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Topic: What do you guys gap your plugs at for 5.0? (Read 842 times) previous topic - next topic

What do you guys gap your plugs at for 5.0?

Just wondering because my car is still plagued with a rough idle.  I don't know from experience what an engine missing sounds like but if I had to describe what I'm hearing, missing sounds pretty good for it.  My plugs are all gapped at .050 and my ignition has a 50,000 volt coil...should I be having that sort of problem?
1983 Thunderbird-302 HO, Holley 650 CFM 4150 DP, Weiand Stealth Intake, Dual-Snorkel Air Cleaner,  Holley Fuel Pump, Procomp HEI Distributor, B&M Holeshot 2400 Converter, Custom 2 1/4 duals with no cats and BBK shorties, Taurus Fan Conversion, FMS Grill, much more to come....


"In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make" - Paris Hilton

 

What do you guys gap your plugs at for 5.0?

Reply #1
42-48 i believe... just pullin numbers off the top of my head..

What do you guys gap your plugs at for 5.0?

Reply #2
the sticker on your fan shroud says it all,, .050 is fine.

take a spray bottle of water out to your car at night, start er up then spray water over wiring and plug wires.  when you see sparks jump , investigate there.


get a can of carb cleaner and spray it along yoru vac lines and listen to the idle change.  when it does, investigate there for a broke or cracked line.


these just a couple of many checks,,,

in my DIY link,, check

tps voltage and adjust it
egr for carbon buildup preventing it from closing all the way or a ruptured diaphram
spark jumping with a spray bottle of water
vac lines for cracks using carb cleaner
compression test
fuel presure **********UNDER A STINKING driving LOAD******************  not just at idle

skim through and check other things like are there tiny metal shavings down in the pick up magnet deep in the dizzy?

all this wont take all that much time, might as well write down your findings in a journal or something.  helps you troubleshoot later on by comparing history data.


if you cant find any spark jumping or any damaged vac lines,, check out and compare each plug for its looks and burn.  If you have to ,, clean them with a wire wheel and install them for about a week.  remove them then compare to find and odd ball cylinder.  if you find something drastic looking like a completely black plug, do a compression test on all cylinders.
if the compression test is within 10 or so pounds of eachother, start looking closer at the fuel injector for that cylinder.  Perhaps you can but blame on it if you move the injector to a different cylinder and the problem follows due to the spark plug check you do once again.

a miss will be visible, and your motor will shake a little.  you cant get every siingle miss out of a car , some misses are deeper in your motor such as a valve not closing all the way cause of carbon build up ect.  there are ways to get that taken care of to without tearing down the motor but its usually hit or miss.

What do you guys gap your plugs at for 5.0?

Reply #3
Quote from: jcassity;125404
a miss will be visible, and your motor will shake a little.  you cant get every siingle miss out of a car , some misses are deeper in your motor such as a valve not closing all the way cause of carbon build up ect.  there are ways to get that taken care of to without tearing down the motor but its usually hit or miss.


Well what I hear and often is the engine idle seeming to drop sharply for a split second.  And it does tend to shake.

I just looked up the gap for an 88 Mustang...a car I think my Tbird is more similar to than stock, and it says .044.  I think I will gap them down somewhat if only to eliminate the possibility.

....oh and come to think about it I've sprayed water around at night before.  Nothing.
1983 Thunderbird-302 HO, Holley 650 CFM 4150 DP, Weiand Stealth Intake, Dual-Snorkel Air Cleaner,  Holley Fuel Pump, Procomp HEI Distributor, B&M Holeshot 2400 Converter, Custom 2 1/4 duals with no cats and BBK shorties, Taurus Fan Conversion, FMS Grill, much more to come....


"In the future, I plan on taking more of an active role in the decisions I make" - Paris Hilton

What do you guys gap your plugs at for 5.0?

Reply #4
.044-.045

and if you use the old water trick try salt water ;)
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What do you guys gap your plugs at for 5.0?

Reply #5
From everything I've seen, SO is supposed to be gapped at .044 and the HO is supposed to be gapped at .054...my HO is gapped at .054 with an MSD coil/wires and it runs great.
Project 3G: Grandpa Grocery Getter-'85 Crown Vic LTD 2-door, 351W with heavily ported/polished GT40 heads, heavily ported/polished Typhoon Power Plus upper & lower intake, Comp Cams 265DEH retarded 1*, FAST EZ-EFI, HD T5, 8.8" 3.73 trac lock with extra clutches, 3G alt. swap, '99 CVPI front brakes, '09 CVPI rear disc brakes, '00 CVPI booster&m/c + wilwood adj prop valve.

Parted & Gone-'88 T-bird Sport, 351W swap, ported GT40 heads