If you ever took care of your car, you know your way around spark plugs. You are familiar with their features, and how important they are for your car and its functions. For your everyday driver, spark plugs might seem non-important. But the truth is, without spark plugs your car wouldn’t work. They are vital for your vehicle.
Spark plugs will eventually suffer damage from wear and tear, like everything inside your car. The key is to replace them when the time is right and not let it be until you have a bigger problem in your hands.
Even though spark plugs are incredibly important, most people don’t know when they should be replaced.
Read the manual.
If you have any doubts, go straight to the source. Most spark plugs come with an owner’s manual. You will find the recommended service schedule on it. More often than not, they all have to be done after 30 thousand miles – but your mileage may vary, so you should check your owner’s manual just to be sure when to change your spark plugs.
What is it made of?
There are two types of spark plugs. You can have copper plugs and iridium plugs. The former tends to last for a shorter time than the latter. Iridium spark plugs are higher quality items and they are less susceptible to wear and tear, allowing them to last for longer periods of time.
Beware of high performance.
There are certain spark plugs designed for high-performance cars. They offer more “kick”, but this comes with a price – they have a shorter lifespan. If you own one of these units, you will have to check your spark plugs regularly, and probably change them more than your average spark plug needs to.
Watch how you drive.
People love to rev their engine and step on the gas pedal. The thing is, if you are doing so, you are also killing your spark plugs. The higher your RPMs will go, the more you will damage your spark plugs – if you love to do these things, you will have to replace your plugs a lot more times than usual.
Watch for leaks, too.
An oil leak can contaminate your spark plug and eventually ruin it. If you suffered from an oil leak, the best thing to do is to remove the spark plug out of your car’s engine and check its base. If you find oil in the spark plug’s base, it’s more likely than not that you will have to replace it.
When the idle goes rough.
If you are suffering from rough idle when you drive around, you probably have a bad spark plug. How can you know if this is happening to you? It’s simple: all you have to do is turn on your car. Normally, the car would be showing low, steady RPMs. If the gauge spikes the minute you turn on your car, you are probably going through rough idle. If that’s the case, check your spark plugs – you might have to change them.
This quick guide should help you identify your spark plugs’ problems. If you find yourself in one of these scenarios, you should replace your faulty units promptly. And if you ever face any sort of problem down the road – spark plug related or not – you should call a towing company you can trust.
At Leahy’s Towing, we proudly serve the Harrisburg area and can help you out in no time. We have experienced technicians that will fix your spark plug issues in no time. Here is a contact for our offices.