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when to change plugs

pastorscott

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farmride Enthusiast

farmride

Posted
Posted

yeah 100,000 miles is a long time but if GM is calling for it then I guess they have the technology to have made such a great system. I'm no mechanic but maybe the newer engines have something to do with it. I would do a visual on them at 70,000 or 80 just to see what they looked like.

rbell219 Enthusiast

rbell219

Posted
Posted

Pull one out and check it..if you want to change then go for it. I did the ones on my suburban. they came out easy. Make sure the engine is completely cooled and use antisieze on the new plugs. They should be good for a lot longer than 19K though.

100R1 Enthusiast

100R1

Posted
Posted

Modern plugs with Platinum tips don't wear like the plugs of old.

 

Computer controlled EFI keeps the fuel mixture at the correct ratio plus higher energy ignition systems to prevent fuel fouling OR lean fuel conditions that cause plugs to errode.

 

Unless you have internal engine problems (burning oil, leaking head gaskets) plugs will last a VERY long time (80 - 100 K).

 

Things to watch for is a drop off in fuel milage and rough idle, then I would pull the plugs and check the condition and gap of them.

 

Cleaning modern plugs (blasting or filing) is a NO NO! by cleaning you remove some of the Platinum and shorten the life of the plugs.

 

Not like the old days. I had a 68 w/ a 327 and I had to change / clean plugs and reset the dwel angle of the points every 10,000 miles. Had to replace the points every 25 - 30K . It was easy back then to check the running conditions of your engine by pulling the plugs and checking the color of the tips for lean or rich conditions. Lead gas back then made the plugs look a whole lot different than plugs to with unleaded fuels.

 

I'll take todays modern engines, less work and better running.

2kwolfgang Enthusiast

2kwolfgang

Posted
Posted

Plugs should be fine, I had mine replaced around 105k when I had a tune up done at a local chevy dealer. My plug wires are still original, I wanted them replaced but the dealer inspected them and said it really didn't need it, he said he knows lots of people with full size GM trucks that manage to get over 150k out of the plug wires before they need changing.

Fyrcaptain Enthusiast

Fyrcaptain

Posted
Posted

I always over maintain. So at 50k I'll replace mine, not that big of an expense.

 

The auto and spark plug manufacturers pay the engineers a bunch of money to work stuff like this out, I am sure they know what they are doing, but it just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling when I am working on my truck..........oh heck.......I'll never see 100k anyway! LOL!!!

rbell219 Enthusiast

rbell219

Posted
Posted
I always over maintain. So at 50k I'll replace mine, not that big of an expense.

 

The auto and  spark plug manufacturers pay the engineers a bunch of money to work stuff like this out, I am sure they know what they are doing, but it just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling when I am working on my truck..........oh heck.......I'll never see 100k anyway! LOL!!!

 

 

 

 

I rarely see under 100K - hahaha. I like to buy em cheap and well maitained. My 00 burb has 98K and ticking fast. My 98 Sierra has 137K and runs better than new. These trucks will run forever if they are taken care of. Hell I've abused a few and still had long life. My sister's F150 on the other hand....well let's not start a Ford bashing session.

JAF1 Enthusiast

JAF1

Posted
Posted

Just changed mine at 50k. The looked fine and the gap was very close to where it should be on all plugs. I think one of the big reasons to at least pull them is to not have the plugs seize to the heads. So if you don't want to spend the money on new plugs, at least pull them and coat the threads with a little anti-seize.

hcvone Enthusiast

hcvone

Posted
Posted

My last 3 GM trucks I changed the plugs at 25k miles, and the gaps on all the trucks were at least .020" too wide, never ran bad, but it was much better after changing them.

97whitez71 Enthusiast

97whitez71

Posted
Posted

I did a tune-up at 100k by the book (plugs, wires, etc.). The truck ran just the same afterwards. That tells me that all the old stuff was still working fine.

67ChevyRedneck Enthusiast

67ChevyRedneck

Posted
Posted

My truck is 6 years old with 88K on it. I changed the plugs at 70K (they weren't bad at all) but the truck has developed a slight vibration at idol. I'm going to go with some new taylor wires and the usual tune up stuff. 6 years or 88K is a long time for any type of plug or wire to last, but they have!

DEV1ST8R Enthusiast

DEV1ST8R

Posted
Posted

I changed mine at about exactly 100k. They still worked great and actually appeared to be in pretty good condition.

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