i checked the master list and it says 5/8" for the spark plugs but my dad has this one that came with a tool kit, haven't looked at it for a couple days but i believe it says 13/16 (21mm) on it and its got rubber inside of it. are these like a one size fits all type thing or what would that one be for? planning on taking couple plugs out and checkin them over. carb/tb cleaner okay to clean the tips of them with? (do you just clean the tips or the whole thing?, plan on getting new ones so if these are not bad i'm just going to give them a quick cleaning now then replace later).

 

Some aren't 5/8 but most are. Yours should be. The rubber inside is nice because the plugs sticks to it when you pull t out and suck, also makes it harder to break it. You don't have to use one with rubber, but if you have one they're nice.

Those cleaners on it should be fine IMO, also you can take some sandpaper and run it on it gently to get the surface junk off.

 

is it required that you use a torque wrench when putting the plugs back in? if not, about how tight do you do it? torque wrenches aren't that cheap are they? do they come as only one size or do they have other sockets?

 

Torque the plugs down to 25 to 30 ft lbs. Torque wrenches cost anything to from about $25 to several hundred dollars and come in all sizes from 1/4" to 1" and probably more. While a nice torque wrench would be nice to put the plugs back in, in my opinion it wouldn't be worth the hassle. I suggest using the guestimate method and just use a normal socket wrench, grabbing it about a foot down the handle and pulling with about 30 lbs of pressure. Spark plugs are rather forgiving to a point, as long as you don't try to tighten them like a lug nut on wheel, you should be fine.

A recommendation I have would be to put a little anti-seize on the threads of the spark plugs before you re-install them, to help prevent the threads from corroding from rust and such. Makes taking out the plugs a year or so later, so much easier.

This is just another opinion, but if you are going to take out the plugs to inspect and clean them, why not just replace them anyway? Decent plugs for the truck will only run $20 or so, and having new plugs will save you the hassle and time of trying to clean and gap the old ones. This way you only have your plugs out once and there is less opportunity for some of the dirt and junk that collects around the plugs falling into the cylinder, and you don't have to touch them again for a few years.

If you still want to use the old ones, use the sandpaper like Socha_62 said, and lightly sand down the tips of the electrodes where the spark jumps between them, then check the gap afterwards.