-BlueGSR-

Ive searched but am a noobie when it comes to replacing plugs...i dont have a torque wrench....so when i tighten them..do i i hand tigthen them until its seated and stops threading??...and THEN attach the ratchet and tighten another 1/2 to 3/4 turn???

ragejed

tighten till its tight.....seriously. You dont need to make this some super dooper tight bolt..its just a spark plug. Think of it this way, you are screwing into an aluminum head. Too tight and your wallet it light

Tweakmeister

once it bites I don't think you even need to do a 1/4 turn....you basically want the washer to seal against the head...and that doesn't take much. If the plugs are used and you are checking them, then it takes a little extra obviously.

You're best bet is to go lighter than tighter as you run the risk of breaking it on the head, and that is a PITA to get out.


[Modified by Tweakmeister, 5:38 AM 9/28/2002]

jclau00

1/2 - 3/4 sounds perfect. NGK recommends 1/2 - 2/3 on aluminum heads. i tightened mine 1/2 turns. seems pretty snug, but not overly tight.

NeverLift

didnt wonna make another topic so i dug up this one.

im also noob.. but im not sure which side of the washer to face up... the flat clean looking side down and the ugly looking side up or the other way around?

kronikSLOW

buy ngk plugs nothing else and slap em in. dont mess with the washers they come on the plug the way they were designed to go into the car. ngk v-power is what you need at advance auto i thing theyre something like a dollar fifty a piece. you need four. may as well replace the cap and rotor as well. if you have the money get new wires too.

CleanLikeJdm

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NeverLift &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im also noob.. but im not sure which side of the washer to face up... the flat clean looking side down and the ugly looking side up or the other way around?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I didn't think the washers even came off, I'm taking it the ones you have do?

Not that I know for a fact, but I would say the flat side would up,
or is it flat on both sides, and just has a more rough pattern on the other?

BlueIntegraBoy

iTrader: (5)

When I had shop in high school, instructor told me to turn 1/4 turn once the ratchet stopped turning without force.

butt_trumpet

I've never used more than a half turn for new plugs. But, I think most spark plugs come with a sort of crush washer whereby you can feel it crush the first time you install them and then when the crush stops, you stop turning.

Of course that doesn't help if you are reinstalling plugs that have had the washers crushed already.

In that case I either use 20 ft-lbs on a torque wrench or, I just use a standard Craftsman 3/8 drive ratchet and hand tighten moderately tight but not yanking with my full strength or body weight behind it or anything like that. You figure an eight inch long wrench is going to take about 30 lbs of force applied to generate 20 ft-lbs.

I think the standard torque spec is actually a little higher than 20 ft-lbs but I go light on the torque because I usually grease up or use anti seize on the plug threads and that gives you more force on the threads for a given applied torque.

jakeiscool

i think the torque spec is 19 lb ft. i usually screw them in with only the extension, and when that stops spinning, i put the ratchet on and do a quarter turn.

lmike6453

This si one of the things i use torque wrench for. It's 16 lbs ft., and I do not do any more since it is not necessary.

Tim2179

iTrader: (2)

Some one already said this, but it's important.

PUT ANTI-SEIZE ON YOUR PLUGS


Seriously. I never did, but after I got one stuck, it broke off in the head and I had to take the head off to get it out. What should have been an easy plug replacement for $15, ended up being +$400 after the head work, valve job, and head gasket.

So...
PUT ANTI-SEIZE ON YOUR PLUGS

and don't worry about the torque, since they don't need to be uber-tight. It's not like your plugs are holding anything down.