On Sun, 7 Mar 2004 16:07:37 -0500, "Jim--" wrote:


"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 04 Mar 2004 20:33:41 -0500, John H
wrote:

My Mercruiser 350 normally gets a spring tune up, i.e. new plugs,
timing, etc, etc. Are new plugs necessary every year? What *must* be
done every spring. All the fluids were changed in the fall, and the
batteries were kept on a charger most of the winter.

I go through a ton of plugs every spring - all the lawn equipment,
snow blowers, and my two antique trucks which maybe get used maybe
450/500 miles per year each.

It really depends on usage - if you have lots' of hours on the engine
from the previous summer, then yes. I winterize my FICHTS in the
fall and in the spring, have the plugs changed so they are fresh for
the season. It's a personal thing and I have no absolute reason,
scientific or anecdotal evidence to back that up - it's just opinion.

It's certainly cheap enough to change the plugs, so why not?

I would always wait to burn off the tank of stabilized gas (from winter
layover) before I changed plugs.

I don't keep a lot of gas in the tanks over winter and I always use a
fresh tank full on first run up in the spring.

Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
-----------
"Do fishermen eat avocados? This is a question
that no one ever thinks to ask."

Russel Chatham, "Dark Waters" (1988)