How to turn a decent car into a beater, part 1

[seattle smitty]

I posted this to another car site, but the experience hacked me off, and Datsuns have aluminum heads.  The car I'm talking about is a heavily used and neglected 1990 Geo Metro three cylinder that I got cheap because my other cars are down for work, incl. the '81 720 King Cab I've been asking about on these pages.


(QUOTING MYSELF)  Had a little time to work on The Beater, so i cleaned out the PCV hose again (had an oil fart adventure a while ago) and installed a new valve. But the main deal was to install the new set of plugs that had been riding around with me, awaiting this opportunity. The engine had seemed to pick up a slight occasional miss in the last few days.

How do you turn a good car into a beater? Well ONE of the many ways is to be like whatever previous owner installed the last set of plugs. He was either too ignorant to be doing anything on an engine and had never heard of putting anti-seize on sparkplug threads (AFTER cleaning up the area where the plug seats), or else he did know about anti-sieze but was to bleeping lazy to go get it, or he thought WD-40 or motor oil "will do just as well."  I just BARELY was able to remove these plugs without disaster (note to Datsun guys, these are long-reach 14mm plugs), working the plug wrench out an eighth of a turn, NO, a sixteenth, then back in, then out, then in, repeat, repeat for a LOOOONG time. That was with One and Three. Plug Two was the same technique, but worse. I was putting an awful lot of torque just to move it at all, in trembling fear that I was going to strip threads, and it fought me all the way out. I wish now that I had put a torque wrench on it to give you a number, but you might not believe it anyway. I was actually worried I might snap the steel plug shell right above the threads, it was that tight. How I detest a man the will install spark plugs in an aluminum head or ANY head without anti-seize!!!!

Having detail-cleaned the area as best I could, I installed the new plugs with anti-sieze the full length of the threads, one side. I ran them in a few turns at a time, then rotated them back and forth to thoroughly work the anti-seize into the threads of the head. As hard as the old plugs came out, that's how easy the new ones went in. Torqued the plugs a little lighter than the book spec because of the anti-seize. Shot a little silicone spray into and on the plug boots.

The next guy to change plugs in this engine, if he knows anything, will bless me.

FWIW, the old plugs had been in a long time, had VERY rounded electrodes and ground straps, but the insulators were clean and an even white that is supposed to be okay nowdays (looks a bit lean to an old man like me). If I hadn't taken so long pulling the plugs I could have done a compression check, but at least that will be easy now.

Maybe my already-good mileage (45.1mpg, last tank) will go up with my sharp-edged new plugs (lower voltage requirement, fewer misfires).

(END SELF-QUOTE)

I'll add that I had a similar experience recently with a Ford 300-six, cast iron head, where i was using a 24" breaker bar to move one plug.  How that plug body (18mm taper seat in this case) withstood it, I don't know, but I guess Champion must know what they're doing.  WHY won't guys use anti-seize on sparkplug threads?!!
 

[datzenmike]

Would you mind if I moved this post into the... https://ratsun.net/forum/31-non-datsun-cars-and-projects/

[seattle smitty]

It's fine with me, and you know what's appropriate here, Mike.  Yours is the only response anyway.  Might as well delete it.

[datzenmike]

It's only been 24 hours. Many members post their beaters and DD here and having a post energizes you to get things done on it and post about it.  

[petercscherer]

Needs Moar Pics

[Aibast]

 think it had more to do with over tightening and long time. Seen this way to many times. Plugs done over spec can get stuck as they are changed when cold and when heated up will lift the pressure as the plug exands and lenghtens a little. It can also have been cold welded a in some places. Threads are not smoothe and scrape off coating on threads, with time they might fuse together a little.

 

+1 on more pics of the thing.

[datzenmike]

Dissimilar metals. Aluminum is known for this when using steel fasteners.. 

[Aibast]

Also can be galvanic corrosion. Seen that to.

[seattle smitty]

On 7/22/2018 at 9:38 PM, Aibast said:

 think it had more to do with over tightening and long time. Seen this way to many times.

 

+1 on more pics of the thing.

I've seen lots of over-tightened plugs as well, but the funny thing was that this was not the case this time. I don't think the perp had UNDER-tightened either, to the point where stuff might have been getting past the gasket and crudding up the threads.  But on second thought, something like this is possible, because it appeared (again, hard to tell) that he had installed the plugs before getting all the debris out of the flat where the plug gasket is supposed to seat.  Maybe that could lead to a little blow-by? 

Whatever, had he used anti-seize, there'd have been little or no issue.  I've been a fan of anti-seize since I was a teen in the early '60s working on outboard motors in the saltwater country of Puget Sound, and we referred to the oxy-acetylene heatiing torch as "Mercury Special Tool #1." 

 

[nl320what]

I have had 2 Metros 92 and 94 and know exactly what you mean.

 

I usually would have to swap the old head off them around the 100-130k mile mark, which they do sell new heads for $500 inc core from Rockauto.

 

The valves and exhaust egr ports are very small and passages gum up with carbon and causes a variety of issues.

 

I had hi comp pistons in mine and performance head with competition cam, converted it to MPFI using a Daihatsu Charade ECU and intake (I still have a 3cyl MPFI ECU backup).

 

Best to just change the head out, new rings, and keep on truckin.