Can you gap your own Spark Plugs? 1998 v70 non turbo FWD

[abscate]

The method of Abby. You need a vernier and sunLight

[BlackBart]

Are you telling us sun rays are parallel?! That's witchcraft!

[BlackBart]

Oh yes i have long nosey pliers, didnt think of that, Thanks.

Those things are always trying to get into your business, asking questions - it's annoying.


On wrenches and torque, I always use only one hand on a 3/8 ratchet, wrist-tight, 12-15 lb-ft (I was taught, anyway), plenty. With aluminum heads though, I'm way more careful. I don't want to learn how to use those helicoils!

[850oldschool]

The covers of old fashioned match books are usually .015. So you'd use one thickness to set the breaker points and two thicknesses to gap the plugs. If you don't have a feeler gauge and a spark plug gauge or a verier caliper, that is.

[MrAl]

The method of Abby. You need a vernier and sunLight

Oh that yes i remember now haha geeze dumb of me.

[MrAl]

Are you telling us sun rays are parallel?! That's witchcraft!

Oh so you picked up on that too huh?

Yes, there may be a slight parallax error but it is most likely very slight. I'll check that with my old plugs or the 6th new one i had to buy they did not have a set of 5 at the time. I gapped that one too though.

[MrAl]

Oh yes i have long nosey pliers, didnt think of that, Thanks.

Those things are always trying to get into your business, asking questions - it's annoying.


On wrenches and torque, I always use only one hand on a 3/8 ratchet, wrist-tight, 12-15 lb-ft (I was taught, anyway), plenty. With aluminum heads though, I'm way more careful. I don't want to learn how to use those helicoils!

Yikes dont even mention that problem ha ha.
I was very careful, and i had changed plugs a lot in the past but not for probably going on 10 years now until this set.
Glad i did though i caught a couple problems.

[MrAl]

The covers of old fashioned match books are usually .015. So you'd use one thickness to set the breaker points and two thicknesses to gap the plugs. If you don't have a feeler gauge and a spark plug gauge or a verier caliper, that is.

Oh that's interesting. Dont think i have any match book covers around though dont smoke.

I bought a gapping tool but i checked it with the micrometer and it was WAYYYYY off so i sort of gave up on that. It was only $2 USD.
I was lucky though i found a piece of steel wire that had almost the exact diameter as the gap 0.028 inches and so i cut off a piece of that and hooked it to the crummy gap tool and use that to gap. All the gaps came out very nearly the same and i checked the wire with two different micrometers so i would be surprised if the gap on all the plugs was not almost exact now including the 6th one that did not get used.

I couldnt find my feeler gauge i had a really good one too. As the years go by the tools seem to fly away somehow.
Oh BTW i found it hard to use my vernier caliper probably because it is a cheap one and the accuracy probably goes way down with this one for very very short lengths like 0.028 or so. It's probably made for lengths maybe 0.2 or something min. It's digital that's the problem and it is not an expensive one. I have an old manual one somewhere but the markings are in 16ths of an inch which doesnt help much.
The micrometers have resolution of 0.1 of a thousandths of an inch which is 0.0001 inches, so the max error is probably around 0.028 plus or minus 0.0001 which means it could be 0.0279 to 0.0281 which better be close enough or i give up (ha ha).

Oh i also assume that the cylinders are numbered 1,2,3,4,5 from left to right as you look into the engine compartment from the very front of the vehicle. I hope that is right maybe i can check #3 and see what's up.

[MrAl]

I have that same 1/4" drive T-handle. It's over 30 years old.

Now that you mention it, i think mine was too. I must have purchased it circa 1992 or something. That's a long time ago now geeze.
I am thinking i may have actually gotten it from a dollar store <sound: big chuckle>
However, that does not change the fact that those bolts were really frozen in there almost couldnt get that last camel back breaking bolt out!

I think part of the problem is i 'think' those bolts are bottoming bolts, where the tip hits metal at the very end of the hole so you cant tighten them down anymore after that and that would prevent overtightening and cracking the cover.

[abscate]

Oh i also assume that the cylinders are numbered 1,2,3,4,5 from left to right as you look into the engine compartment from the very front of the vehicle. I hope that is right maybe i can check #3 and see what's up.

You always reference from the driver position to avoid mistakes. Cylinders are 1-5 from the crank pulley side of the engine, or right side. Luckily, number 3 is the middle most cylinder either way.

Those little ramp type gappers are useless. I’ve never seen one give an accurate gap to its marks, and if I have to calibrate it I don’t want to use it