I always wonder why when I find myself Cursing and simultaneously praying while trying to remove really stuck spark plugs… WHY oh WHY didnt someone use Anti Seize on these plugs.
Ive had to repair damaged cylinder heads Ad Nauseum I have Heli Coils of all sizes in my supplies.
Ive owned and worked on All of my vehicles that Ive possessed in my day… Well over 50 vehicles…ALL of them had Anti Seize on the plugs. Never had a single problem with plugs from any of those vehicles… The plugs would come out perfectly…no stress no strain…no praying no cursing.
This is what Anti Seize is made for. If you dont like the greasy type of anti seize…use the dry stuff…but USE SOMETHING. It just makes sense to me…I dunno Maybe Im nuts. Lubricate the High Heat high Stress threads and you dont have any problems…Doesnt that make sense?
I absolutely HATE a dry thread… It just invites rust and problems…
This is what Anti Seize is made for. If you dont like the greasy type of anti seize..
The new plugs are manufactured with a coating…so you don’t need the anti-seize. I know NGK and Denso are coated…can’t speak about any other plug, since I’ve been using NGK and Denso exclusively for the past 30 years. The coating has only been used by them for the past 5-10 years.
As MikeinNH alluded to, Autolite and Motorcraft are one and the same. Name changes due to corporate shuffling over the years is all that is.
I’ve had to wrestle a lot more frozen plugs out that had no anti-seize than the ones with AS. There was a time many years ago that anti-seize was practically unheard of and was seldom if ever used.
Anyone familiar in depth with the old air-cooled aluminum head Volksagens should be very familiar with plug seizures which in most cases brought out all or most of the threads when removed.
And spark plug replacement on those old VWs was at very short intervals also; as in 12,000 miles.
In most cases the ones left in there longer than 12k were the problem children.
Walk into a parts store back then and ask for anti-seize you might get a funny look.
Thats interesting that the mfg’s of plugs are using something…thats good… Im all for it.
I just cant see anyone being against something so essential. When I put the stuff onto plugs I do it in a minimalistic fashion. I also work it into the threads all the way round so theres no mess and little excess. Never ever ever once had any issue removing plugs after that. To each his own I guess…I will never stop using the stuff. My lug nuts even get a tiny dab of the stuff.
I just cant see anyone being against something so essential.
I’m not against it…just don’t see a need for it since some of the manufacturers are coating the plugs now. I use to use anti-seize on the plugs…but I don’t think it’s needed anymore. If you do…fine.
So the majority of us believe what? Leave 'em in to the 100k mark and never use anti-seize? Pull 'em and check every 30k? I think I’ll pull 'em at 50k and replace with new ones (what’s the big deal once they’re out with just checking them) even though the manual says 100k, it’ll make me sleep better. Thanks folks! Rocketman
Oh I know you arent against it Mike… I agree with YOU that its not needed when they come with something pre applied …sure thats good enuf for me…
Rocketman is exactly right…Only when i am diagnosing a running issue do I pull plugs to “Read” them… Otherwise…if I go thru all that trouble to pull the plugs… You can bet new ones are going back in… Why waste the energy and time. Its cheap insurance to replace them.
The only argument against using anti-seize that made sense to me was the thread stretch and breakage issue. I can see this happening if you use anti-seize and then use a torque wrench to install the plug to the specified setting. I always use anti-seize, I think it is needed in uor salt encrusted area, but spark plugs and transmission pan bolts are something I never use a torque wrench on. I think the torque specs for both are ridiculously high. I want them just tight enough to not come out and in 60 years of doing this I have never had a pan leak or had a spark plug back out. I use a short 3/8 ratchet held in my palm with the socket and extension between my index and ring finger.
I never use a torque wrench on spark plugs. Tapered seat plugs get run down until they hit and then bumped snug and gasket type plugs get run down until they hit and then a quarter turn; all with a stubby 3/8 palm ratchet.
Some of the torque specs given by plug manufacturers are on shaky ground in my opinion when they present wide range torque figures such as 5 to 10 or 7 to 15.
Even if someone erred on the side of caution and stuck with the lower number just how accurate do they think a torque wrench is going to be; especially if it’s a 1/2" or hasn’t been calibrated since the dinosaurs quit roaming the Earth.
There’s also the issue of what if the plugs have been out in the past and wrenched back down by some ex-pro wrestler. The next guy doing them down the line sets the torque wrench at 10 Ft. Lbs and promptly starts pulling all the threads out.
With a torque wrench I can’t feel threads surrendering. With a palm ratchet I can.
“Even if someone erred on the side of caution and stuck with the lower number just how accurate do they think a torque wrench is going to be; especially if it’s a 1/2"”
I certainly hope that somebody wanting to torque spark plugs would use a 3/8" drive torque wrench, versus that 1/2" drive monster
Using a 1/2" drive torque wrench on spark plugs seems like massive overkill to me
Not to mention that a 1/2" drive torque wrench wouldn’t be terribly accurate at such a low setting. Assuming it even goes down to 15 ft-lbs, for example. I don’t think it would, for example.
In my experience the spark plugs that a hard to remove are the ones someone didn’t get tight enough when installing. They leak a small amount of combustion gas and the threads plug up with carbon. I haven’t found a problem with factory installed spark plugs.
OEM platinum and iridium spark plugs don’t wear significantly in 120,000 miles. I believe to find a performance difference is a fallacy.
Cheap aftermarket platinum spark plugs are poor in my opinion. I have purchased two used vehicles with Bosch platinum plugs and found the electrodes to be gone.