Help please, plug reading wizards!

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Those plugs look like they came out a slant with 100k. I see wet threads on almost all of them which is probably oil.
Does this head have the "hemi tubes" around the plugs, or is it the later model without them? Those can make the threads wet too
 
George Jets said:
OK you just said you have the HEI conversion.
Now you need a straight wired e-coil to go with that to give you the hot spark. HEI needs the e-coil, not the old style tower coil like comes stock.
Click to expand...
The Magnum V-8 engines have a very similar-looking e-core coil as the F-150 shown. It mounts on the front of the accessory bracket, so an easy pick. Clip engine harness to get the mating connector. That keeps you Mopar for those who care (as if Mopar makes their own coils ... snicker). I always recommend the GM 8-pin HEI module (1985-95 V-8) as you can also grab their coil and the cable which connects the two, so a simple click and play. Of course also snip the wire at their distributor pickup to get that connector.
 
65TerrorCuda said:
Those plugs look like they came out a slant with 100k. I see wet threads on almost all of them which is probably oil.
Does this head have the "hemi tubes" around the plugs, or is it the later model without them? Those can make the threads wet too
Click to expand...

The plugs only have 700 miles on a fresh engine. This is a peanut head, so no drool tubes. You are correct, there is oil on the outside of plug #4 and #6, and the rest have residue on the threads.

An update on the project. I can see a bit of ooze on the little shelf of the block that sticks out past the head. Using a mirror I can see what may be some drippage from the valve cover. I wanted to make sure the head was torqued down properly and also to re-lash the valves with the engine running so I pulled the cover and saw the idiot that installed it after the 200 mile lash adjustment (that would be me, if you're keeping score at home) trapped a wire between the valve cover and the head just above the #1 and #6 plugs. No wonder it's not sealing, eh? So I ordered another valve cover gasket, torqued the head (it was fine already), lashed the valves, and cleaned up the valve cover. The gasket will be here today so I can get this buttoned up and give it the RRR plug reading test. I'm going to go over everything to clean it up too, so I can see if there is oil coming from anywhere else. More updates to come...

BTW, this is the story of my life. I wish I was a better mechanic.

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MOPAROFFICIAL said:
Plug wires caught in the valve cover. That will cause a misfire or voltage loss to the plug.
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Lucky me, it wasn't a plug wire. One was the wire from the tach to the coil, the other was something I unhooked from the lean burn junk that went to nowhere.
 
Plugs are crying out - help us ! According to the pictures....
  • Ground straps are black without timing mark
  • Couple are oil logged
  • Looks like were rich
  • .... Or is it wrong timing ?
  • .... Weak spark ?
  • I would guess the plugs are too cold ...
  • Of course, the carb doesn't get a free pass...
Does it smell rich out the tail pipe? Eyes burn ??
 
halfafish said:
I'm trying to solve several mysteries with the engine in my truck. It's a standard bottom end .030 over slant in an 82 D150. Originally it was a hydraulic cam motor but I changed it to solid lifters. It has a OCG 2106R cam, pocket ported head, oversize valves (1.70/1.45) a Clifford 4-bbl intake, Clifford shorty headers, and an Edelbrock AVS2 500 carb. I set the carb idle mixture per the instructions but clearly something isn't right. Sadly, I am the goon that assembled this engine and it was my first motor rebuild. Surprisingly, it started right up and runs pretty well. I did have to fiddle with the carb and timing a lot but it runs well and has good power for a small motor in a heavy truck. I have about 700 miles on it so far.

That's the good news. The bad news is, I have a strong ticking noise I will address in another thread.
For today, I'm wondering WTF is going on with my plugs. I changed the oil and all the filters/fluids and wanted to check the plugs. Ick. They look a mess, and I have no idea why. It sure looks like it's running pig rich. The plugs are all heavily sooty and black. There are more issues, though. The #1 plug is an odd color - a really grey instead of the normal shiny chrome color on the metal body. The #4 and #6 plugs are horribly fouled. #4 has what looks like oil all over it, and #6 has what looks like oily buildup all over the threads. The rest of the plugs are less crappy looking, but none of them look good. #4&6 have a clear brown ring about 1/4" up into the ceramic part of the body.

For a truck that runs well, what the hell is going on? I know I need to figure out the ticking/rattling, and figure out why my plugs are a disaster. All thoughts and ideas are welcome here.

View attachment 1715819025

View attachment 1715819024

And a closeup of #4 and #6

View attachment 1715819023
Click to expand...
Dude you need to study this.
FBO Ignition - Home of the HRR688 - Spark Plug Reading
 
318willrun said:
Plugs are crying out - help us ! According to the pictures....
Click to expand...

Yes sir, exactly.

318willrun said:
  • Ground straps are black without timing mark
  • Couple are oil logged
  • Looks like were rich
  • .... Or is it wrong timing ?
  • .... Weak spark ?
  • I would guess the plugs are too cold ...
  • Of course, the carb doesn't get a free pass...
Does it smell rich out the tail pipe? Eyes burn ??
Click to expand...

I don't know where the oil is coming from. The valve cover gasket was screwed up and leaking, so maybe ooze got into the threads? The gasket is fixed now so we'll see if that solves the oiled business.

I had timing at 18* BTDC, and 38* total but I'll double check that. I do have a spark checker and will try that as well. I'm running the HEI conversion with the plugs gapped at .040. The carb was new and run out of the box with the basic idle adjustments as indicated in the instructions.

To all who are helping here, my thanks. I've been just hammered at work all week and have had no time to play with this. I'm out of town all turkey week so this will have to sit until I get back. Stay tuned...
 
That's WAYYYYYY too much total timing for a slant 6. They generally only need or like around 30-32 at the very most. Sounds like you need to pull the distributor and weld the slots like I did mine. I welded them down so I have 10 degrees mechanical advance at the crank. I've been messin with timing for a while now and have it at about 19 initial and 29 total. That's where it seems happiest.
 
I thought I posted an update a week or so ago, but now I don't see it? Anyway, my thanks to all who chimed in with helpful advice. This part of my project is going to get sidelined for a bit while I figure out what the tick/click/rattle noise is. I'm not comfortable running this engine hard to do the RRR plug reading test until I know there's not some disaster waiting to come unglued in my engine. I will be starting a new thread to get ideas on finding my noise.
 
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