Ok....146,000 miles on the engine....i know i needs a tune up cause it hasnt had one in a while. I pulled the plug closet to the front on the drivers side (easiest to get to). The electrode was a rust color, but at the bottom of the electrode where the first thread begins...there was a slight layer of what looked to be carbon buildup but it just kinda flaked off. Does this sound like a normal looking plug. A tune ups gonna run me 150 depending on the parts i want. I just wanna know if im good to go for little longer.

 

Why will a tune up cost you 150? You can buy new spark plugs for less than ten bucks, just change them now.

 

well yeah for a basic tune up but im goin all out with it....nice splitfires $25....some moroso wires$50....new cap, rotor, quality ignition coil. All in all its gonna be actually more. Labor gonna run me like $60. But since im modding the engine last....i wanna make sure everything stays in good working order. But since its more than an actuall tune up...im buying everything at seperate times to cut down the "all at one time cost" thats why i want to know if it sounds like my plugs are ok so ill know if its gonna be alright till another few months so i can take my time....its not missing or anything.

 

To bad you aren't closer to Baton Rouge or in Baton Rouge . Id do all that for you for no charge . I LOVE working on a car . Put the sparkplugs , coil , cap and rotor on yourself , thats not hard to do man .

 

You may want to consider some other plug besides splitfires....they cost alot more than they are worth...

 

To be honest, at the end of the day a spark plug is a spark plug. As long as they're gapped properly and changed regularly then spark plugs are fine, whatever they are.

Something else to consider is your driving habits. You say that you found black deposits....have your last few journeys been short ones, like under 2 or 3 miles? If so, you will find deposits like that, as the engine always runs rich to begin with. You're best off checking the plugs after a long journey (after letting them cool of course!)

Si

 

well im only like two miles from work and because my clutch has been out for like 2 months untill monday when i got another installed, i just started it up every week or so. That could be why the slight carbon deposit..but it just kinda flaked off so im not that worried about it. Just curious as to what it was...thanks for the replies though.

 

Buy the stock AC Delco replacement plugs for your engine. Get a good cap/rotor from NAPA or a another parts store top quality cap and rotor, something with brass/copper, not aluminum. Don't buy the Accel Tan cap and rotor, they are junk IMHO (they eat the rotor for some reason). Spend the money saved on a good set of plug wires.
Other things to think about on that tune up are the airfilters (get a reusable brand like K&N, a little more costly but they last forever) and a new O2 sensor, it's probably never been changed. Budget for the O2 sensor socket, you'll need it with stock manifolds.
Buy a service manual or a Chiltons. Find a friend to help you. It's easy plus you'll save money and get the satisfaction of doing the job yourself.

 

I would recommend a set of Taylor Spiro Pro. They worked great, till my engine gave me other problems. They are a good street wire. Summit Racing part # TAY 73055(Black), other colors are available. They're uni., just size them and put on your cap ends.

 

Stay away from Splitfires man, I have never heard a good thing about them. I went with AC Delco Rapidfires @ .045 gap; fairly inexpensive and pregapped. I would recommend MSD parts after that. They not really all that expensive, and they're very simple to install. And like the other guys said, don't forget the other stuff like the PCV valve and O2 sensor.

Good luck, and have fun.