I have a 96 Chevy 4x4 pickup with the 454 engine. The owners manual says you don't have to change plugs for 100,000 miles. I have 75,000 and am wondering if anybody has an opinion on letting it go to the 100k before changing.
Pull a plug and see what they look like. I haven't seen too many make it to
100k that still had "decent" plugs in them, most of em' look pretty worn by the time they hit 100k.Doc
Plugs like oil and grease, belts, hoses is cheap if you want top performance and dependability. I guess it depends on the plugs. Me Id rather put in new battery and plugs when its warm out than be in the cold doing it. I once had a car that wouldn't start because of the plugs. I put them in the oven to warm them and before I could get them back in I was froze and the damn plugs were freezing before I could get them back in. nuff said
I thought I would change mine at 100k but forgot and did not get a-round-to-it until it was spitting, sputtering and hard to start at 150k. In my 96 5.7 the gap s/b 60 and the plugs I pulled were 75 - 80 on all. In short if it is running weird or you have lost mileage pull a few plugs and check them out.
I got 2 mpg, easier starts and more power to push my new Bridgestone Revo's. :-)
Damn, even 100,000 miles seems like a long time to run on the same set of plugs. I change mine every couple years just because they are easy as hell to get to, and the plugs are only $1.49 each.
Tony
Mine had the factory platinum plugs that said 100k. Man and it was running like a pig. After a few days with the new plugs the original dist. cap cracked. After replacing that on lunch the dead miss was gone and I was popping wheelies again.
My '00 S10 Blazer, and girlfriends '00 Olds Alero both had the platinum "buttons" on the electrodes break off by 50K. Not all of them were gone, but at least 3 out of 6 plugs were missing one or both. That opened up the gap "pretty wide" on those plugs.
My '02 5.3 had them, but they were good until about 42K miles when the truck went away.
Haven't looked at my new 6.0.
-marc
Another reason to change them well before the manual says is rust. Guess what happens if the plug body rusts part way through and you try to remove it. Or the plug gap is so far shot it barely fires. Regardless of vehicle I change plugs at every 20,000 miles. Very cheap way to keep things correct. I also change the cap/rotor/wires if equipped.
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