shervink24

I got all my spark plugs in. I accidentally torque them down let's say 50 lbs of torque. I got them tight but I didn't strip anything. The car is working fine. Is there a problem with having the plugs in too tight? 2003 rx300

shervink24

If anyone could help answer this question I would greatly appreciate it. I'm stressing myself the F out. It took a long time to get my back 3 in. I could do it again but it's not fun nor does it feel good on my body to be hunched over the car for 3 to 4 hours. Can I run the car for the next 120k with the plugs too tight?

I can show you how to do your back 3 plugs if you live in Southern California and are willing to drive to Dana Point. You don't need to take any manifold off.

​​​​​​​* please help with my original question. Thank you. The plugs are not stripped.

BDEBDE

If you truly tightened them to 50 ft-lbs I think they would be stripped. Since the car is running fine I would be hesitant to remove them at this point and just wait until the next change interval. The RX repair manual says that the spark plugs should be 13 ft-lbs for future reference. I know you can't get a torque wrench on the back 3 though so a good rule of thumb is a quarter turn right after first resistance.

shervink24

​​​​​​​Awesome. I'll just leave them in for the next 120k. I have a nerve problem in my spine so I lost 50% of my strength. Maybe that helped keep my arm from stripping them. Prob like 30 lbs of torque. Thanks for your response. I'll sleep well knowing this.

artbuc

Depends on what you plan to do with the car after 120k miles. If you think there is a reasonable chance you will want to keep it, I would remove plugs right now and properly install with a small dab of anti-seize. You may encounter some problems but it may be impossible to remove them at 120k with doing major engine damage.

BDEBDE

The only problem I see with taking them out and putting them back in is that they may not seat correctly since they have been over tightened. He may risk having to heli-coil the back 3....which I'm not even sure would be possible. The way they are now he can go the 120k miles and then deal with it. Chances are the transmission will blow before 240k miles anyways.

artbuc

Yeah, hope for the best - a blown tranny, lol.

hsmac

i think the question to ask is whether or not the plugs being in there too tight could cause some further damage or potentially strip/snap. with all the vibrations going on there, i think this would be a legitimate concern. but only he could know how tightly he truly torqued them.

artbuc

This is my point. Even with proper torque, plug threads gall after many years and miles. Substantial over torquing increases risk accordingly. If you plan to lose the car before the next plug change, forget about it. If you plan on keeping or passing on to a family member, fix it now.

shervink24

I turned the wrench handle until my arms couldn't turn them anymore. It never slipped like a thread breaking, or stripping, and I hand tightened them down before wrenching. Id say 30 lbs maybe. I used anti seize on all of the new spark plug threads prior to install. From the old spark plugs that I removed 1 was never wrenched down at all, and turned right off by hand, and another one was torqued down extremely tight, and I had to use a breaker bar. The other 4 were reasonably tight, and required a good amount a pressure to release. Overall performance feels like a new car, and my MPG is very sensitive to changes between city, and highway driving now. I am now getting the exact MPG the car is rated at 17 city, and 20ish Hwy. I have not floored it yet but gave it some gas here and there. Drove about 200 miles so far. The car has 174K miles, and feels new now. I also changed transmission fluid and filter (full machine flush), and drive axle fluids (its AWD). I'm thinking that if its around at 300K than its just going to be a pain to remove. The only change that I would describe as different is the way that the car vibrates at idle at a light, and how the vibration goes completely away during acceleration, and driving. The vibration was there before just not as defined, and clean sounding.

thomas1

The vibration could be nothing more than Cleaning the IACV valve, or the Flex pipe on the exhaust leaving the engine manifold.

shervink24

Yes I put a new PCV in. The old one has a bit of sludge in it though the BB still moved around.

hsmac

i'm no expert but 30-50 lbs torque seems like a lot to do by hand with what i'm assuming is a smaller wrench 3/8 or less (meaning maybe you overestimated the torque).

shervink24

yes I did not use an actual torque wrench but a standard socket wrench. I turned it till I could not turn the wrench with one hand anymore. There is very little space to work with so it's hard to get the momentum for a strong torque. Once my hand was tired of turning and it was stiff I stopped. I also have a nerve problem so I'm not as strong as I use to be. So my guess of 30 to 50 lbs could be much less.

hsmac

seems like the most prudent thing for you to do now is to test for the amount of torque you applied. take the same socket wrench and tighten something else (which you can easily test with an actual torque wrench later) to the same degree you tightened the plugs and then measure the torque.

actually last year i had accidentally tightened the drain pan bolts to 69 ft lbs instead of in lbs using a 3/8 or 1/4 torque wrench-- i think one bolt snapped before i even got there so maybe it is easier to reach that level of torque than i initially thought.