I want to change my plugs and the how to says torque the new plugs to 14 - 22 ft lbs. but i dont have a torque wrench.

The VQPower how-to says: "If you don't have a torque wrench i have found a method that works for me, please don't do this unless you want to, i will not be reponsible. The method i use is, once the plug becomes snug, i then make one full 1/4 turn with the wrench. Again do this at your own risk."

Is that ok?

PS: what size spark plugs do we have ? i need to get that attachment tool

 

I'd recommend you go out and buy a torque wrench. I got one at home depot for I believe 50 bucks. You'll need it later down the road with maintenance or aftermarket parts. It's important to have.

 

i dont plan on buying anything aftermarket, no mods

 

plugs are something i never really torque down. just snugg and good.

 

the 1/4 rule of thumb has served me well......but I now own a torque wrench and plan on doing it right

 

i used the 1/4 rule. torqueing isnt all that impotent on plugs...as long as theyre in there snug (not loose not not tight).

 

All good changed the plugs, the ones i took out were in seemingly good shape, i will take pictures once i eat or when i feel bored again,

it seems that the ones i took out were the ngk IRIDIUMS and the ones i put in are NGK platinums, but oh well i did not know how long they've been there cause i bought the car 7000 KM ago and now i know.

Another observation i made is that the ark of the plugs i took out was white, i assume thats carbon deposits, does that mean the car ran rich ?

there was no oil on the plugs and they were dark brown or black at the tip (more black then brown). the change took awhile because i dropped a wrench into the engine bay but after some wiggling and using a thin wooden flag pole i dropped it to the ground i almost had a heart attack!

the last back plug was a major biatch cause i had to remove the 2 bolts that connect hoses to the evap thingy and after a while my back gave up on me almost, here is a tip, DO THE HARDEST ONE FIRST while ur back is fresh

hope not to see anything get worse, like mileage, but i think it will improve

 

here are the pics of the ones i took out:


one seems kinda darker in the pictures but it seems the same in real life just slightly different in colour. its not oil definitely on that one its something else

I stand corrected the ones i took out were LASER platinums as per this chart at the bottom of the page http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....80#post2815980

i put in G-POWER platinums did i do something wrong ? or its all the same just how long they last

 

so tell me whats wrong with that one plug thats darker then the rest ?

 

Yeah the factory OEM plugs are NGK laser platinums (PFR5G-11) I belive that is what you pulled out from your car. Most people will recommend that you only replace them with OEM laser platinums, i personally did, hurt the pocket book (100CAD for 6) but atleast they last for 96KM.

 

Interesting, my car has 210.000 i have a service record that some majour tune up was done at 123.000 KM at Midas. i guess thats when they replaced the plugs

I thought the OEM was regular plats not laser plats, whats the difference and should i run out and buy laser plats ? (it would be a waste cause i just spent over $27 on these g-power plats)

 

While I strongly recommend a torque wrench in general, spark plugs have a crush washer that takes up a lot of the error. So when you tighten a *new* spark plug, tighten until you feel it start to change torque (the washer is now touching the block), than 1/4 turn to partway crush the washer.

If you take out the plugs and re-use them, note how crushed the washer is. If it's been flattened, then just use enough torque to make it good and snug, but you won't need to make that 1/4 turn.

Dave