I removed 2 spark plugs yesterday to change them out to some Autolite HT1's, but I turned right around and put these suckers right back in the engine. Let me know what you guys think.

By the way, most of the fuzzies on the electrode area came right off when I blew some compressed air on them. I think it was from the Liquid Wrench I let them soak in overnight. They did have a little black carbon on the smooth metal parts, but that wiped off easily and was not built up in any way.

 

I would have never-seized the new plugs and put them in. Why go to all the work and risk them breaking later?

 

They came out very easy after I broke them loose. Breaking them loose is just breaking the seal on the threads after having been in there for so long. It has nothing to do with the carbon buildup problem. I used a torque wrench on them while slowly removing them, and it never got above 20ft/lbs on the way out. The TSB states that the expected removal torque is 33ft/lbs, and if it gets to that point to stop and tighten them back up, then try again to loosen things up. Since it was way lower than that, I didn't stop loosening.

I figure the 33ft/lbs is the point where you should worry about breakage and I never got anywhere close to that while removing them...once they were broken free initally that is.

 

you know looking good is one thing and having the correct gap is another. I personally would have reset the gap to spec before sticking them back in. I refuse to believe that after 60k miles that the electrode hasn't burned down a little

 

Yep! ... it never hurts to check the gap anytime you have a plug pulled !

 

how are you supposed to gap that plug?

 

I didn't have a tool to gap these plugs, so I didn't worry about it. Even if they did open up the gap a little bit, I don't think it will affect anything on my N/A engine. Thanks for the input though.

 

There's a tool for setting the gap or you can slip a socket over it and put it in a vise and squeeze the gap down while using a small flat screwdriver in line to make the dented area that closes the gap.

 

Just curious, what brand gas do you use? Thanks.

 

Now I use BP about 2/3 of the time, and Phillips 66 about 1/3 of the time. The Phillips 66 is a Top Tier gas, and the BP is good too.

Up until a year and a half ago, I used Mobil gas almost exclusively because it was the most convenient for me.

I alternate between 93 and 87 octane, and tuned respectively, depending on how thick the wallet is that particular week.

 

Where is the list of these top tier fuels?

 

www.toptiergas.com

 

Sorry to see that Arco isn't on there since they don't buy their oil from the middle east.

 

I had found that after the post. I use Marathon. They have STP detergents and currently 10% ethanol. Computer reads 24.6 mpg. 10K miles, 5K with Mobil 1 synthetic oil.

Marathon's site says they have twice the detergents of EPA min regs. I don't know how they rate on all the tests that site lists.

Although it is interesting that they don't list BP yet the Mustangs gas cap has a BP logo.

 

I thought that was interesting too, but I know they have good gas, and I never have used anything but major brand gas in the car. No discount gas stations around here anyway, so that helps. Anything that could be considered a discount brand is the same price as anywhere else, so I stick with the major brands.

 

Wow never new the plugs were such a headache to remove, good info!

 

Here's what mine looked like at 61k miles. Just follow the TSB and they come out fine.