{"id":3015,"date":"2016-05-18T12:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-05-18T17:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/blog\/?p=3015"},"modified":"2024-01-25T16:34:31","modified_gmt":"2024-01-25T22:34:31","slug":"how-to-gap-spark-plugs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/blog\/how-to-gap-spark-plugs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Gap Spark Plugs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Many DIY auto repair mechanics aren&#8217;t aware that there is any such thing as gapping a spark plug. Some know about it, but don&#8217;t know how to gap spark plugs. Some think it doesn&#8217;t matter. At any rate, most people just assume that you buy the plug, put it in, and you&#8217;re good. In some cases, this will work. The engine will fire and run just fine.\u00a0However, your engine is designed to work most efficiently when the spark plugs are gapped to the width specified\u00a0in your owner&#8217;s manual.<\/p>\n<h2>How to Gap Spark Plugs<\/h2>\n<h4>Step 1. Check your owner&#8217;s manual to find out what gap you need.<\/h4>\n<h4>Step 2. Measure the gap of your <a title=\"Spark Plugs at Blain's Farm &amp; Fleet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/s\/?keyword=spark%20plugs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">new spark plugs<\/a>.<\/h4>\n<p>On the threaded end of the spark plug, you&#8217;ll see a point with a curved metal strip over it. The gap is the space between the point and the strip. The strip is called the ground electrode\u00a0and the tip is called the center electrode. To measure the gap, you&#8217;ll need a <a title=\"Spark Plug Gauges at Blain's Farm &amp; Fleet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/s\/?keyword=spark+plug+gauge\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spark plug gapping tool<\/a> or a <a title=\"Feeler Gauges at Blain's Farm &amp; Fleet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/s\/?keyword=feeler+gauge#keyword=feeler%20gauge&amp;price_current=2,7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">feeler gauge<\/a> and some <a title=\"Pliers at Blain's Farm &amp; Fleet\" href=\"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/s\/?keyword=pliers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pliers<\/a>. You can use the gapping tool to both measure and adjust the gap on a plug. The feeler gauge can measure more accurately, but you&#8217;ll have to use the pliers to adjust the gap. Check out our blog to learn more about\u00a0<a title=\"Feeler Gauge vs. Spark Plug Gauge - Blain's Farm &amp; Fleet Blog\" href=\"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/blog\/feeler-gauge-vs-spark-plug-gauge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spark plug gapping tools vs. feeler gauges<\/a>. If your\u00a0measurement matches what your owner&#8217;s manual recommends, you&#8217;re done. If it doesn&#8217;t, move on to step 2.<\/p>\n<h4>Step 3. Use the spark plug gapping tool or the pliers to bend the curved ground electrode.<\/h4>\n<p>If your measurement was smaller than the number in your owner&#8217;s manual, bend the ground electrode\u00a0away from the plug to make the gap larger. If your measurement was bigger, push the ground electrode closer to the center electrode. Measure after every bend and stop when your measurement matches the number in your owner&#8217;s manual.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not all engines require the same spark plug gap. Do you know what gap you need? Here are 3 ways to find out how to gap spark plugs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":3027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[1464,1466],"content_type":[1371,1373],"class_list":["post-3015","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-automotive","tag-maintenance-repair","tag-auto-parts-tools","content_type-how-to","content_type-article"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How to Gap Spark Plugs | Blain&#039;s Farm &amp; Fleet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Not all engines require the same spark plug gap. Do you know what gap you need? Here are 3 ways to find out how to gap spark plugs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.farmandfleet.com\/blog\/how-to-gap-spark-plugs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to Gap Spark Plugs | Blain&#039;s Farm &amp; Fleet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Not all engines require the same spark plug gap. Do you know what gap you need? 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