'95 Camry Four - Occasional Loud Clatter on Startup

Apr 19, 2009 23 Replies

Well, if the problem went away, then all should be fine. It's probably the old plugs misfiring is all. Couldn't explain the loose marble noise. Best wishes.

As far as plug socket goes, it's a 5/8". NGK said so. I posted the following February 21 2009:

Feb 21, 4:02 pm

My preferred spark plug for the Camry would be the NGK Iridium-IX, BKR6EIX-11 (or for a couple bucks more the Laser-Iridium with a platinum ground pad). If you want cheaper plugs, go with G-Power BKR6EGP but I wouldn't go cheaper than that. (For the 7A-FE 1.8L Corolla engine, consider BKR5EIX or BKR5EGP). Check

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for prices and shipping cost.

The fact that the second letter is K (for both plugs) means that it uses a 5/8" construction and you will need a 5/8" spark plug socket, such as:

$3.99 5/8" socket, 3/8" drive (this is what I use):

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or you can get a $9.99 set of 4 sizes:
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Read the spark plug code chart at:
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B =3D 14 mm threaded diameter*** K =3D 5/8" construction R =3D resistor 6 =3D heat range E =3D 1.5mm center electrode insulator IX =3D Iridium IX -11 =3D pre-gapped at the factory to 1.1mm (absolutely no re-gapping an Iridium)

You need to follow torque specification in the REPAIR MANUAL, not necessarily the generic instruction on the NGK site, which says 18-21 lb/ft. Why? Because these are dry values. The manuals tells you to dab

*a little* spark plug anti-seize (2-3 threads AWAY from the tip end) and torque to 13 lb/ft. Since anti-seize lowers torque required, so 13 lb/ft is what you use, not 18. Otherwise you over torque and may strip the threads in the cylinder head (read: $$$$$).

Generic spark plug > =A0 =A0 =A0I replaced the plugs today. I didn't see what I expected to se= e:

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I don't yet know that it went away, because it was intermittent to start with, but unless an enlarged gap (I'd guess about .050") can cause major misfires, I don't see how the plugs could have been at fault. There was a little oil in two of the plug wells, but it hadn't gotten into the cylinders.

Ok, the 4-cyl suffer from oil in plug wells. Some actually leak from the bottom of the tube, not top. There are the NGK G-Power platinums with a smaller center electrode if you want cheaper plugs. Otherwise I'd get the NGK Iridium-IX.

Misfir> =A0 =A0 =A0I don't yet know that it went away, because it was intermitten= t to

Yeah, me too. Maybe it won't happen again...

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