whats correct way to decrease gap in spark plug?

[Jim4010]

Hi yall,
Plenty of stuff on internet on how to increase gap of a plug using the plug gapper tool, but very little on decreasing the gap. Some say drop plug on ground, others say press the plug against a hard surface and I found one that said hit it with a hammer! I got some new Autolite 437 plugs that are .035 that need to go to .025. What are your ideas on doing that ? Oh, these are for a 1962 Deere 2010.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[Non-farmer]

Pressing the plug against a hard surface - e.g. an engine block - is my first choice.

 

[used red MN]

Right or wrong I have been thumping them against any metal part under the hood for years. When it only needs to be closed a wee-bit I give it a little tap with my trusty AC wedge gapper. I suppose a real guru would suggest a small brass hammer.

 

[Absent Minded Farmer]

Hi yall,
Plenty of stuff on internet on how to increase gap of a plug using the plug gapper tool, but very little on decreasing the gap. Some say drop plug on ground, others say press the plug against a hard surface and I found one that said hit it with a hammer! I got some new Autolite 437 plugs that are .035 that need to go to .025. What are your ideas on doing that ? Oh, these are for a 1962 Deere 2010.

Thanks,
Jim

Should just be a light tap on something metal. No need to get all excited. I usually use the frame rail on one of the tractors.

And.... anticipate that you will close it too far initially. Takes a bit of practice.

Mike

 

[SkipperII]

As suggested above, tap them on a hard surface.

 

[timcasbolt]

Many gap tools have a leg with two small notches included for tightening up a spark plug gap. You're supposed to use the tool to bend the ground strap closer to the electrode.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

I usually push down on them it takes some pressure with my hand on the top of the vise where it’s flat and usually clean. Carefully. It’s not ideal but it seems to work

I wouldn’t hit it with a hammer I’d find another way

 

[Steve in VA]

Did you really mean to say "increase"? Tapping will close the gap.

Hi yall,
Plenty of stuff on internet on how to increase gap of a plug using the plug gapper tool, but very little on decreasing the gap. Some say drop plug on ground, others say press the plug against a hard surface and I found one that said hit it with a hammer! I got some new Autolite 437 plugs that are .035 that need to go to .025. What are your ideas on doing that ? Oh, these are for a 1962 Deere 2010.

Thanks,
Jim

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

The fact that you're getting so many varied answers should tell you something: IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER!

Look at the environment a spark plug operates in. It's subjected to explosions hundreds of times a minute, while being shaken like a woodchuck caught in a dog's mouth, and hammering down the road/across a field... A little tap is not going to hurt it, however you decide to tap it.

Now, if you put the plug end down on an anvil, and swing on it with a 4lb sledge, you're going to break it. Remember though, you're only trying to move the electrode a few THOUSANDTHS of an inch. You're not trying to forge it into a flower.

 

[scootergmc]

Tap, tap, taparoo...

 

[Duner Wi]

Tap tap tap on the vise.

 

[Jim4010]

I tapped them lightly on the vise, and it doesn't take much. formally I was pressing them to the vise, that don't work so good.

 

[Farmall m farmer]

Who gaps there spark plugs as long as they don’t look bend I just run them