spark plug change experience

[amacman]

just adding info
the sealing washer on spark plugs does compress .
back in the days when plugs required frequent cleaning / sandblasting you could buy replacement sealing washers .

[switchman]

Originally Posted by FSETH

Thanks! 23 +/- 1.5lb/ft.

Where did you find this info?

I don't remember but its one of the e39 forums and barely remember i saved it, memory is so bad thats why i asked what pn for x5.

[c4racer]

Originally Posted by admranger

Doing it by feel is dangerous for armchair mechanics.

Buy a torque wrench and do it right if you don't have a lot of experience wrenching. A torque wrench costs way less than fixing a stripped spark plug hole.

Good point. I have been wrenching for almost 30 years and built many cars and engines. And changed more plugs in AL heads than you could imagine. Back in my hot rodding and drag racing days I used to change plugs once a month and did valve lash every couple months too. So I can very easily get ~20 by feel. But not everybody has that experience to draw from

[NJ04e53]

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[Jordo]

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa.... Pump your brakes! Did I hear someone say that a BMW motor could go 100,000 miles WITH NO OIL CHANGE?????

No way no how!!!

I was motorcycle mechanic for 12 years, I have seen enough and understand enough to know that is completely impossible!
I dated a chick years ago who bought a new 2001 vw golf. She NEVER CHANGED HER OIL, and it sounded
Like a hand full of bolts in the dryer at 20k AND it finally died at 33k. (lower rod bearing wore out so bad it finally broke off and the piston in the cyl with the dangling rod stopped the crank from turning the next time it came around)

Again, no way, no how.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by Jordo

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa.... Pump your brakes! Did I hear someone say that a BMW motor could go 100,000 miles WITH NO OIL CHANGE?????

No way no how!!!

No, you need to read the entire thread again.

One poster said that the 15,000 mile intervals are fine for normal use, and that there wouldn't be any detectable extra wear by 100,000 miles. He referenced examples demonstrating that.

Another poster said that 15,000 mile intervals are crazy, and are a BMW plan to sell more vehicles. He carried on to say that you could go 100,000 miles without changing the oil, and you should expect to find the engine totally bagged by that point.

You need to check the functioning of your sarcasm detector.

[Jordo]

Originally Posted by JCL

No, you need to read the entire thread again.

One poster said that the 15,000 mile intervals are fine for normal use, and that there wouldn't be any detectable extra wear by 100,000 miles. He referenced examples demonstrating that.

Another poster said that 15,000 mile intervals are crazy, and are a BMW plan to sell more vehicles. He carried on to say that you could go 100,000 miles without changing the oil, and you should expect to find the engine totally bagged by that point.

You need to check the functioning of your sarcasm detector.

O.... Well then. I guess your right. Well.... ( <----- that's all I got! lol)

[c4racer]

Originally Posted by Jordo

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa.... Pump your brakes! Did I hear someone say that a BMW motor could go 100,000 miles WITH NO OIL CHANGE?????

No way no how!!!

I was motorcycle mechanic for 12 years, I have seen enough and understand enough to know that is completely impossible!
I dated a chick years ago who bought a new 2001 vw golf. She NEVER CHANGED HER OIL, and it sounded
Like a hand full of bolts in the dryer at 20k AND it finally died at 33k. (lower rod bearing wore out so bad it finally broke off and the piston in the cyl with the dangling rod stopped the crank from turning the next time it came around)

Again, no way, no how.

That's funny - I know a woman who did the same thing. Her first new car, she was young and didn't know any better. And she never changed the oil. the motor failed at some point - probably had 20-25K miles on it. 4 banger mazda. She got lucky and the dealer replaced it under warrantee. I will make sure my daughters know better!! They already know how to manually bleed brakes pretty well as they have been helping me with that task since they could reach the pedals. They used to fight for who got to do it, and now that they are teenagers they fight for who "has" to do it.

[JCL]

Originally Posted by c4racer

I will make sure my daughters know better!! They already know how to manually bleed brakes pretty well as they have been helping me with that task since they could reach the pedals. They used to fight for who got to do it, now that they are teenagers they fight for who "has" to do it.

When our two girls (now 23 and 21) got their first vehicles at 16 and 17, a Toyota and a Honda, purchased with a good portion of their own money, I impressed on them the importance of maintenance. The deal was, they could go to a shop and pay for service, or they could assist me and I would do the services. They had to put on coveralls and help, though. Once they had helped do three semi-annual oil changes each, I carried on doing them myself for them. In that time, however, they learned their way around under the hood, and one of them did two front brakes job with me, pads and rotors. This built on another family rule that we would help them buy their first car, but it would have a manual transmission, and they would learn and take their driving tests on it. There were no objections, and they are both happy that they aren't stuck with automatics (which they refer to as boring). One of them told me about a Facebook group called Chicks that Drive Sticks. They are both better drivers because they appreciate car control (practicing skids in the snow), and can understand basic maintenance procedures.

I wanted to provide some balance to the 'girls that don't maintain cars' comments above, because I don't think it is strictly a female thing. I remember a near-new F350 that came into the shop, very noise engine. The oil had never been changed, and it had been operated in very dusty conditions offroad. Don't remember the mileage, but it was in the order of 20,000 km. We installed a new engine. The driver was 19, and male, not paying his own bills, and his dad wasn't very happy.

[NYCSterling]

this thread has evolved into women and how they maintain cars... lol.. joke... good thread.