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I've my '09 for almost two years ( bought with 98kmiles, now has 136k miles ).
figured it was time to change the plugs. I couldn't find any records of the PO having changed them.
then I forgot about till Friday. here's what the first plug looked like:
notice what's missing? the car run fine, smooth idle, good mpg, ran strong. the rest of the plugs looked ok ( especially for having well over 100k on them ). a few had the gap worn a bit beyond the 0.040" mark. spark plug access is pretty good, it's removing the boots that was the challenge. was able to get a needle nose plier on heat shield for most of them.
I promise to be more diligent in the future.
I've my '09 for almost two years ( bought with 98kmiles, now has 136k miles ).
figured it was time to change the plugs. I couldn't find any records of the PO having changed them.
then I forgot about till Friday. here's what the first plug looked like:
notice what's missing? the car run fine, smooth idle, good mpg, ran strong. the rest of the plugs looked ok ( especially for having well over 100k on them ). a few had the gap worn a bit beyond the 0.040" mark. spark plug access is pretty good, it's removing the boots that was the challenge. was able to get a needle nose plier on heat shield for most of them.
I promise to be more diligent in the future.
winner! not sure how long it's missing, but the car had no symptoms of any kind.
I remember on my first car, changing the oil, plugs. wires, points and, condenser every 3k miles.
this car runs so well and with long life plugs, I got lulled into forgetting about them.
with that gap, theirs no way this plug was firing. so how come no CEL's? engine idled and smooth.
on my weekend drives, I will regularly run into the low triple digits. car always ran great.
That gap is a little larger than it should be, but I guarantee you that the plug was firing. A spark plug can jump a much larger gap than that for sure.
That gap is a little larger than it should be, but I guarantee you that the plug was firing. A spark plug can jump a much larger gap than that for sure.
I to agree that it was firing, but that gap is at least 2 - 3 times the factory setting. like I said, I should have changed these out sooner, but the car gave no indication of any problems. I know that that is not the yard stick to use, but other than the usual maintenance, most parts don't get replaced until they fail. not that I would do this, but now I'm curious as to how it would run, if all of the plugs were in this condition. based on the seat of the pants driving & fuel mileage, all was good.
I to agree that it was firing, but that gap is at least 2 - 3 times the factory setting. like I said, I should have changed these out sooner, but the car gave no indication of any problems. I know that that is not the yard stick to use, but other than the usual maintenance, most parts don't get replaced until they fail. not that I would do this, but now I'm curious as to how it would run, if all of the plugs were in this condition. based on the seat of the pants driving & fuel mileage, all was good.
It's more common than what people think to have an iridium tip missing. For a month or so, I had an occasional hiccup/backfire, which most likely was a tip braking off. The engine seemed fine regardless, until I went to the dragstrip. Under WOT conditions it affected my times by about .1 - .2 seconds and 3 - 4 mph. When I got home and changed plugs, 7 of 8 had missing tips. The .040 gap became .080. They'd fire OK except at WOT. Without a timeslip to confirm abnormal performance, it wasn't real noticeable.
It's more common than what people think to have an iridium tip missing. For a month or so, I had an occasional hiccup/backfire, which most likely was a tip braking off. The engine seemed fine regardless, until I went to the dragstrip. Under WOT conditions it affected my times by about .1 - .2 seconds and 3 - 4 mph. When I got home and changed plugs, 7 of 8 had missing tips. The .040 gap became .080. They'd fire OK except at WOT. Without a timeslip to confirm abnormal performance, it wasn't real noticeable.
i would think that their would have to be some difference ( if only measurably as your time slips show ), I mean these aren't glow plugs!
LS3s are notorious for eating the center tip on Iridium plugs. I changed mine (factory plugs) at 38,000 miles and had two out of eight missing.
at least these are relatively easy to change. the hardest part in the boot removal. I've got a few torn up knuckles.
it's probably easier to change the wires at the same time. that I I don't have to worry about just pulling them off.
where is was accessible, using small needle nose pliers on the heat shield worked ( with only bodily damage ).
at least these are relatively easy to change. the hardest part in the boot removal. I've got a few torn up knuckles.
it's probably easier to change the wires at the same time. that I I don't have to worry about just pulling them off.
where is was accessible, using small needle nose pliers on the heat shield worked ( with only bodily damage ).
Yes, these are very easy plugs to change. I've a couple other cars in my garage, you wouldn't want to know about changing plugs. I did plugs on my W12 at 36,000 miles and had to remove the intake manifold and the duct work to the turbos; an all-day job. And, $200 just for the plugs.
I can do plugs on an LS3 in about 30-45 mins.
You live in a nice place BTW. I'm fond of Concord. I traveled to Concord on business every month for close to two years, doing some consulting for a business close to the Costco.
Yes, these are very easy plugs to change. I've a couple other cars in my garage, you wouldn't want to know about changing plugs. I did plugs on my W12 at 36,000 miles and had to remove the intake manifold and the duct work to the turbos; an all-day job. And, $200 just for the plugs.
I can do plugs on an LS3 in about 30-45 mins.
You live in a nice place BTW. I'm fond of Concord. I traveled to Concord on business every month for close to two years, doing some consulting for a business close to the Costco.
I was pleasantly surprised the access on the plugs. I horror story on plugs ( on plug actually ), was on my '98 Z28.
the #8 is located under the cowl next to the A/C. when I had the long tube headers on, I easily access this from under the car.
with the shortys on, only access was from the top. laying across the engine. if only I had T-Rex hands!
I've been in concord ( and the immediate area ) for over 40 yrs. if the Costco you are referring to, is the one on Detroit ave.,
that is able 1/4 mile from my place.
I was pleasantly surprised the access on the plugs. I horror story on plugs ( on plug actually ), was on my '98 Z28.
the #8 is located under the cowl next to the A/C. when I had the long tube headers on, I easily access this from under the car.
with the shortys on, only access was from the top. laying across the engine. if only I had T-Rex hands!
I've been in concord ( and the immediate area ) for over 40 yrs. if the Costco you are referring to, is the one on Detroit ave.,
that is able 1/4 mile from my place.
Yes, off Detroit. I spent quite a few hours and lots of business meals at Jack's in Pleasant Hill.
ummmmm, with almost 100K miles on my 06, maybe I'll change those out over the winter as well.
What plugs are you guys going with?
I went with AC Delco #41-110. it's only been a few days. so far so good! the car is bone stock, so I didn't feel the need for
anything elaborate. if they last anywhere as long as the first batch, I'm good.
ummmmm, with almost 100K miles on my 06, maybe I'll change those out over the winter as well.
What plugs are you guys going with?
You have several choices. Probably Iridiums are the most popular, heat range 5 on a stock LS. Some go with copper (TR5s). I tried copper/copper plugs when I was NA (I think they are TRR5s); then when I FIed I went with TR6's, one step colder; eventually changed to Iridium 6s. Copper plugs need more frequent changes and I did not like the copper/coppers in the NA. They didn't last at all.
If you're not into that. and you're looking for a maintenance free ride, get the expensive (step up) NGK iridiums. Those will be good as the originals for tons of miles.
at least these are relatively easy to change. the hardest part in the boot removal. I've got a few torn up knuckles.
it's probably easier to change the wires at the same time. that I I don't have to worry about just pulling them off.
where is was accessible, using small needle nose pliers on the heat shield worked ( with only bodily damage ).
When we did my headers I bought a set of these to help remove the boots, only had to use them on a couple but did the trick
NSF
Last edited by Not So Fast; 09-24-2018 at 02:52 PM.
When we did my headers I bought a set of these to help remove the boots, only had to use them on a couple but did the trick
NSF
if I regularly had to change plugs, I would definitely look into one of those. any one of those would have helped a lot.
but if you're changing plug wires too, then I'd just yank them off from the wire ( I'm sure mine were as old as the plugs, 136k mi.)
09-24-2018, 10:04 AM
what's missing from this picture?
