holy cow,,, well she will be running better with new plugs

jimmyp19,,, go to o reilys or napa and get a brass cap

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...0413&ppt=C0334

 

Well I picked up the parts today. I got the cap and rotor at Carquest, because I had to return a U joint there anyways... The first set he gave me, sure enough, was the aluminum type. So I got him to swap for a brass type set, only a few bucks more anyways... (thanks a million for that tip, I never woulda noticed the difference)After the credit for the Ujoint, grand total for cap n rotor was a whopping $5.08! lol

They didn't have the V powers that cmckenna suggested, so I went to Canadian Tire for those. Of course they only had 6 of them in the whole store, so I had to go all the way across the city to get the other 2... (curse my dependance on this forum!)

So I'm headed out now to tackle this, anything special I should know about the cap and rotor R&R? Or just a simple swap? Thanks for the tips so far, you guys are irreplaceable


Oh and VW, I like your siggy

 

Cap and rotor should be a simple swap. There's a "1" printed on the cap where the #1 plug tower is. The firing order is printed in raised lettering on the top of the intake manifold. Make sure that you put the wires on in the correct order, or it'll run REALLY bad. I put a "flag" of masking tape on each end of the wires by both the plug boot and the cap boot and write the cylinder number on each flag to aid in reassembly. It helps a ton if you ever have to remove the wires for engine work.

If you don't mind spending a little more time, you can pick up a free 5hp or so by indexing the spark plugs.

What you want to do is make the open part of the spark plug gap face the intake manifold. It helps aid in flame propagation in the cylinder, as the spark is directly exposed to the intake valve and not blocked by the ground strap.

Due to the variances in the spark plug threads, each plug will stop at a different spot in the cylinder head and you may have to move them around a bit to see which one fits best in each cylinder. I wrap my plug socket in masking tape and make a big vertical black line with a sharpie on the tape. I put each plug in the socket with the open end of the gap lined up with that mark and turn them into the threads with just the plug in the socket and a 3" extension to spin it. Antiseize on the threads makes it very easy to spin them in by hand, so use it on the plug threads.

I watch the line on the outside of the socket and when it stops 2/3's of a turn shy of facing the intake manifold, I know that when I tighten it with the socket wrench, it will be indexed correctly and is a good fit for that cylinder. You can have about 20* or so of play to the right or left, so it doesn't have to be perfect, but get them as close as you can.

 

interesting ill have to do that next time, what do you gap plugs stock

 

QUICK QUESTION: Which one of these do you think is the correct length?? The new ones are clearly longer than the old ones, but these are what Canadian Tire's stupid parts lookup book called for for my year and motor... I don't know if maybe the old ones were shorter than they shoulda been, or if they are the proper length and the new ones are just the wrong ones...



Oh, and Aim, is that for real? I might try doing that... I would for sure unless I have to go back to exchange the plugs tonight, I'm about 45 mins away and I need the truck in the morning... ^&*^%*% crappy tire lol

 

interesting i dunno it is long though

 

well I just found this :http://dodgeram.info/Engine-Gas/Spar...park_plugs.htm

It says the Magnums take a plug with 3/4" reach and I just measured both these ones and the old one is 3/4" also..... so looks like another trip to town.... ugh

Unless anyone thinks these will work, but I'm not gonna try em myself

 

The correct plug reach is 750 mils / .750" / 3/4" If the plug reach is > that, it is NOT the correct reach length and will induce mechanical damage to more or lesser degree depending on how much greater the reach is over OEM specified length.*


Now, this is for a 96- 5.2 / 318. However, I believe that for both the 5.9 and 5.2, they both use the same heads / deck height which would mean that the spec is applied on both engine sizes. However, when in DOUBT- always refer to your owners manual or, to the Haynes manual. Never trust a computer at a retail chain auto store that has been input by a human being as a chance of error may occur.


CM

 

Indexing plugs is not a myth. You can google it if you'd like.

Too long a plug is not good, you could potentially run the piston into the plug end.

 

Well I looked up the vpowers on ngk's site, and they list the same damn plugs that I have here, part # wise anyways... They call for FR5-1, and that's the same # on the packages, right above Canadian Tire's own part number, 18-3676 ... I texted my wife's friend who was in there and she went over to CT to try to get the right ones... The guy at the counter looked it up and he got the same part number, and coincidentally, none in stock (because I was already there and bought em all).... So wtf should I get? I'm gonna have to take a run in and see what I can find.......