Spark plug gap tool
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 26,966
Likes: 50
From: Texas
Spark plug gap tool
Anyone have any recommendations for a decent one? My old wire loop one has the numbers worn off so you can hardly read what size the wire is anymore. I'm working on setting up my new shop and thought I might as well just buy some new ones.
I bought a Performance Tool one from Oreilly's that looks a lot like my old one, but the electrode tool on the end appears to be made of tin foil because there is no way you'll ever bend an electrode with it. I also got a shiny new disc shaped taper gap reader that was stamped Champion. Looks like it came out of one of those machines at the grocery store where you drop a nickel in, turn the crank and get a useless toy. Very cheaply made and it takes a big jump in thickness between .010 and .015 due to a manufacturing defect. It also has that kind of plastic chrome feel to it.
So any suggestions on where to get some decent tools? I would honestly have expected better quality from Harbor Freight.
I bought a Performance Tool one from Oreilly's that looks a lot like my old one, but the electrode tool on the end appears to be made of tin foil because there is no way you'll ever bend an electrode with it. I also got a shiny new disc shaped taper gap reader that was stamped Champion. Looks like it came out of one of those machines at the grocery store where you drop a nickel in, turn the crank and get a useless toy. Very cheaply made and it takes a big jump in thickness between .010 and .015 due to a manufacturing defect. It also has that kind of plastic chrome feel to it.
So any suggestions on where to get some decent tools? I would honestly have expected better quality from Harbor Freight.
Fleet Owner
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 21,253
Likes: 1,656
From: Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Snap On would be one of my first ideas where to shop/buy something of better quality. Because their on-line buying function sells to anyone and also includes free shipping its a great resource these days.
I tend to patronize a Snap On dealer I met through our common customers----call him with my order, he takes CC info and initiates the order. Few days later it shows up, paid nothing more than list price and the dealers gets the sales credit. That's almost a perfect transaction to me.
On reason these sorts of tools are harder to find is more modern spark plugs don't really allow for changing the gap too much. Supposedly they come gapped correctly but then again its never bad to double-check such things.
HTH
I tend to patronize a Snap On dealer I met through our common customers----call him with my order, he takes CC info and initiates the order. Few days later it shows up, paid nothing more than list price and the dealers gets the sales credit. That's almost a perfect transaction to me.
On reason these sorts of tools are harder to find is more modern spark plugs don't really allow for changing the gap too much. Supposedly they come gapped correctly but then again its never bad to double-check such things.
HTH
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 26,966
Likes: 50
From: Texas
I've seen ones in the past come gapped correctly, but for this set, they all needed adjustment.
Cargo Master
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,476
Likes: 224
From: Frequently frozen MN
Possibly this one is OK
Rotary 1707 SPARK PLUG GAP WIRE - GAUGE UPC: 034761017076
This place has been around for a while, and I might have gotten a few engine parts from them in the past ( been a while).
The comments about lawnmowers and the like got me thinking that there are a lot of 'old tech' small engines still out there, and they still do adjust plugs.
Just my .02
hj
Rotary 1707 SPARK PLUG GAP WIRE - GAUGE UPC: 034761017076
This place has been around for a while, and I might have gotten a few engine parts from them in the past ( been a while).
The comments about lawnmowers and the like got me thinking that there are a lot of 'old tech' small engines still out there, and they still do adjust plugs.
Just my .02
hj
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Post Fiend
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 26,966
Likes: 50
From: Texas
Made in the USA on that link. I do like that. The little fingers that stick out past the gap adjust slot look awfully small, but if the metal plate is thick enough, they should work. Unless anyone else has any better ideas, I'll order me one or two of these.
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