Date: Sat, 25 May 2002 16:13:01 -0500
Reply-To: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Stan Wilder <wilden1@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: Aluminum in the threads
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Mike;
That lost or fouled spark plug thing will keep you restless for a long
time.
With Air Cooled; the threads that come out with the plug are mostly that
its been overheated severely, the plugs were too hot a heat range or
simply they were over torqued.
In the situation of a Waser Boxer I'm going to guess that it was simply
over torqueing.
You description of the burn color of the plugs indicates that you've got
the right heat range.
The thread chaser that John recommended is about the best approach for a
fix before more drastic and expensive procedures are explored.
When using the thread chaser I'd suggest that you:
#1) use some light lubricant on the threads.
#2) use a torque wrench to run the thread chaser in the hole a time or
two, never let the repair torque reach the reccomended spark plug torque.
#3) Use some Never Sieze compound on the threads when you install NEW
plugs after the thread cleaning.
#4) Stop torqueing one or two foot pounds before you reach the
reccomended torque for the spark plugs.
As most of you know I'm quite a cynic about quality and I think in the
case of these NEW spark plugs I'd try each spark plug in the damaged but
repaired holes and select the one with the tightest fit. The Spark Plug
Box may say made in Germany / Brazil etc. but I have some Importing and
Exporting experience and many times the raw materials cost of the product
only needs to be as little as 7% to qualify under "Made In" regulations.
There isn't a way to know where the threaded portion of the plug was
manufactured or what level of quality control was applied to the finished
component.
With any luck you'll find them all the same resistance within the
threads.
I'm not going to start vendor bashing but my Made In Germany wheel
bearings had races made in Romania. The main bearing units were German
Made and the seals were made in Austria. This could just be that the
manufacturer had plants in each location.
Stan Wilder
83 Air Cooled Westfalia
On Sat, 25 May 2002 18:44:05 +0000 Mike Finkbiner <mike_l_f@HOTMAIL.COM>
writes:
> 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
>
>
> ________
> Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device:
> http://mobile.msn.com
>
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