14
Unpopular opinion: People keep using the wrong torque spec on spark plugs
I've seen three different cars this month with cracked ceramic insulators because someone just cranked them down with a regular ratchet. The manual for a 2018 Ford F-150 clearly says 15 ft-lbs, but I guess that's too hard to look up. How many engines need to get wrecked before folks start using a torque wrench?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
jake_patel15d ago
That "snugged them up good" line reminds me of my uncle who always said he could feel when a bolt was tight enough. He stripped the threads on his lawnmower's oil drain plug last summer doing the same thing. Had to tap new threads into the aluminum block.
8
That bit about the cracked ceramic insulators hits home. I pulled the plugs on my neighbor's Civic last week and found the same thing, just shattered. He admitted he just "snugged them up good" with his old ratchet. A cheap torque wrench is like twenty bucks, way less than a new cylinder head. It's pure laziness.
4