What size spark plug spanner please

I

Invasion1973

Registered User
Thought I had a spark Plug socket that would fit as usual I don’t what size do I need for twin cam 96 2007

Thank you
 
12–18 ft-lbs or 16.3–24.4 N·m

I use Nm so there is no chance of using ft-lbs when in-lbs is what I should be using.

Curiously when I changed the plugs on the 2 bikes here I used the mid point as I usually do and when I checked them after a ride they were slightly loose so I increased the torque and tried again. After a few rides the plugs were just a little loose. After a few more rides they stayed done up.

I can only assume 2 things; anti-seize does what it says it does and second after continually retightening I probably wore it all off and a bit of corrosion has made the plugs lock in place.
 
Andy from Sandy said:
12–18 ft-lbs or 16.3–24.4 N·m

I use Nm so there is no chance of using ft-lbs when in-lbs is what I should be using.

Curiously when I changed the plugs on the 2 bikes here I used the mid point as I usually do and when I checked them after a ride they were slightly loose so I increased the torque and tried again. After a few rides the plugs were just a little loose. After a few more rides they stayed done up.

I can only assume 2 things; anti-seize does what it says it does and second after continually retightening I probably wore it all off and a bit of corrosion has made the plugs lock in place.
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Thank you 👍🏻 I have fallen foul of that before. I now have a Digital torque wrench that I got for my 50th birthday that you can select, NM, ft-ilbs and inch lbs still I always check and the re check which I’m using.
I’ll probably go 15 ft-lbs and keep an eye on it
thanks again.
 
I normally clean the plug threads and use a smear of anti seize (nickel). Put it in very slowly by hand, stopping if I feel resistance. Go back a tad and try again, or take it out, inspect the threads and clean if necessary. Ideally, the plug should go all the way to it's seat and then hand tight. Might need a bit of help with the plug spanner using thumb and one or two fingers.

Finally, 1/8 to 1/4 turn to tighten, maybe a little more if it's old. Once it's hot it will tighten by itself. Check when it cools off.

As said above - I would not use a torque wrench. I let the old bones make the decision.

If you have an electronic manual, it's worth sending off to an online printer binding company for a hard copy. I got mine done for £30. Cheaper than Harley! There again, not everyone wants to spend £30!

Good luck with your work.
 
I used to do fasteners up way too tight. When they squeak undo a little!

On the Sportster for example the oil pressure switch is a tapered thread. Plenty of inexperienced folk have broken the engine casing following the old FSMs to not overtighten it. In newer manuals HD now put a value on it of 5 ft-lbs.

Do not overtighten is so vague and for me being heavy handed in the early days I too would have probably damaged the engine.

I have to use a torque wrench as I am only doing this stuff basically annually at service time.
 
Andy from Sandy said:
12–18 ft-lbs or 16.3–24.4 N·m

I use Nm so there is no chance of using ft-lbs when in-lbs is what I should be using.

Curiously when I changed the plugs on the 2 bikes here I used the mid point as I usually do and when I checked them after a ride they were slightly loose so I increased the torque and tried again. After a few rides the plugs were just a little loose. After a few more rides they stayed done up.

I can only assume 2 things; anti-seize does what it says it does and second after continually retightening I probably wore it all off and a bit of corrosion has made the plugs lock in place.
Click to expand...

14 Ft - lbs has been a fairly standard torque setting for 14mm thread plugs in Aluminium heads across the board, when I started out in work & motorcycling, changing plugs at the roadside was certainly more far more common than it is now and generally no torque wrench available. The 'old sweats' for a want of a better term would say 14 Ft -Lbs is around as tight as you can get the plug using a spark plug box spanner or ratchet holding it one handed on top of the plug, so that is not at the end of the ratchet or spanner arm.

In a time of boredom once we experimented and found this to be generally right, so one handed holding the ratchet on top above the plug will generally be around 14 Ft - Lbs... Unless you are perhaps a body builder!

The 'Old Sweats' also said with new plugs, tighten them up, back off then re-tighten as often the crush washer is flattened the torque drops off rather than fit, run and then re-tighten, both way work, but a pain on the latter if you need to remove the fuel tank to do it!

There is also a debate about using anti-seize on spark plugs, I've had plenty of issues on vehicles where it has not been used and the plugs seized up but no stripped or damaged threads through using it or loose plugs!

I use graphited oil 'Oil Dag' put very lightly on the main thread with a small brush, this also gets into the thread on the head and if it dries out leaves graphite, it may not be considered right, but works for me! ( I also use it on the exhaust studs too)
 
Oil Dag, now there's a thing from the past. The Post Office aka British Telecom used to use it on the old strowger switches. It was terrible stuff really.

When I joined as an apprentice they had just started a regime to clean every mechanical device of the stuff and switched to a cleaner oil.
 
El Hombre said:
I normally clean the plug threads and use a smear of anti seize (nickel). Put it in very slowly by hand, stopping if I feel resistance. Go back a tad and try again, or take it out, inspect the threads and clean if necessary. Ideally, the plug should go all the way to it's seat and then hand tight. Might need a bit of help with the plug spanner using thumb and one or two fingers.

Finally, 1/8 to 1/4 turn to tighten, maybe a little more if it's old. Once it's hot it will tighten by itself. Check when it cools off.

As said above - I would not use a torque wrench. I let the old bones make the decision.

If you have an electronic manual, it's worth sending off to an online printer binding company for a hard copy. I got mine done for £30. Cheaper than Harley! There again, not everyone wants to spend £30!

Good luck with your work.
Click to expand...
That’s a good idea how much is Harley manual ? I bet it is ridiculous!
I used torque wrench last night tightened up to 13 ft-lbs I wouldn’t want to take it up to the upper figure of 18. 😬
 
First up you need to know the accuracy of the torque wrench. Most are around +/- 4% so in theory you need to not go higher than the upper figure - 4% or lower than the lowest figure +4% to stay in range. So I just use the mid point of the stated range.
 
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