How often to check/change spark plugs-gctid373156

[Guest]

How often to you all check or change your plugs? I always figured I should check them annually to diagnose any unforeseen problems (i.e., head gasket leak, fouled plugs, etc). I always just stick in brand new plugs rather than reusing the 1 year old plugs. Is this a waste of money, or is this a good idea?

[Guest]

Bump

Haven't changed mine since 2008, boat still files at the turn of the key.

[Guest]

I'm in the salt if it makes a difference... and sometimes 30+ miles offshore (so I tend to be a little overkill on maintenance).

[BLCarl]

Sparkplugs are a cheep diagnostic tool . A little assurance of you know what's not wrong with the engine after changing them.

Electronic ignition,unleaded fuel and good oil control has made changing plugs less important than it used to be. I'm sure most of the plugs thrown away are usable. Mine are so hard to get to that I leave them for a few seasons without a problem. I also have an hour meter and log the repairs I make. I'm surprised how few hours a season the engine actually runs, especially with a 2K generator to keep the batteries up. One exception may be if you do a lot of trolling with the main engine. It may take a little more out of the plug life but usually a long run back to the dock at normal engine speeds cleans them up well enough.

[Guest]

I'm in salt water so for the sake of $20 (and mine are easy to get to) I will change them every 12-18 months in case the corrode in - and that could be expensive !

[tonyiiiafl]

I am a saltwater boater. I pull plugs each fall beofre layup. I regap if needed, apply never seize and reinstall. I got 5 seasons out of the last set. Just replaced with a new set. I keep a spare set on board.

Also, at this time, I back off a manifold bolt (exhaust) and re tighten. I do this to all of them and have never had a stuck or frozen manifold bolt.

[2850Bounty]

BLCarl wrote:
Sparkplugs are a cheep diagnostic tool . A little assurance of you know what's not wrong with the engine after changing them.

Electronic ignition, unleaded fuel and good oil control has made changing plugs less important than it used to be. I'm sure most of the plugs thrown away are usable. Mine are so hard to get to that I leave them for a few seasons without a problem. I also have an hour meter and log the repairs I make. I'm surprised how few hours a season the engine actually runs, especially with a 2K generator to keep the batteries up. One exception may be if you do a lot of trolling with the main engine. It may take a little more out of the plug life but usually a long run back to the dock at normal engine speeds cleans them up well enough.

I agree.

Carbon build up, degeneration of the electrode and electrode cover, and the color reading, will give you what you need to look at.

Many are still good, but may appear to be a tad bit discolored, yet function just fine.

Set your gap to accommodate your type of igntion system.

Standard igntion system.... (electronic or not), the lower high voltage output dictates a standard gap... say .032/.035".

HEI systems offer a higher output voltage, so a larger gap can be used.

tonyiiiafl wrote:
I regap if needed, apply never seize and reinstall. I got 5 seasons out of the last set. Just replaced with a new set. I keep a spare set on board.

What Tony is using (I believe) is the automotive version Anti-Sieze/Never-Seez product. Good stuff, and this is an area where it works well, IMO.

.

[Go Aweigh2452]

In a salt water environment, 4-5 seasons is fine for plugs unless you are having issues with stalling etc and then the culprit will probably be a corroded distributor cap and rotor. Those should be replaced every two seasons or possibly three but no more than that... in salt water... And it is a relatively simple procedure to check on (unless its on a 6.2 with all the frekin electronics that are in the way)...

[tonyiiiafl]

Rick,

[COLOR]"#FF0000" wrote:
My VP 260 AQ manual says to use a .026 gap, which I did. is this a proper gap for a Petronix Distributor? Or should I be using the .032 or so as you stated????[/COLOR]

2850Bounty wrote:
I agree.

Carbon build up, degeneration of the electrode and electrode cover, and the color reading, will give you what you need to look at.

Many are still good, but may appear to be a tad bit discolored, yet function just fine.

Set your gap to accommodate your type of igntion system.

Standard igntion system.... (electronic or not), the lower high voltage output dictates a standard gap... say .032/.035".

HEI systems offer a higher output voltage, so a larger gap can be used.

What Tony is using (I believe) is the automotive version Anti-Sieze/Never-Seez product. Good stuff, and this is an area where it works well, IMO.

.