Date:         Sat, 25 May 2002 18:44:05 +0000
Reply-To:     Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Aluminum in the threads
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Even more interesting news.

You may recall that I had an episode of stalling, loss of power and
bacfiring while on the highway yesterday.  After checking the fuel filter
and swapping to my spare ecu, I drove home OK.

This morning I decided to pull the plugs and see what they looked like
before fiddling with the electronics.  They were last pulled early last
summer, ~ 7000 miles ago, so I figured it would give me a check on how the
engine is running.

They are Bosch Super 80s.

They two on the (US) passenger side were hard to break loose, but once they
started came out fine.  Drivers side front was another story.  I had to
double-check to make sure that I hadn't switched the ratchet to tighten, and
kept a short cheater on the ratchet to back it out.

Two or three of the threads near the tip of the spark plug are filled with
shiny material, presumably aluminum.  I took another sparkplug, cleaned the
threads thoroughly, lubed them lightly, and carefully tried to start them in
the hole.

No dice, and when I pulled it out, the end of the plug had specks of silver
coating the oil.

Hmmm, says I.  This is a one-year old Boston Bob re-build, so that cylinder
shouldn't have a lot of problems.

I don't have a thread chaser, and am a little reluctant to go any farther
without some advice.

Is this normal?  If not, how serious is it?  Should I have a talk with the
mechanic and maybe Boston Bob before doing anything else?

Oh yes, plug condition.  The two on the passenger side and the front left
had a light coating of black ash on the ring.  The tip and ground were
grey/brown.

The one on the left rear was black on the ring, almost shiny. It was also
the easiest to remove.

Gosh, this is fun!

:-(

Mike Finkbiner
'87 Westy
Moscow ID

mike_l_f@hotmail.com


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