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Should I be concerned about the coloration of these spark plugs? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/mechanicadvice@lemmy.world
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Bought this car second hand, they apparently put iridium spark plugs in, but i want to know if I should be concerned with the buildup and rusty appearance it's developed. For all I know this spark plug could be from 10 years ago.

Do I need to replace the plugs, and is that actually rust? Does this mean I have an issue with my head gasket?

Edit: Thanks guys! I'll be ordering some new plugs soon.

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[–] 5 points 6 months ago (5 children)

I live by a code. It states: “whatever you have exposed while maintaining or repairing your vehicle, if you can afford to replace it, replace it”

For instance, I did pads and rotors on my truck at 65k. I’ve already got out a torque wrench and an impact. Why not do the wheel bearings too? I know they’ll shit the bed sometime in the next 20k and it’s like 5 more bolts and a couple hundred bucks to prevent a headache later on.

Plugs are cheap. I can’t even fathom removing a spark plug and not replacing it. It’s already out. Toss it.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    This is not good advice. I mean, it is if the bearings are guaranteed to fail. But it's like "I'm going to put new crank bearings because I drained the engine oil. It's only a few more bolts" disturbing the alignment of the tie rods and struts and ball joints. That will never go back together just right, probably end up cutting a rubber boot or two so in a month that ball joint is gona be trash too. Fuck might as well just turn a rotor and pad slap into a full front end rebuild. At that point. It's only 5 bolts.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago (1 child)

    Obviously some common sense is involved, life experience. Obviously I’m only swapping out parts that a lifetime of wrenching on my own vehicles has taught me to.

    And yes. At somewhere between 80-120k you WILL need new ball joints, tie rod ends, sway bar links, etc. and an alignment to finish it off.

    Do you maintain your vehicle? Or just run it to fail?

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