I work part time at a shop that specializes in building the 20R, 22R, 22RE series motor in addition to being a machine, welding and fab shop. We don't typically do mechanics but sometimes we do. Over the past 3 months I have worked on quite a few of these motors at the shop or under the shade of a tree. Two guys came into the shop with the motors "running rough." After TPS, timing, carb, and other minor adjustments these trucks STILL ran rough. The symptoms were a slight miss at idle, poor gas milage and sluggish. Usually I can figure these out pretty quick but I was at a loss. One of the machinists at the shop walked by me on his way to lunch and said, "do a compression check and I would check the spark plugs." This was after I had spent 2 hours on one truck. A compression check yielded 170 in every hole no valve or ring issue. I looked at the spark plugs and BOOM, the gap on one plug was pinched and touching. A sure for the symptoms this truck was having. I ordered a new set from napa. I opened each box and low and behold one of the 4 plugs was also PINCHED OVER! I can't remember ever looking at the gap on these plugs out of the box. I just take it for granted and I am too stupied to check if they are gapped correctly. That's why I pay extra for NKG I asked the owner of the truck when he came to pick it up how long this was going on and he said' "since his dad did a tune up on it about a month ago."
This scenario has happened to me 3 times. One of those was on my own truck right after a tune up.
Most on Yotatech would know better and check the gap BEFORE they install the plug I know better now.
Hopefully this little thread will help someone out there.

 

Hmm. I thought checking the gap was common sense.

 

some plugs come pregapped or can't be gapped due to the design. When work on cars all day everyday sometimes you miss the mundane details.

 

Don't worry I've done it before. Could not figure it out for hours. Let the truck sit overnight and had a chance to think about it. Next morning went and pulled the plugs and one had no gap. Put the gap guage on it and reinstalled, purred like a kitten.

It happens.

 

Hmmm. That's sticky material, right there.

 

^^ This ^^ I always check the gap on new plugs. I don`t care if they come already gapped, they get checked anyway before there installed.

 

platinum plugs are not suppsed to be gapped as it will crack the platinum...

is this correct?