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I hope, because you said "pucks", that they were nickel spark plugs (big fat center electrodes). Anyway, the gap will get larger as time goes on so don't worry about being so precise on the gap size. Finally, you didn't mention this but in case someone tells you to or you see it online somewhere, do not use anti-seize when installing your spark plugs. 
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Mar 30, 2018 20:39
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totalnewbie posted:I hope, because you said "pucks", that they were nickel spark plugs (big fat center electrodes). I'm honestly not sure. I just watched a how-to video on YouTube first and the guy was talking about not damaging the pucks. Here are the specific plugs: https://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-338000-genuine-bmw-ngk-silzbr8d8s-spark-plug-n20-n26/ I appreciate the tip on not using anti-seize. I'd read not to do that online, so I wasn't planning to. Y'all would probably laugh if you saw how carefully and thoroughly I'm approaching what is probably a pretty minor and unexciting chore to people who've done this poo poo before. edit: Also, I was a little worried about the metal my plug scraped off the gapping tool being a problem, but I figured nobody would make a gapping tool out of something that would cause problems if it were scraped onto a plug, right?
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Mar 30, 2018 20:43
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spankmeister posted:Sure you can use a can of air duster, why not? Okay, cool. The videos showed people using air compressors, so I wasn't sure.
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Mar 30, 2018 20:46
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Dadliest Worrier posted:Okay, cool. The videos showed people using air compressors, so I wasn't sure. You have a torque wrench, right? I wouldn't touch spark plugs without it.
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Mar 30, 2018 20:55
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That's a precious metal spark plug so you've probably just scraped the center electrode onto our gap tool. Never, ever gap those things without proper training. Admittedly, "proper training" is not really that much training... you just need the right tools like PIN gauges, etc. What car/engine do you have?
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Mar 30, 2018 20:57
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totalnewbie posted:That's a precious metal spark plug so you've probably just scraped the center electrode onto our gap tool. Never, ever gap those things without proper training. Well, poo poo. The car is a 2013 BMW 328i. Did I just ruin a set of plugs?
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Mar 30, 2018 21:03
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Cage posted:Most people who make videos work on the cars enough to own an air compressor I imagine. Hold the can upright and bend the straw, though. And you were right the coil pops out, you spray, and then remove the spark plug. Put the new spark plug in right away.
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Mar 30, 2018 21:17
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It's possible, though difficult to say without a good look at the spark plug center electrodes. Use a microscope (heh), a jeweler's loupe (heh), or at magnifying glass (you might actually have one!) to take a look. Which engine do you have? Is it the N20B20 (2.0L T/C)? Try this, might be a little cheaper: https://www.ngk.com/product.aspx?zpid=40569 (Side note: ngk.com is not the website of NGK the spark plug company itself.)
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Mar 30, 2018 21:20
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Yep, it’s the N20. And I’m leery of trusting my judgement on whether or not an electrode is damaged. I’m a total newbie. Probably safest to replace them, no? Also, how should I properly gap them?
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Mar 30, 2018 21:32
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Dadliest Worrier posted:Also, how should I properly gap them? You don't. It'll be fine, trust me.
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Mar 30, 2018 21:33
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Oh, and I do have a torque wrench. Just a cheapie one from HF. People told me that’d Be fine for this kind of thing. Hope that’s true.
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Mar 30, 2018 21:35
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totalnewbie posted:You don't. It'll be fine, trust me. Are you sure? Installing plugs at .025” for a motor that wants (afaik) .031”?
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Mar 30, 2018 21:36
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Dadliest Worrier posted:Are you sure? Installing plugs at .025” for a motor that wants (afaik) .031”? https://www.ngk.com/product.aspx?zpid=40569 posted:Gap: .031" (0.8mm)
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Mar 30, 2018 21:43
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Dadliest Worrier posted:
You can also use a shopvac to suck the poo poo out of the holes. I used it to get water out of them on an engine that I had just sprayed down. Hold the nozzle *mostly* over the hole, so that some air can get in, it does some sort of turbulence/sciency stuff and picks up that poo poo. In my case, water. You case, any debris that isn't actually stuck to something.
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Mar 30, 2018 22:04
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Okay, I’m missing something, so I want to make sure I get this. I ordered those plugs, and checked them with the gap tool. Three were .025” and one was .024”. Having seen the .031” on that site, and having read that plugs can get bumped around in shipping and should be re-gapped before installation, I used the tool to gap them at .031-ish. Should I not have done that, and just trusted them not to have been tweaked in transit?
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Mar 30, 2018 22:19
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Dadliest Worrier posted:Okay, I’m missing something, so I want to make sure I get this. I ordered those plugs, and checked them with the gap tool. Three were .025” and one was .024”. Having seen the .031” on that site, and having read that plugs can get bumped around in shipping and should be re-gapped before installation, I used the tool to gap them at .031-ish. Should I not have done that, and just trusted them not to have been tweaked in transit? If you have the exact ones in the link he sent you shouldn't have touched anything. If you have a different set I think he's saying to just buy those.
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Mar 30, 2018 22:30
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Number one, I wouldn't trust some cheap gauges you just picked up anywhere. Even so, you probably don't have pin gauges, which is what you really need to measure spark plug gaps. By the way, if anyone ever does want to get pin gauges for spark plug gaps, class ZZ is sufficient. Number two, you'll still be fine with a slightly smaller gap (e.g. 0.1mm). Do not worry about it.
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Mar 30, 2018 22:41
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Okay. Guess I should’ve checked in here before gapping the first set. Oh well, I’m still saving money overall, as long as I don’t gently caress up the installation.
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Mar 30, 2018 23:15
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2014 Dodge Grand Caravan: The car has a shudder at highway speeds (55+). Looking around, it looks like a good bet that this is probably rotor related. It has 60k miles with original brakes, so I'm going to just replace the brakes/rotors anyway. Does anyone have a recommendation of the million different ones Rockauto sells?
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Mar 31, 2018 02:11
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totalnewbie posted:Number one, I wouldn't trust some cheap gauges you just picked up anywhere. Even so, you probably don't have pin gauges, which is what you really need to measure spark plug gaps. By the way, if anyone ever does want to get pin gauges for spark plug gaps, class ZZ is sufficient. Never heard of using pin gauges for this, are feelers not adequate for measuring?
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Mar 31, 2018 02:21
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SouthShoreSamurai posted:2014 Dodge Grand Caravan: Is it a shudder when braking, or while driving at a constant speed? Under braking, yes, just do a pad and rotor swap. Raybestos and Centric are solid brands. If it's at all times at high speed, you probably just need your tires rebalanced.
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Mar 31, 2018 02:27
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wolrah posted:If it is just an open diff it *should* be fine with minor differences in speed. If it has limited slip type functionality it probably will not be ok with it. Even an open differential doesn't like to have the outputs going at different speeds for long periods. Find a way to afford four tires, or you will find a way to afford a new transfer case.
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Mar 31, 2018 09:59
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EightBit posted:Even an open differential doesn't like to have the outputs going at different speeds for long periods. Find a way to afford four tires, or you will find a way to afford a new transfer case. Agreed. With that said, if the front output is a fixed yoke (ie not a slip joint that will spew fluid without a driveshaft installed), pulling the front shaft is one way to get by for now. The only problem is that you're creating a difference in wear between your new rear tires now and your new front tires later.
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Mar 31, 2018 15:30
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shovelbum posted:Never heard of using pin gauges for this, are feelers not adequate for measuring? For measuring precious metal spark plugs, the concern is with damaging the center electrode. Pin gauges minimize that risk. It's not difficult at all to cause damage with a block gauge. You can certainly try to be careful with other types of gauges but then you can end up measuring the gap as being smaller than it is due to your caution.
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Mar 31, 2018 15:49
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EightBit posted:Even an open differential doesn't like to have the outputs going at different speeds for long periods. Find a way to afford four tires, or you will find a way to afford a new transfer case. IOwnCalculus posted:Agreed. With that said, if the front output is a fixed yoke (ie not a slip joint that will spew fluid without a driveshaft installed), pulling the front shaft is one way to get by for now. The only problem is that you're creating a difference in wear between your new rear tires now and your new front tires later. All this talk of transfer cases making GBS threads themselves and transmissions falling out has scared me sufficiently enough to just bother my GF for a short-time loan and get new tires. Your tires have more responsibility for your safety and transmission from A to B than anything else, so I have to get it done. Thanks
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Mar 31, 2018 16:39
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Re: spark plug chat My civic has 115k miles on it and is 13 years old. I've never changed the spark plugs. Do you change them on an interval or after you start having problems?
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Mar 31, 2018 20:17
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totalnewbie posted:For measuring precious metal spark plugs, the concern is with damaging the center electrode. Pin gauges minimize that risk. It's not difficult at all to cause damage with a block gauge. Oh that makes sense, bc it's just gonna be a little curve section instead of a flat. Gasoline is devil magic, diesel just lights itself like God intended
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Mar 31, 2018 20:53
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tactlessbastard posted:Re: spark plug chat Do you really want to wait until your engine is misfiring and potentially trashing your catalytic converter with unburnt fuel, to do some of the cheapest and easiest maintenance your car will ever need? 100k is the longest interval I've ever seen.
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Mar 31, 2018 21:27
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tactlessbastard posted:Re: spark plug chat With luck, you're only 15k miles late. Might be 35 or 65, but you probably would've noticed. Have you ever looked at the little book in the glove box?
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Mar 31, 2018 21:41
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shovelbum posted:Oh that makes sense, bc it's just gonna be a little curve section instead of a flat. Gasoline is devil magic, diesel just lights itself like God intended Yeah, with a pin gauge, you generally just let it fall in the gap and maybe give it a little turn in your fingers in case it's not lined up well. If it doesn't go through, pick another gauge and try again. That's how you really avoid the damage. With a block gauge, you can try to turn it a bit but then you can end up using the center electrode as a lever, for example, and damage the tip. Or, if you force it, you break the tip off. That kind of thing. tactlessbastard posted:Re: spark plug chat Change intervals are generally 30k for nickel, 60k for platinum, and 100k for iridium. However, it depends on a few other things. For example, turbo engines have higher demand voltages so the change intervals can be smaller (e.g. GM's turbo engines are now all 60k miles for iridium because of the high demand voltage). Some designs may have higher gap growth rate, like these, and hence different change intervals (check your manual). IOwnCalculus posted:Do you really want to wait until your engine is misfiring and potentially trashing your catalytic converter with unburnt fuel, to do some of the cheapest and easiest maintenance your car will ever need? Godholio posted:With luck, you're only 15k miles late. Might be 35 or 65, but you probably would've noticed. Have you ever looked at the little book in the glove box? To be honest, when it comes to changing spark plugs, it's not really that big of a deal to stick to the manual exactly. It depends a lot on your engine and how you drive. If you do a lot of highway miles at 60-70, you could probably wait much longer to change your plugs. If you've got a turbo engine, live in the city, have a lead foot, and like to keep a bunch of heavy junk in your car, you'll probably need to change more often. There's so many variables, we often just go with "Were/are there any problems? No? Then it's fine." But certainly changing spark plugs is one of the easiest maintenance items for MOST people (RIP Subaru and Boxter owners), you don't have to do it very often, and it's USUALLY fairly cheap, so go and change the spark plugs.
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Mar 31, 2018 21:57
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Also, changing the plugs on a Honda four cylinder is pretty much the easiest car maintenance task known to mankind.
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Mar 31, 2018 22:17
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totalnewbie posted:To be honest, when it comes to changing spark plugs, it's not really that big of a deal to stick to the manual exactly. It depends a lot on your engine and how you drive. If you do a lot of highway miles at 60-70, you could probably wait much longer to change your plugs. If you've got a turbo engine, live in the city, have a lead foot, and like to keep a bunch of heavy junk in your car, you'll probably need to change more often. I agree, and I've certainly let some cars go way too drat long without plugs (never did touch them on my Ranger) if they're a pain in the dick to do. The 100k plugs I pulled out of my CRV looked drat near new; the wrong-heat-range 30k plugs I pulled out of my WJ were loving roasted. But neither had any notable reduction in fuel economy or performance. With that said: MrYenko posted:Also, changing the plugs on a Honda four cylinder is pretty much the easiest car maintenance task known to mankind. Yeah, this. The CR-V is the easiest plug job I've ever done on any car. Even the WJ isn't too bad because the plugs all point straight up at the intake, instead of being buried adjacent to the exhaust ports like I'm used to on GM V8s.
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Mar 31, 2018 22:52
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Is there a standard torque spec for fasteners that isn't application specific? Like....... 1/4-20 nuts/bolts should be torqued to 35 ft lbs or 1/2-13 should be torqued to 80 ft lbs, unless there is a different spec stated by the manufacturer of a specific car/piece of machinery etc?
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Apr 1, 2018 00:10
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2011 Honda insight OK so I have been broke forever and just now have enough money to replace or improve my car. It's functioning perfectly fine but it lacks several amenities of a more modern or luxury car. No back up camera or blue tooth. No Satellite radio or steering wheel based controls for anything. So how expensive is it or is it reasonable to have some of these things added or upgraded to my car? Like I know I can get a new radio with blue tooth. But can controls be added to the steering wheel and can a back up camera be added? Is this even a good idea? Or should I just get a newer car now that I can afford either option? If I bought a new car I'd want a plug in hybrid like a Honda clarity or plug in Prius. Apologies if this totally in the wrong place. Please redirect me if so.
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Apr 1, 2018 01:45
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I'd get a new car. The wiring and stuff might be in the car already, for the steering wheel radio controls for example. But only if it was available in the first place. If thats the case, you could probably get a junkyard steering wheel and the appropriate radio from the JY and it may be a case of plug and play. If it was not available, it would be exceedingly difficult, and expensive to do so.
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Apr 1, 2018 01:51
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wesleywillis posted:I'd get a new car. Just switching to a Bluetooth radio with satellite would be relatively affordable though? Either way I don't know anything about cars so I'd definitely depend on someone doing it for me. Not sure if this is the kind of thing you go to best buy for or Honda or a local mechanic?
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Apr 1, 2018 01:58
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Sounds like I should change the spark plugs.
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Apr 1, 2018 02:00
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Doctor Party posted:2011 Honda insight You can get a bluetooth adapter that plugs into the AUX port on the radio if you have one, or one that broadcasts on an FM frequency if you don't. Backup cameras similarly can be installed fairly easily. Trade your car in for something newer if you really don't like it, otherwise you can retrofit it. (note, I'm not endorsing the linked products, just pointing to examples to illustrate what's available)
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Apr 1, 2018 02:13
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wesleywillis posted:Is there a standard torque spec for fasteners that isn't application specific? http://www.portlandbolt.com/technical/bolt-torque-chart/
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Apr 1, 2018 02:35
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Deteriorata posted:You can get a bluetooth adapter that plugs into the AUX port on the radio if you have one, or one that broadcasts on an FM frequency if you don't. Yeah I've used those blue tooth plug in deals and they're meh. I've had a few different models. That's why I am thinking either replace the actual radio or just live with it until I get a new car. So who do I go to to have this done if I wanted a quote? A body shop or auto customization place?
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Apr 1, 2018 02:37
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