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Mind the Gap Posted by Ari [Email] ![]() ![]() |
Yet another spark plug gap cautionary tale.
We all know by now that excessive spark plug gap can cause missing under boost. But how sensitive are the engines to the gap?
I took my '92 9000 2.3 NA out for a drive after it had been sitting a bit. At anything over 2000 rpm, the engine was cutting out about every 2-3 seconds. It felt like someone stabbing the brakes, and you could see the tach drop 500 rpm and recover. No problem with the tranny in neutral; the engine would rev just fine. It was under load that the engine felt like it only wanted to run 9 out of every 10 seconds.
Plug gap had crawled up to 0.042 (in). Dropped it back down to 0.0395, and she runs like a dream. Now, this is a normally aspirated engine, and low RPM (2000-3000). No boost, and not a particularly high-performance engine. The plugs were all of 6200 miles old, and I know they were gapped properly going in.
So for any problem other than a blown tail-light bulb, check the gap. And don't assume that the gap can't change quickly.
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