ColinW627

First of all, yes I have searched the forum about this. Anyways, I was looking for a little help with spark plug removal. I have everything ready to go, I was wondering what is the best procedure to remove them safely without breaking.

Also when I replace them I don't have a torque wrench available and I don't want to over tighten so what is the best way to handle this? The only torque wrench I found was gigantic and I didn't want to use a tool the size of the engine to replace these.

I am replacing with NGK Platinum's and Taylor Street Thunder Wires by the way.

Lifter583

You don't have to worry about any early GT plug breaking issues with the v6, different head design and plugs. As for torqueing, there are small torque wrenches, I would locate one. The one thing I did find on changing the v6 plugs, be careful not to cross thread them, seems easy to get them started in a cross threaded direction.

ColinW627

Awesome just what I wanted to hear. I may have to just order a small torque wrench on Amazon. Much better to be safe than sorry down the road.

Also, does anti-seize need to be applied to the spark plugs threading or is this just for easy removal down the road?

Bitter

I have been changing my own spark plugs for over 40 years. I have never once used a torque wrench. To me, it's like putting a torque wrench on your oil pan plug. Snug them up tight without pulling a muscle doing so and you'll be fine.

Do you need anti-seize? No. Is it a good idea? Yes.

157dB

Torque wrench for plugs?
What?

Torque is one of the most critical aspects of spark plug installation. Torque directly affects the spark plugs' ability to transfer heat out of the combustion chamber. A spark plug that is under-torqued will not be fully seated on the cylinder head, hence heat transfer will be slowed. This will tend to elevate combustion chamber temperatures to unsafe levels, and pre-ignition and detonation will usually follow. Serious engine damage is not far behind.

An over-torqued spark plug can suffer from severe stress to the Metal Shell which in turn can distort the spark plug's inner gas seals or even cause a hairline fracture to the spark plug's insulator...in either case, heat transfer can again be slowed and the above mentioned conditions can occur.

The spark plug holes must always be cleaned prior to installation, otherwise you may be torquing against dirt or debris and the spark plug may actually end up under-torqued, even though your torque wrench says otherwise. Of course, you should only install spark plugs in a cool engine, because metal expands when its hot and installation may prove difficult. Proper torque specs for both aluminum and cast iron cylinder heads are listed below.

Either way...

Using Anti-Seize on the plug threads will change the dry torquing specs...

flyhigh@mach1

If you have a Harbor Freight in your town, you can get a torque wrench for $10. Remove spark plugs when engine in cold. Spray WD-40 or similar product on spark plugs and wait an hour. SLOWLY remove plugs, and if any resistance is felt, reverse for a 1/2 to whole turn, and then remove slowly. Take your time and don't strip the aluminum heads. Hand tighten to start with and use anti-seize.

ColinW627

Unfortunately I don't have a harbor freight anywhere nearby. Also, I read some place online that using anti-seize would actually cause over torquing of the plugs. Is this correct or am I just worrying too much.

Thanks for the responses so far, I'm planning on doing this once it warms up a bit next week.

flyhigh@mach1

Different opinions on anti-seize. When spark plugs are used for 100,000 mi, they can start to "seize" in the head. If you change plugs every 40,000 mi then no worries and anti-seize probably not needed IMHO. I believe 13 ft/lb of torque is all that's needed on these plugs. Your owners manual has a metric torque setting for the V6 (built in Germany) so you need to convert it to ft/lbs for use w most torque wrenches. That is if you use one. If not, just snug/firm them up with not a lot of muscle at all!

Bitter

I'm not suggesting using a torque wrench is bad. If you use one, you can't go wrong. I'm just one of those people that doesn't use a torque wrench on things like spark plugs or lug nuts because I don't think it's necessary. Maybe I've just been lucky that I haven't had engine damage or plug failure. If you feel safer using one, by all means do so.

ColinW627

Got the plugs, wires, and screamin demon coil on today. Thanks guys for the tips!