The debate: do you really need to torque spark plugs on a GA engine or just snug them?

I spent 10 years just snugging them by feel until a mechanic I trusted showed me a plug that had loosened mid-flight, but then my old mentor says he never uses a torque wrench and has never had an issue, so what do you all actually do in practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

davis.gavin27d ago

Did that loose plug actually cause any damage or just throw a code?

kelly.robin27d ago

Did that loose plug actually cause any damage?" Nah, it didn't hurt anything but it freaked me out since it was barely hanging on. That said I've been on both sides of this fence. My buddy swears by his torque wrench even on lawnmower engines, but my old man never even owned one and his old Celica ran fine for 200k miles. It's funny how the loose plug thing is like a car guy urban legend now, I've heard that same story from like 3 different mechanics over the years but nobody ever shows you the damaged threads or the blown engine from it. Honestly I think the real trick is just don't crank them like a gorilla and you're fine either way.