spark plug gap

[snooper0069]

my 93 eplorer 4.0 states the gap should be 52-58 , has anyone experimented with the gap. i just cant seem to make the engine run smoothly . i just took out the double plat. plugs and experimented with new autolite reg. plugs , it doesnt run nearly as smooth .

i was just wondering about a good gap

 

[TarHeel085]

are you sure your runnin on all 6 cylinders?

 

[mrboyle]

Are you sure the gap isn't .42-.48? That has been the standard gap for Ford engines since they started fuel injecting them in '86. I usually will set the plugs on the lower side of the recomended gap (.42-.44) that way they will remain withing the recomended gap longer as they wear. Unless you accidently dropped one of the plugs and closed the gap to nothing, the gap will have little effect on how smooth the engine runs. You will not get anywhere by adjusting the gap, you need to look elsewhere for the source of the missfire.

 

[Alec]

I think some manuals say .44-.50, and some say .54-.58. Mine are at .48 for good spark and wear.

 

[mrboyle]

Ford must have opened the gap up after 96, but either way I still don't think the spark gap will cause the problems he decribes.

 

[DeagleDave]

may not be your gap at all....may be your coil pack has gone bad check into that

 

[gorilla]

If you are going to the parts store and telling them what you need, the gap on those plugs are usually pretty close.
If you want to check your coil pack turn on your Expl. and 1 by 1 pull off the plug wire at the coil pack and check for spark. The spark will jump if the wire is within an inch or 2. This way you can check to make sure all your terminals are working. Only do 1 wire at a time. If you try to take off 2 plug wires at the coil the engine will probably die. I actually used this technique to find the problem in my coil pack at one time. This method "might" not be reccommended but it works just fine and will not screw up your Explorer. Good Luck

 

[DeagleDave]

i have a 92 XLT and gapped mine at .50 runs a lot better now. could also be your wires, i put the jacobs wires on and it cleaned up some of the roughness.

 

[Rhett]

The manual on my truck says .054" gap, and thats a 1994 OHV. Probably, there are many different stated gaps, and really I seriously doubt that there is any significant running difference in the engine between a .050 gap and a .054 gap or a .059 gap. In fact, on my truck I have run .054" gap and .059" gap and it didn't change a thing.

On the documentation that comes with Jacobs spark plug wires, it says that you can "safely open the spark plug gap .005" over" and that by doing so you would get a little more kick. Jacobs claims that the increased conductivity of their wires compensates for the increase in gap. Like I said before, I've tried overgapping a little and did not notice a difference. Maybe if I radically overgapped, to .080, I would notice something. (like the engine dying, hehehe)