Which Plug for Epics?

[toyotafreak]

I'm out of town and will be driving hom tomorrow. Friday we leave for a week at Lake Havasu. Need to grab a set of spark plugs and hope that y'all can give me the gouge quick.

Can I get these at Kragens, Pep Boys, etc., or would a Toyota or Lexus dealer carry them? If so, what do I tell them they're off of?

I could wait until tomorrow night to pull them.

ALSO...do any of you know what to torque them too (like maybe those with an Epic engine manual)??


I've had some rough running (bouncy idle and varying RPMs while underway along with some real flat spots.) The plugs have like 180 hours on them, the fuel filter's only a month old (10 hours max), but they seem like the two easiest things to do. If the existing plugs turn out to be good, at least I'll have some (used) spares.

I've also got a little low-fequency vibration that I hadn't noticed before swapping props to the four-blade. I did lube the prop shaft and torqued the nut to 50 lbs, but did not buy and use the coarse lapping compound as directed. Where do you get lapping compound? Did notice the propshaft packing was dripping pretty good after running with the new prop (hardly dripped at all prior to the swap - probably an indicator of vibration.)

.....This is killing me: my wife went up to pick up the boat with the new bimini, and I won't be able to check it out until tomorrow ;-(

A teaser - boat width by ten feet in length without interfering with towing from the tower...enough shade, even for Havasu (it's been 124F there a few weekends this year.) I've spent far too much time designing this thing; hope it turned out awesome.

Thanks for the help!!!

[cyclone]

The right plugs as per the service manual are Denso sk20r11 or NGK IFR6a11, gap .043 in. or 1.1mm
Torque to 13 ft/lbs

http://www.sparkplugs.com/results_cross.asp?pid=sk20r11&x=51&y=10

These guys carry the Denso plugs for 9.35 ea. I will ask my mechanic tomorrow if he has a preference between the two brands in the manual. I don't think you will find these plugs at Pep Boys.

[cyclone]

I renamed this post, hopefully to catch as many peoples attention as possibe. There are quite a few plugs that will cross reference and will work. I'm sure that some are better than others. Here is a URL from Sparkplugs.com that lists plugs that are supposed to be compatible. I have been told to use only Iridium tipped plugs, they average about 11$ ea.
http://www.sparkplugs.com/results_cross.asp?pid=ifr6a11&x=30&y=4

GearHead, do you have a recommendation?

[cyclone]

My 'unnamed source" says that the Denso's are better than the NGKs, I think my problems are more related to crappy fuel. I have been using Citgo 93 from a new station that is very convenient, but I put half a tank of Chevron in tonight, I think it will help. I have 455 hours on my plugs, they are supposed to be good for 1k hours.

[toyotafreak]

Thanks Pete. I did get in touch with some plugs just before the trip, but did not have time to pick them up. I pulled one and read the number to a Lexus dealer and he had them in stock.

As it turns out, the boat's running pretty damn good. Still have a little bounce in the idle which I don't remember from the first few runs, but the power's definitely there again.

Thanks again for the help.

[cyclone]

friction in the throttle cable can cause the idle to be a bit erratic, not missing or anything but sometimes the boat idles at 1000 rpm instead of 700. I lubricate the cable a couple of times a year with some graphite cable lubricant that I bought at the local Harley dealer. It is in a small black bottle and has a needle to squirt it into the end of the cable.

[lesman01]

How important is it to actually use a torque wrench to get the 13 ft/lbs exact when changing plugs? Does everyone use one?

[cyclone]

No, just snug them up. You definitely don't want to snap one off in the head.

[toyotafreak]

I torque everything I care about including lug nuts.

Especially into really expensive aluminum.

I've also been using antisieze compound on a lot of stuff like spark plugs.

[cyclone]

With plugs, there is a crush washer that you can feel collapse as you tighten it down. I'll torque them if the wrench is handy but if not you can wing it. If you have a tendency to overtorque everything, by all means use a torque wrench.

[epic_toy]

Guys,

Believe it or not I was given spark plugs for Christmas. Apparently the NGK IFR6A11 is obsolete. I ended up with NGK IFR6T11, which is what they told my dad would work at the boat store. They are the Laser Iridium. Anyone know if this is the correct part number or used these? Looks like on the sparkplugs.com website it doesn't come up...

Also, it says not to adjust the gap on the plug box. Do you typically verify / adjust?

thanks!

[eagle1wi]

http://www.ngk.com/results_fitment.asp?pid=ifr6t11

Looks like you are good, scroll all the way down and you will see our application.

Toyota must love these particular plugs.  Good to know that they are in hundreds of thousands of vehicles besides our boats.

Can't give you advice on the gap, I have originals in mine still. 

 

[cyclone]

The Densos last longer, the part number is in this post somewhere. There are about 20 different plugs that will work, even cheapo Autolites. I use the good ones out of superstition more than anything else.

[breakawaydaze]

As much as I hate to admit, I put the Autolites in my last Epic, (an E21) They were dirt cheap and the boat ran great and I think it still does!  (Wreck, where are you?) I really could not feel a difference between the $$ ones and the $ plugs. Maybe Wreck will put Densos in it this season and report on the difference!

[Rambling Wreck]

Only two of the plugs are Autolites. I have been debating whether or not to replace all the plugs - not because of the Autolites but because there seems to be alternative theories here on replacing annually, going the distance (1000 hours) or just waiting for rough running. I can't imagine the boat running any smoother last season but I could fire it up this spring and it might run like a dead dog. I now have about 130-150 hours on the boat (memory is the second thing to go as we age). Any advice? - on the plugs, not the other!