PICS: 93k miles spark plug

[Klutch9]

These pictures are from one of the plugs in my Sedona. These are the original iridium-tipped NGK plugs. I took one out today to inspect, out of curiosity, since I'll be replacing them all around 100k, per the manual. This plug has a little carbon buildup on it, as you can see. The gap doesn't appear to be too large, either. I get a slight stumble at idle every once in awhile, FWIW. I was surprised how easily this plug came out. What do you all think?

 

[RedOakRanch]

Gap looks big, but good otherwise. My Dad changed his at 180k on his 5.3 Chevy and they looked only slightly worse.

 

[LeakySeals]

NGK laser iridium plugs have a special metal finish to prevent seizure. Why they don't recommend using anti-seize compound. The plugs look pretty avg for the miles your stumble is likely something else.
Clean the throttle body and MAF.
Check all your vacuum tubing from the MAF to the TB
Use a couple of bottles of Techron Concentrate Plus to clear out the fuel system and fuel injectors.
There are other things to try but I would have to understand your vehicle more

 

[LeakySeals]

You don't have one of those oiled air filters on there do you?

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
You don't have one of those oiled air filters on there do you?


Nope, just a Beck/Arnley regular filter with a filter minder gauge.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Ignition systems today are amazing. Plug looks good. I did my 4Runner's plugs at 100K. Can you imagine this happening back in the days of points and condensers?

 

[LeakySeals]

Ok in addition If you have a drive-by-wire throttle body then you likely don't have an idle air control valve anymore. Why throttle body cleaning is so important But you have a throttle position sensor somewhere possibly embedded into the throttle body. Those can cause intermittent idle issues.

 

[dblshock]

run TCW-3 640:1 til you pull them again.

 

[LeakySeals]

One more. I can't prove this other than butt dyno but my vehicles just seem to run smoother with fresh coolant. Maybe the temperature sensor can set idle more accurately. Not sure but it feels more stable when I do

 

[Kira]

The gap looks big to me too but I don't know your Sedona's spec.
I took the iridium plugs out of a GM 3800 @ 96K and they looked the same. They were over-spec by a third.
Due to $ restraints I installed basic plugs.
The improvement was marked.

I'd install new iridiums right away were I in your shoes. You'll benefit from better performance.
No need to "get your last 7,000 miles" out of them. Kira

 

[Thax]

Looks good , but the gap is wide on those plugs. Id throw new OEM plugs in and go another 100k.

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: Kira
The gap looks big to me too but I don't know your Sedona's spec.
I took the iridium plugs out of a GM 3800 @ 96K and they looked the same. They were over-spec by a third.
Due to $ restraints I installed basic plugs.
The improvement was marked.

I'd install new iridiums right away were I in your shoes. You'll benefit from better performance.
No need to "get your last 7,000 miles" out of them. Kira


I didn't measure this one, but the OEM spec is .044". I'll probably put the new ones in as soon as I get a free day, as the back 3 plugs will probably take the better part of an afternoon.

 

[ARB1977]

Originally Posted By: Klutch9
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
You don't have one of those oiled air filters on there do you?


Nope, just a Beck/Arnley regular filter with a filter minder gauge.

Is the filter minder gauge factory? When was the last time you changed your airfilter?

 

[buck91]

Those look great, no evidence of erosion of either the electrode or ground strap!

Are you able to carefully measure the gap? How far out of spec is it?

 

[Eddie]

I see little or no erosion on the group of the plug so I expect the gap is close to new. Ed

 

[Klutch9]

Originally Posted By: ARB1977
Originally Posted By: Klutch9
Originally Posted By: LeakySeals
You don't have one of those oiled air filters on there do you?


Nope, just a Beck/Arnley regular filter with a filter minder gauge.

Is the filter minder gauge factory? When was the last time you changed your airfilter?


It is not factory. Rather it was removed from my old '07 Focus, which had it from the factory. Filter is probably 13k miles old.

 

[Rylan]

I kept the factory NGK Ir plugs for about 90K miles before I replaced them. Looked similar to the one pictured.
I also noticed the plugs removed cleanly the first time out, back at 67K miles when I changed the timing belt (removed plugs to turn crank by hand). I'm glad I chose to clean them with a copper wire brush and hit them with some anti-seize (and dielectric grease), before reinstalling. They were much stingier the second time around, when replacing at 90K miles.

 

[Klutch9]

I replaced all the plugs yesterday, and they all looked like the one in the first post. All came out without a fuss. The gaps on all were .039" to .042", which is within factory spec. Pretty impressive! I gapped all the new plugs to .044" per the manufacturer. I also cleaned out the throttle body, MAF sensor, and intake plenum. It's amazing how oily the intake gets from the PCV system. All in all it wasn't a difficult job. The most time consuming portion is figuring out exactly what to unplug, unbolt, etc. And since everything screws into the aluminum intake (later years were plastic) nothing was seized, despite being in the rust belt