Hi,

I am the original owner of an 08 fit with 140k on it. At 70k it was stuttering, I changed plugs and then found it was likely the spark plugs coil pack, a bit surprised it died so soon. Since I changed out from advanced brand, to ebay stuff, to even cheaper ebay stuff, then getting the OEM grade Hitachi Coil from Rock auto.

Now a little over a year and 24k later stuttering, #2 piston had misfires. Took it out and looked like the picture below, the blue one is new. My #1 & #3 piston are clean like new but #2 & #4 are pretty dirty and almost fowled looking. Does anyone know what could be causing this?

Also has anyone else experienced alot of busted studs on their wheels. I have had to replce almost 6 studs with the rotations and brake jobs I have had done.

Kinda shocked at the quality of ignition and studs on the fit. Otherwise a decent little car.

Thanks,

Jeremy

 

silentj327: Because the used coil pack looks burned, I would say that the spark plug is loose. Does the coil pack smell like gasoline?

Personally the coil packs were always good. It was a loose spark plug that tripped the Check Engine Light indicating a misfire on #2 & #3. You can see how mine were sooty & smelly.

I reinstalled the spark plugs using some of the "blue" threadlocker paste from Permatex and used the original coil packs and hadn't had a problem in last 40,000 miles.

 

That's because you stretched the studs. I'm guessing you over tightened them and they snapped off when trying to loosen them the next time you took the wheel off? Do you have a torque wrench and did you follow the recommended torque. If I remember correctly, it's pretty low compared to other cars I own.

 

Thanks for the Coil advice spike 55! Yeah they do all smell like gas. That makes a lot of sense. The plugs never seemed like a smooth and secure fit when tightening, no pun intended. I just put loc-tite on the plugs, so time will tell. Took off my new coil and put the old coil on, it does seem that it might have gotten damaged to where it may not function it's best. But I'm more optimistic that the problem is finally resolved thanks for your help.

Rob H, I've only taken it to Mr. Tire for tires and rotation, only a few times that i needed to take the wheel off myself. Like most alloys I've tightened the nuts after a few paces around the block. I also think that they are fatigued because after re-tightening they came loose some times on drives. I understand light low torque lugs on race and other vehicles and i know the fit is small, but should be idiot proof and a t-bar should work for all general use cars. O-well, I was just wondering if people have had similar issues. thanks for the feedback.

 

Only when people ignore the published torque specs

 

Not Familiar with Mr. Tire, but if they broke the studs they should be the ones replacing them at no cost to you. If they overtightened and the studs broke when you removed them, then maybe you should find someone else to rotate and buy tires from.

As an FYI:

Generally you should re-torque after about 20 miles or so of driving. Around the block probably isn't sufficient?

If you've had a lot of the studs break, and are really concerned that the other studs are stretched, you should seriously consider having them replaced or depending on how many miles are on your car have the hubs replaced since they usually come with new studs.

You don't want this to happen:





It's not the lug nuts, the diameter of the wheel stud and threads per inch determine the torque.

12X1.5mm studs are pretty much the norm now of days. Cars like Nissan and Subaru use 12X1.25mm studs which are stronger. Near as I can tell, the typical Fit owner and their obsession with fuel economy drives the use of lighter parts. I use to work for Chrysler as a supervisor. We had many revisions of body panels, floor pans and other parts of the cars that would be transparent to even the most experienced mechanic all designed at saving weight. Engineers told me for every 100# of weight savings was good for an increase of 1 MPG in fuel economy.

No, your T bar lug wrench isn't acceptable for tightening lugs down. Do yourself a favor and go buy a cheap torque wrench from Harbor Freight. Depending on sales, they run anywhere from $10-20 and add another 3 for a deep well socket. I have one, plus a breaker bar in all three of my vehicles.

Trust me, if you have to pay someone to replace your wheel studs or hubs on all four corners you'll wish you had spent the $30 for a torque wrench and socket. Just the studs alone will cost $30 or more not counting any labor.

 

We have had or still have a total of 4 Honda Fits with a total of 330,000 miles on them. We do all of our own oil changes and tire rotations. We have never had a broken wheel stud.

But yourself a torque wrench and use it.

 

You should never put loc-tite on spark plugs. it's far too strong. And, I think I read somewhere that it re-liquifies when heated?? So, it'll get far too hot anyways. The heads are aluminum so you don't want to over tighten them for sure, nor mess them up to try to loosen them from gluing them in. I had a loose plug on my '13. Just have to tighten every so often.

Torque on wheels should be around 80 foot pounds. Retails stores, even dealers, will over tighten far too often. The techs just refuse to use a real torque wrench and save time by using the air guns with "torque bars" which I don't understand how they really work to limit the force.

 

I'd blame the individuals who can't be bothered to do the job right (forget varying levels and opinions of what might be 'right').
I'd also blame the shops/supervisors/managers who allow those same individuals to work unsupervised and unchecked.


The tool is commonly called a 'torque stick', it's construction is basically a rod of steel that is calibrated to twist and deflect when a certain amount of rotational force is applied.
When used correctly it will limit the amount of torque an impact gun can apply to a fastener.
They can and do work well when used correctly in most typical situations, but at the same time they certainly aren't idiot proof.

 

I agree that I shouldn't have had to use any kind of threadlocker (I use the Permatex stuff) on my spark plugs put even brand new plugs (virgin crush washers) didn't stay tight even when properly torqued.

I also agree that you shouldn't use the "red" threadlocker (Permatex) on anything that needs to come apart at a later date since you'll need a torch to liquefy it to take apart.

At this point, ~40K miles later, my #2 & #3 plugs have not come loose and the sooty coil packs (smelled like gasoline) that the dealer claimed ($60 diagnostic charge) were the problem are still providing error-free service.

I think that when the time comes, that chalky "blue" threadlocker will easily give way when I change plugs again. I'll update here if I run into trouble.