cleaning spark plugs?

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in europe champion swapped for a time to plastic packaging for some retailers , didn't protect the plugs from the guy who threw them onto and off the delivery truck.

lots of bad plugs

they have gone back to the individual cardboard cartons with a tube and some tissue paper packed in bigger cartons of 8 or 12 or 24. no one plug can collide with any other the truck or the ground

not so many bad plugs..

i use NGK but if you totally wet an NGK due to rich issues and flooding or its gets wet with coolant

it aint never gonna be the same again. dunno why just what I've found
tune it with 1 set . put in a new set and don't need to do anything for years
tune it with one set and keep em..... plug fouling from then on...
and i don't know why.... something must get right up the inside and just stay there

Dave
 
dadsbee said:
At $86 a plug for aircraft plugs and two per cylinder, they get cleaned and cleaned for YEARS and Years... OH car plugs, throw the fawkers out!
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Yeah aircraft plugs are a whole different animal being there is no allowance for error and they have to work with a magneto so gap is very small .012" to .013" gap and use three ground electrodes around the outside of the center electrode so because mags don't burn off the edges of electrodes they can last a very long time unless detonation burns them up on supercharged engines.
 
LO23M8B said:
Really goys. For what a set of plugs cost. Even back, wayyy back when I first started in a gas station, we had a Champion spark plug cleaning machine I never ever saw it used. Just a slightest mark or pit will create a hot spot and pre-ignition. And with unleaded gas and today's ignition systems they last a long time. Are your pistons worth it.
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You obviously never worked on old worn out lawnmowers, forklifts, farm tractors, or kept old military vehicles running past their expiration date. According to you spark plugs never foul repeatedly. And therefore you've never heard of a spark plug Anti-Fouler, that you screw in the plug hole that is so oily it keeps fouling, it's like a small chamber to keep plug from being fouled, for a little while longer.
And anyone with a Fleet of Vehicles knows the value of this very basic piece of maintenance equipment that is the same as nearly 100 years ago when it was invented.
 
Wow. Such disrespect. And yes, I do know what a anti-fouler is but I don't think I seen one since 1965. It's just a piece of garbage back ally want to be mechanics used in the 50's.
 
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LO23M8B said:
Wow. Such disrespect. And yes, I do know what a anti-fouler is but I don't think I see one since 1965. It's just a piece of garbage back ally want to be mechanics used in the 50's.
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I don't know what I'm talking about.
 
Anyone try using an ultrasonic tank on fouled plugs? Not sure what the best cleaning fluid might be and you need to be very careful using any solvent in one, but the cavitation does a good job mechanically cleaning carbon fouling off of just about everything I've ever tried from rifle brass, mechanicals, and carb parts. Simple Green would be a safe starting point. You could easily fab a plexiglass board to hold just the threaded end vertically in the solution if you were so inclined.
I don't currently have a running car to try it out on but will hopefully be able to report this fall.
 
Dave999 said:
in europe champion swapped for a time to plastic packaging for some retailers , didn't protect the plugs from the guy who threw them onto and off the delivery truck.

lots of bad plugs

they have gone back to the individual cardboard cartons with a tube and some tissue paper packed in bigger cartons of 8 or 12 or 24. no one plug can collide with any other the truck or the ground

not so many bad plugs..

i use NGK but if you totally wet an NGK due to rich issues and flooding or its gets wet with coolant

it aint never gonna be the same again. dunno why just what I've found
tune it with 1 set . put in a new set and don't need to do anything for years
tune it with one set and keep em..... plug fouling from then on...
and i don't know why.... something must get right up the inside and just stay there

Dave
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You can use a ohn meter as another way to test them.
 
i dont know where this thread winds too but i dont have time to read all of it. anyways use soda to blast the plugs and you can rinse w/ water and theres no sand to eff up your nicely honed cylinders, you remembered to hone the cylinders, right?
 
nefff said:
i dont know where this thread winds too but i dont have time to read all of it. anyways use soda to blast the plugs and you can rinse w/ water and theres no sand to eff up your nicely honed cylinders, you remembered to hone the cylinders, right?
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What a great tip, bringing a very useful tool into it's second century!
 
nefff said:
i dont know where this thread winds too but i dont have time to read all of it. anyways use soda to blast the plugs and you can rinse w/ water and theres no sand to eff up your nicely honed cylinders, you remembered to hone the cylinders, right?
Click to expand...
You just use Arm & Hammer or use a special type soda?
 
use blasting soda its more coarse works way better than powder soda, harbor freight. once you buy it you will use it, it works on light cleaning also clean delicate stuff like aluminum carbs w/o damage. also works for electrolysis cleaning, pest control in trash cans and garage kitchen basement, general cleaning etc.
 
As a dirt biker for about 45 years, cleaning plugs was a way of life. I wash them with acetone first to get rid of oils, then clean them with the sock device, then wire brush the threads, then blow out any residue (beads) and carefully check with a magnifier to make sure nothing was embedded within. I do this for my classic cars too, never, ever a problem. In my view it isn't about money, it is about unnecessary waste.
 
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