip with it, so I got the right sized socket and it luckily eased off. When I installed them I smeared some oil on the threads to make it easier to do this job the next time.

fonecrusher1

Hal1 wrote: »

My biggest worry when I changed the plugs was how tight the last guy put them in. I done a bit of homework on the correct way to remove / install them, and read the horror stories about the cermanic heads snaping off and falling into the block.

I first tried a spark plug spanner but I couldn't get a firm grip with it, so I got the right sized socket and it luckily eased off. When I installed them I smeared some oil on the threads to make it easier to do this job the next time.

Well whoever put in the last sparkplugs in my car tightened the 2nd & 3rd plugs way waaaaayyy too much. I was kinda worried for a while because i couldn't get them out until i wrapped a dish cloth around the handle of the sparkplug remover for better grip & eventually brute-forced them loose.
1st & 4th sparkplugs came out nice & easy.

The old spark plug tips were coated in a greyish to light brown coloured powder which is normal apparently so cylinders are being fed the correct fuel/air mixture.

cjt156

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

The old spark plug tips were coated in a greyish to light brown coloured powder which is normal apparently so cylinders are being fed the correct fuel/air mixture.

Back in the days of carbs you could read a lot by your old plugs;
Oily residue; oil is getting in combustion chamber - piston rings?
Black and sooty; overly rich mixture
White and pitted; too lean mixture
Grey/Brown and dry; just right!

Nowadays fuel injection should take care of most of this for you.
I was always told; turn until finger tight, then give it a nip, no more than that.