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Date:         Wed, 26 May 1999 10:59:16 -0700
Reply-To:     Stuart MacMillan <stuart@COBALTGROUP.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stuart MacMillan <stuart@COBALTGROUP.COM>
Organization: The Cobalt Group
Subject:      Cold starts fouling plugs, was Plat Plugs
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Fouled plugs can really be a problem on high mileage waterboxers, and on any engine that does mainly short trips. I recently had my '84 in the body shop for two weeks where they drove it in and out of various areas repeatedly. When I picked up the van it was running on two cylinders! I was ready to sue for a new engine until I checked the plugs, two of which were fouled.

Oil draining down on the cylinders after shutdown gets past the worn oil control rings on cold start-up for one thing, but I remember reading somewhere that there is design feature that causes problems with many engines built in the 1980's. On cold start the computer defaults to a pre-set default rich setting that was calculated for minimal emissions in the 1980's with 1980's gas formulation taken into account, and does not adjust to proper mixture settings until it gets information from the sensors that the engine has warmed up.

Apparently our current gas formulation (lower actual "heat content") ends up in effect resulting in an overly "rich" incomplete burn in the cold running condition because of this default setting from the past, and that can lead to plug fouling if the engine is not warmed up each time it is driven.

Anybody else ever hear of this theory?

-- Stuart MacMillan Manager, Case Program 800-909-8244 ext 208

Getting your share of the Net yet? http://www.cobaltgroup.com http://www.casedealer.com/demo http://www.caseihdealer.com/demo


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