New guy here.

Thanks to some good posts by members, I saved the money I would have spent at the dealership getting spark plugs replaced and used it on a torque wrench to tighten them down accurately to 22 ft/lbs on my own. Job only took a little over an hour.

The straight 5 on my '05 V70 (non-turbo) couldn't have been easier to access. I paid a little extra for genuine Volvo plugs so I wouldn't have to mess with ensuring the proper gap.

As an aside, I talked to two mechanics at Volvo here in San Diego, and they told me that they DON'T use dielectric nor anti-seize. Based on how fussy the old plugs came out (88K miles), I went ahead and applied a very light bit of anti-seize and they went in very nicely.

Prior to this plug change, a new air filter, and fuel injector cleaner treatment, I was averaging 20.1 mpg in mostly city driving (30mph and under). Curious to see if I get a hair better now.

All the best. Love the ability to crowd-source questions to folks with a lot of experience.

 

Welcome to the site and glad to hear you received some valuable information.

You may be another mpg or 2. Good that you got the oem plugs, they'll pay off. Keep up the good work.

 

I have never understood this why everyone wants to use VOLVO specific branded plugs, when in reality all they are are re-badged NGKs. Cost about $1.99 each. Always upt a dab on the threads, and a little dielectric grease in the boots, this keeps corrosion at bay.

oh and BTW, tight with a 3/8 wrench equates for most people to ~30 ft-lbs. No torque wrench is even needed.

 

NGK plugs are Japanese brand, whereas genuine Volvo plugs are made in the UK (there may be some exceptions). Not sure about the later models but this is the case with 850. The maintenance manual calls for some Champion plugs.

I would stick to either genuine Volvo or Bosch platinum/Iridium plugs, if it were for my Volvo. However, as long as your plugs are of name brand and made in reputable nations, it probably won't make a world of difference.

As a general rule, platinum/iridium tipped plugs do not need gapping (pre-gapped), but some say they can feel the difference. As far as I'm concerned, unless the package is hideously damaged, I wouldn't gap platinum/iridium tipped plugs.


JPN