My friend just did a tune up on my car . . .

[GT1999]

And I'm a little worried. He's going to a car school, and has for the past year and this isn't anywhere near his first tune up, but I'm just curious as to whether or not he did everything right with changing the wires and spark plugs.

He was very careful when he scewed the spark plugs in and attached the wires (he also added a special grease to help if something goes wrong). But when I came home my dad said professionals use a special tool to measure it precisely.

Am I wrong in worrying? My car runs great if not better than it did before (not noticably better but maybe a couple extra horses). I've got a piece o' crap 92' Nissan sedan, but it gets me places and did cost me some $$.

If anybody has any experience with this please let me know what you think. BTW I've only had the new plugs and wires in for a day and have only drove it for a total of 30 min but it seems fine, not sure if it's the best though. Thanks

 

[Mikal]

Changing the plugs and wires is one of the simplest things to do on a car. If it runs well, you really don't need to worry.

 

[Viperoni]

All you need to do a tuneup is a gap measuring tool ($5) and that special grease that prevents the boot from drying to the plug + it seals the joint from moisture.
Otherwise, sounds like he did a perfect job.
Hey, your cars runs good doesn't it?

 

[Angrymarshmello]

That special tool (forgot the name of it) regaps the spacing on the spark plug to meet that manufacturer's spec. I don't think its that big of a deal doing it. (I don't) The grease (forgot the name too) goes on the threading of the spark plug. (Recommended) As long as he got the firing order correct, all the spark plugs in tight, nothing to worry about.

 

[perry]

spark plug gapper tool

anti-seize compound

It's pretty important to set the gap right. Too much or too little and you can have problems with the plugs or idle or whatever (usually end up buying new plugs). Get him to check a plug in a month or so to make sure he did it right.

 

[Lemondrop]

/mechanic here .
The grease may have been die-electric grease . If he didnt put it on the plugs very soon the plug wires will carbon track down the inside and start miss-firing the spark off to the engine cylinder head . He may have also used some anti-seize on the threads of the plugs , but not 100% needed . As someone else said if it's running fine he did a good job . Plug wires incorrectly installed will give you nice loud bangs that are backfires , either out the exhaust pipe or back through the inlet/carb depending on car . If you don't hear bangs and it runs good and feels better , he did a fine job . Plugs and wires are pretty much no-brainers . Now if he was calibrating your throttle position sensor ..............

 

[GT1999]

Good to hear. He didn't use the gapping tool and I asked him if he did that he said he took care of it. I didn't see him use one but I trust him because he's going to be working for Mercedes pretty soon and he's been a friend for a while.

I was just a little worried about the whole "gapping" issue.

Thanks for the info.

 

[LordMaul]

<< /mechanic here .
The grease may have been die-electric grease . If he didnt put it on the plugs very soon the plug wires will carbon track down the inside and start miss-firing the spark off to the engine cylinder head . He may have also used some anti-seize on the threads of the plugs , but not 100% needed . As someone else said if it's running fine he did a good job . Plug wires incorrectly installed will give you nice loud bangs that are backfires , either out the exhaust pipe or back through the inlet/carb depending on car . If you don't hear bangs and it runs good and feels better , he did a fine job . Plugs and wires are pretty much no-brainers . Now if he was calibrating your throttle position sensor .............. >>



Hey, please enable PMs!

 

[Lemondrop]

Ok , done

 

[C'DaleRider]

<< If he didnt put it on the plugs very soon the plug wires will carbon track down the inside and start miss-firing the spark off to the engine cylinder head. >>



BS.

Dielectric grease does this and nothing more:
&quot;Protects electrical connections, ignition parts and wiring from moisture, salt, dirt and corrosion.&quot;

This is a direct quote from a package of Permatex dielectric grease in my toolbox. It's used to prevent corrosion, and in this case prevent sticking of the spark plug boot to the plug.....it won't prevent carbon tracking. Misfiring due to the shorting of the wire to the block/cylinder head is almost always due to cracked plug wires or improperly seated plug wires, not from lack of dielectric grease.

 

[Soybomb]

Actually it was either dielectric grease in the boots or a littel antisieze compound on the plug threads. I expect the tool your dad was talking about was a torque wrench to tighten the plugs to a certain tightness. Don't worry about, most people won't use a torque wrench on spark plugs, I don't
edit: don't worry about the gaps unless you hear pinging or it runs poorly

 

[GT1999]

No it was a gapping tool, very small tool with extentions on it.

By the my friend used a torque wrench, but he did not gap the plugs which is what I'm worried about, nothing more! He did everything else fine and fairly fast.

They are platinum tipped.. do they still need to be checked (the gap)?

So, when a person adds new plugs to their car - do they NEED TO CHECK THE GAP OF THE PLUG?

Thanks

 

[Soybomb]

Perhaps he gapped them before he brought them there? You might call him and ask. Really though I wouldnt worry unless it was pinging or running rough.

 

[Pacfanweb]

He's either talking about a 50 cent plug gapper, or possibly a torque wrench. Even the dumbest of mechanics have enough sense to gap the plugs, and nobody torques the plugs.

As far as the dielectric grease keeping the wires from arcing to the head, I think I saw that somebody already called bullshlt, and they are correct. The grease is just to keep the boots of the plug wires from sticking to the plug the next time someone takes them off. Also helps assembly of plug wires that don't come with the boots installed.
Anti-sieze might help if you have aluminum heads, don't need it if not.

 

[GT1999]

No pinging or ringing at all. Runs just like before.

I asked him about the gapping and he said &quot;I took care of it&quot;. All he did was take them out of the box, place them in the torque wrench and very carefully tightened a little bit while listening.

BTW it was anti-siezing grease not the electric stuff..

 

[stanger]

all i usually do is gap the plugs/ add dielectric grease to the boots and use anti sieze on the spark plug threads especially if the heads are aluminum

stanger

 

[Lemondrop]

<<

<< If he didnt put it on the plugs very soon the plug wires will carbon track down the inside and start miss-firing the spark off to the engine cylinder head. >>



BS.

Dielectric grease does this and nothing more:
&quot;Protects electrical connections, ignition parts and wiring from moisture, salt, dirt and corrosion.&quot;

This is a direct quote from a package of Permatex dielectric grease in my toolbox. It's used to prevent corrosion, and in this case prevent sticking of the spark plug boot to the plug.....it won't prevent carbon tracking. Misfiring due to the shorting of the wire to the block/cylinder head is almost always due to cracked plug wires or improperly seated plug wires, not from lack of dielectric grease. >>


Are you a ASE certified mechanic ?
I know what Im talking about , do you ?

 

[Cyberian]

He may have used 'surface gap' plugs which do not have to be gapped like conventional plugs.

 

[perry]

I'm an MCSE, I know what I'm talking about.

 

[flot]

geez man relax. hehehe.. Some plugs do not need to be gapped - you mentioned they were platinum, if they were something like the Bosch +4 kind, I don't believe they are made to be re gapped at all.

The plug gap is important, but probably not going to destroy your car or anything like that. If you don't trust the guy when he says he gapped them, then you shouldn't have let him work on your car....

 

[Lemondrop]

Better yet , call your Local Ford mechanic and ask him if a 5.0l will start shooting sparks off the plug wire to the sparkplug body/cylinder head if they don't use die-electric grease . Ask yourself also , would it be die-electric if it was just there to lube the sparkplug wire ? I can lube a wire with wheel bearing grease if I feel like it , dosent mean it wont keep the plugwire from carbon tracking . High voltage systems on new vehicles blow a huge amount of voltage ( 80,000 to 100,000 volts) compared to old cars that had 30,000 or so volts . Voltage is electrical pressure and it takes the path of least resistance . Die-electric is just non-conductive grease and since most cars dont require plug changes for 100,000 miles why would I need to lube a wire so I can take it off easier next time ? By the next time it needs plugs it might be in a wrecking yard . So if you think it's BS , feel free ... but you'd be best to stick with your computers and leave cars alone to people who know .

 

[Soybomb]

<< Are you a ASE certified mechanic ? >>

I don't have a degree in computer engineering, but I can put one together just fine. In this case with plenty of backyard wrench turning, I can say you were &quot;misinformed&quot; about what would happen. I don't use dielectric grease quite often and the spark still makes it to the gas in the spark plug just like it should.

 

[N8Magic]

Trust me, if he was wise enough to use a torque wrench, then he knew enough to gap the plugs. And the person who said that some plugs don't need to be gapped is also correct.

If he monumentally screwed something up, you would definitely know by now.

 

[Lemondrop]

Gap changes timing , if it's a farther gap it's more retarded but the flame will be hotter for ignition ( well not hotter just longer ) and smaller gaps are advanced and smaller flame . Some plugs come gapped out of the box , but it dosent mean they are set correctly for your engine . If it runs good , Id bet he either gapped them or they were close enough .

 

[GT1999]

Yes they are the Bosch Plat new ones top of the line primo. I'm on the phone with him now he says he did gap 'em..


Soo.. I guess I'm A-OKAY