[rickerV00]

Hello Swedespeeders, looking for some advice after recent spark plug change on my 2016 V60CC T5 at 60k miles. I followed FCPeuro's and several other Youtube videos on changing plugs on my 5cyl. I have done this job before on my previous 13' S60 (same engine). 2 main concerns: 1. what can I learn from the old plugs? 2. Proper torque spec and how critical is it? I am very methodical but always question myself after completing a project..."did I do that exactly right?"

To my first question: The plugs came out rather easy but I did find a small amount of oil on the threads. Cyl 1 & 5 seemed to be the most abused, as you can see in the pictures a bit of white charring on the ground electrode and black at the bottom of the threads. Other than that ceramic looked near brand new. Is the small amount of oil on the threads a concern or any relation to the piston ring issue with these engines?

To my second question and greater concern: I followed each step of FCP's P3 tutorial to a T, except for arguably the most important? The torque spec, which they stated 22nm or 16.2 ft/lbs. I ran out and bought a harborfreight light duty torque wrench after reading good things about them. Although we all know their products are cheap and quality control probably not so good. I set the torque to 16 ft/lbs, hand tightened the first plug, put on the wrench and about a quarter turn got the reassuring "click". However cyl 2-5 did not, I believe I got a faulty torque wrench and feared over-tightening so I continued to use the wrench and was fairly cautious to only turn about a 1/4 turn from hand tight. Maybe there was some user error but either way I tried to be aware and cautious of how tight the plugs were going in, all of them between 1/4 and 1/2 turn from hand tight. How big is my margin of error here? Once everything was buttoned down car started right up, no codes, the only thing I noticed was initial higher than normal RPM revs on cold start and a slight whistle from under the head cover. The whistle went away as soon as the engine returned to normal idle around 500 rpm's. I did notice more immediate power in acceleration on the way home which I was lacking before the plug change.
Just looking for some reassurance here or if I should pull and re-torque the plugs properly when I do brakes in the next couple months. Hindsight, should've rented a proper torque wrench from my local autozone. Any input here appreciated and good day to all.

 

[Mo_The_Vo]

Oil on threads is from piston ring issue, do you have oil consumption? That looks like more than a small amount.

I've sheared a bolt using a faulty torque wrench, get a quality one, you already know.

 

[TiGrayMSM]

Oil on the threads could also be from a leaky valve cover. Plug replacement would have been a good time to do a compression check .

With regard to torqueing down the plugs, I would definitely make sure the torque is correct with a proper torque wrench. Just go through the plugs with the torque wrench and make sure they are at least at the factory spec. You do not want one of these to come loose.

 

[rickerV00]

Oil on threads is from piston ring issue, do you have oil consumption? That looks like more than a small amount.

I've sheared a bolt using a faulty torque wrench, get a quality one, you already know.

It does use a small amount of oil between changes but never to the point where I've had to add oil. Halfway down the dipstick by the time I'm due, if that. I'm monitoring it closely and doing oil changes every 5k miles. I purchased private from the original owner at 50k. Previous owner had a full service history which included Volvo oil changes from 0-50k every 8-10k miles, including an engine flush in there.

 

[rickerV00]

Oil on the threads could also be from a leaky valve cover. Plug replacement would have been a good time to do a compression check .

With regard to torqueing down the plugs, I would definitely make sure the torque is correct with a proper torque wrench. Just go through the plugs with the torque wrench and make sure they are at least at the factory spec. You do not want one of these to come loose.

I was more concerned with over torquing when I put them in. I'll likely rent a proper wrench and double check when I do brakes in the next few weeks for peace of mind. Unfortunately I don't have the equipment or knowledge of how to do a compression test 😞. I'd assume when I go back in there I should loosen the plugs first and then torque to spec?

 

[vista88]

You will be fine on the spark plug torque.
That's exactly how I've done them the past 40+ years, finger tight then 1/4 to 3/8 turn more.
What you are doing is crushing the single use sealing ring/gasket. You don't want to loosen and retighten because that might compromise the seal.
You also don't want to waste any time going over them again with a torque wrench set to 16 lb ft as due to 'break away torque' that will not be accurate anyway.
AFA oil on the threads don't believe there is much to worry about there either.

 

[rickerV00]

It does use a small amount of oil between changes but never to the point where I've had to add oil. Halfway down the dipstick by the time I'm due, if that. I'm monitoring it closely and doing oil changes every 5k miles. I purchased private from the original owner at 50k. Previous owner had a full service history which included Volvo oil changes from 0-50k every 8-10k miles, including an engine flush in there.

@TiGrayMSM - In regards to the valve cover - I did notice an oil spot in the center of the valve cover I should've mentioned and pictured. It was right at the seal about 2-3" wide.

 

[rickerV00]

You will be fine on the spark plug torque.
That's exactly how I've done them the past 40+ years, finger tight then 1/4 to 3/8 turn more.
What you are doing is crushing the single use sealing ring/gasket. You don't want to loosen and retighten because that might compromise the seal.
You also don't want to waste any time going over them again with a torque wrench set to 16 lb ft as due to 'break away torque' that will not be accurate anyway.
AFA oil on the threads don't believe there is much to worry about there either.

Thanks for the input. Same procedure as last time I did plugs on my S60 and never had issues.

 

[TiGrayMSM]

I agree with vista88, would definitely not loosen the plugs to re-tighten. I figured you were worried about them not being tight enough . And yes, leaky valve cover could for sure cause wet threads like that so probably no big deal. If the insulator/electrode were wet, I would be concerned.

 

[rickerV00]

I agree with vista88, would definitely not loosen the plugs to re-tighten. I figured you were worried about them not being tight enough . And yes, leaky valve cover could for sure cause wet threads like that so probably no big deal. If the insulator/electrode were wet, I would be concerned.

Yea I just found an older post mentioning the same thing I encountered. Everything below threads was completely dry, just the bottom half of threads had oil and not enough to drip as I pulled them. How concerning would be the valve cover gasket if that's the culprit? The spot was smaller than a credit card and slightly right of center if I remember. It didn't appear to be "actively" leaking as it looked fairly dry but stained.

 

[TiGrayMSM]

Yea I just found an older post mentioning the same thing I encountered. Everything below threads was completely dry, just the bottom half of threads had oil and not enough to drip as I pulled them. How concerning would be the valve cover gasket if that's the culprit? The spot was smaller than a credit card and slightly right of center if I remember. It didn't appear to be "actively" leaking as it looked fairly dry but stained.

Personally, I would just monitor to make sure it is not getting worse. I have always waited to replace these seeping gaskets and did them when it was time to change the timing belt. Though on my Mazdas, I needed to pull the valve cover to do the belt swap ... not sure how it is on the T5.

 

[Mr.phil2u]

A Harbor Freight torque wrench might be as accurate as any other. To check you need to have a torque wrench calibrated , which few do unless doing some critical work. Also 16 foot pounds is probably a dry recommendation, if anti sieze grease is used the torque specification needs to be lowered 25%-30% so around 12 foot pounds. Most professionals fully seat the plug and give it a bump.

 

[AM Reed]

Those plugs look pretty normal to me. I did mine at 71k, 2014 T5:

I wouldn't worry too much about the plugs. They need to be tight enough to seal properly, but not so tight you can't get them out! Your oil use sounds normal. All T5s use some oil between changes.
Whistle under the hood: I just had to replace my PCV breather box and oil filter housing at 76k miles. The main symptoms being a high pitched whistle at idle and a CEL once it got really bad. The PCV diaphragm failed and I elected to replace the whole unit. It felt like I was disassembling half the car, but it wasn't too bad of a job overall.

 

[Mo_The_Vo]

Yea I just found an older post mentioning the same thing I encountered. Everything below threads was completely dry, just the bottom half of threads had oil and not enough to drip as I pulled them. How concerning would be the valve cover gasket if that's the culprit? The spot was smaller than a credit card and slightly right of center if I remember. It didn't appear to be "actively" leaking as it looked fairly dry but stained.

Those look very similar to my plugs and the oil control rings were fully clogged when I opened the engine for a rebuild. I don't think it is the valve cover, at 140k there was no oil leaking between mine. I've personally never heard of valve cover leaks on the 2.5L, but I'm sure it can happen. This is my personal opinion based on my experience with my 2013 2.5L which started consuming bad at ~140k.

They changed the design of the rings very slightly and the technical journal has you use rings from the C30 2.5L which have a very slightly wider channel in the oil control ring. It's hard to see the difference because the old rings are so clogged and I never took pictures after I cleaned them, whoops.

Another article that can be found in VIDA is Remedial actions for engines with dirty oil systems, B5254T12, which I'll also attach, and you can come to your own conclusions. My suggestion would be to use a 0w30 oil if you're not already, FCPEuro sells a Liqui Moly specifically for this. You're already doing everything you can, 5k or sooner oil changes, checking often to make sure it's not too low. That last one is very important. It is possible to run for a very long time with oil consumption as long as you don't lose oil pressure.

 

[Wayne T5]

Spark plugs look fine to me. I wouldn't be worried about a little oil.

Regarding the torque wrench, don't rely on the cheapo one at HF, spend $100 and get the decent one there. I learned that lesson.

 

[rickerV00]

A Harbor Freight torque wrench might be as accurate as any other. To check you need to have a torque wrench calibrated , which few do unless doing some critical work. Also 16 foot pounds is probably a dry recommendation, if anti sieze grease is used the torque specification needs to be lowered 25%-30% so around 12 foot pounds. Most professionals fully seat the plug and give it a bump.

Good to know, I did not use anti-seize since the Volvo OE plugs don't require them. I think the wrench I pulled off the shelf was a dud. I read plenty of good reviews that they're just as accurate as any $100 + name brand wrench. I tried testing it at 5lbs torque on another bolt and got no "click" at any point.

 

[rickerV00]

Those look very similar to my plugs and the oil control rings were fully clogged when I opened the engine for a rebuild. I don't think it is the valve cover, at 140k there was no oil leaking between mine. I've personally never heard of valve cover leaks on the 2.5L, but I'm sure it can happen. This is my personal opinion based on my experience with my 2013 2.5L which started consuming bad at ~140k.

They changed the design of the rings very slightly and the technical journal has you use rings from the C30 2.5L which have a very slightly wider channel in the oil control ring. It's hard to see the difference because the old rings are so clogged and I never took pictures after I cleaned them, whoops.

Another article that can be found in VIDA is Remedial actions for engines with dirty oil systems, B5254T12, which I'll also attach, and you can come to your own conclusions. My suggestion would be to use a 0w30 oil if you're not already, FCPEuro sells a Liqui Moly specifically for this. You're already doing everything you can, 5k or sooner oil changes, checking often to make sure it's not too low. That last one is very important. It is possible to run for a very long time with oil consumption as long as you don't lose oil pressure.

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At least you made it to 140k! My biggest concern was the oil on the threads. I haven't heard of anyone else using 0w30 oil in these but if I start noticing more consumption than "normal" might be worth a shot to switch up the oil weight.

 

[rickerV00]

Spark plugs look fine to me. I wouldn't be worried about a little oil.

Regarding the torque wrench, don't rely on the cheapo one at HF, spend $100 and get the decent one there. I learned that lesson.

HB lifetime warranty, maybe there's a reason for that! I returned it immediately, should've borrowed one from a friend or rented in hindsight.

 

[AM Reed]

I've got a Harbor Freight Pittsburgh 3/8 drive torque wrench that works great. I've checked it against a few others, and it seems fairly accurate

 

[Wayne T5]

It's a crap shoot - some of them work great but IMHO you can do a lot more damage by saving $70 or $80, lol.