Spark Plugs Video + How long should they last??

[TheLills.com]

The two of us just recently changed out the spark plugs on our '78 Westfalia. We did a search online, trying to find an estimate of how long the new spark plugs should last, but we got a lot of different results. We know a lot of it can depend on the condition of the motor, but we were hoping the community could chime in and let us know their thoughts. - Peace & Love

Here's the video of the spark plugs change we did on our bus:


Link


Spark Plugs Post Link:
http://thelills.com/how-to-change-spark-plugs-on-a-1978-vw-bus/
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TheLills.com
1978 VW Westfalia

[Xevin]

Not sure how long they should last. Bentley Manual says to change plugs every 15,000 miles on FI bus 1975-1979. But that was using plugs back in the 70s. Modern plugs? Good question
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[busdaddy]

Good work, but there's a few things I would add.
Don't pull the wire, make sure you are pulling the connector.
If it's putting up a fight you are taking the threads out along with the plug, stop and lube and work carefully.
Remember the exact angle the plug wrench was on coming out. you'll need that when it's time to put them back.
Start the new plugs by turning them backwards until you feel them drop into the thread and then turn them in by hand, if they won't thread in nearly all the way without a wrench you'll be doing a head swap video soon.

Those plugs don't look worn at all, a quick sandblast followed by a through check for sand will get another 50K+ miles out of them. When they are worn both electrodes are rounded off and nearly gone, your's looked to still have square corners on both parts.

How much oil do you use?, if it's not that you'll want to investigate your mixture issues, those plugs look nasty.
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[TheLills.com]

Xevin - Thank you, that's helpful! We're curious if the modern plugs are longer lasting too.

busdaddy - Thank you so much for your input! The spark plugs were in our bus when we got him (2013), so we figured it wouldn't hurt to replace them and he is running so much better. We added as much text as we could into the video, (we do have it saying to pull on the connector), but everything else we put in the directions on our post on our website: http://thelills.com/how-to-change-spark-plugs-on-a-1978-vw-bus/

We have normal oil consumption, now that we fixed the dipstick boot leak. We've been driving at a high altitude (7,500-10,000) and need to change the jet on the carburetor to properly adjust the mixture. We adjusted the air/fuel mixture screws on the carburetor as far as they can go. Let us know if you have any other thoughts and thanks again!

- Peace & Love
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TheLills.com
1978 VW Westfalia

[airschooled]

"Torque the spark plugs to specification"
What exactly does that mean? Got a number?

New and old plugs feel differently when tightened. New plugs have a crush washer that will compress and give a "ramp" of torque when close to fully seated. When reusing old plugs, there will be more of a "wall" of torque that you'll hit pretty suddenly.

Plug threads should also contain a smidgeon of anti-sieze on the threads to ensure they do not corrode and fuse themselves to the cylinder head threads.

Having stripped the threads entirely out of my head in a VERY stressful situation, I can attest that careful and cautious threading by hand is the only correct way to start a spark plug. Using the socket extension in your fingers is a great way to start and feel the "drop" like busdaddy recommended. I also purchased a 14mm "spark plug thread chaser" this year, and it has exponentially reduced my stress level when installing spark plugs. I don't go a year without using it now.

For kicks, I went 30,000 miles without cleaning my plugs, and they were pretty damn nasty. With a FI engine, you might get lucky since they run cleaner, but I would recommend removing for cleaning/inspection at least every 12,000 miles. Every 6,000 if your car sees mostly short trips and winter driving. (Those situations can prevent the plug from reaching the temperatures necessary to burn off most carbon deposits.)

Good luck with your travels,
Robbie

EDIT: Reading your site, yes a larger gap can help improve spark quality at idle, but a smaller gap can help start an engine, and help it run more efficiently in extreme cold conditions. Since my last "cheese" build-up on the plugs, I've gone to .025" in winter and .028" in summer, which ends up with a clean/adjust every 10k miles for me.

Also, once you bend a plug ground electrode from one extreme to the other, you don't get a chance to do it again. Ever bend a paperclip until it snaps? Yeah, you don't want that electrode snapping off in your engine…
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[Wildthings]

If you are running points, then you can watch the condition of the points to see how well the spark plugs are doing. Aging plugs that take a high firing voltage will eat up points that much quicker. Forty years ago I would pull the plugs on any of my rigs every 3-6K miles and check/set their gap and seldom would get more than 12K out of a set of points and plugs, today I seldom check the plugs at all and go a couple of years at a time without looking at the points. Note that I do NOT run Bosch points or plugs any more.

A note on cold starting. Years ago I switched to a coil that required an external ballast resister and also installed a resister bypass setup so the coil was seeing its normal 8v +/- operating voltage during cranking, usually giving instant cold starts. A couple of months ago the now 14 year oil coil started to not fire the engine up all that easily so I bought a replacement coil and resister. Just finally got around to changing them out and did a bit of trouble shooting first to make sure the bypass setup was working correctly. What I found was that the wire on the solenoid for the bypass had come off, probably having snagged on a bit of vegetation. On reinstalling it cold starts were again instant. Went ahead and changed the coil out anyway, figuring 14 years was enough. The old coil will ride along with me for the next 1000 miles or so until I feel the new coil has proven itself.

[TheLills.com]

This is all a wealth of information! Thank you for your input everyone!

asiab3 - The torque specifications for the spark plugs we've come across have been 18-20 ft lbs.

Wildthings - We're running electronic ignition and we used Bosch spark plugs. What are you using? Also, thanks for the notes on cold starting.

- Peace & Love
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TheLills.com
1978 VW Westfalia

[Wildthings]

[slave1pilot]

I've been a professional mechanic for over 25 years now, and I always use the rubber hose trick to install plugs.
maybe not as thick as this guy uses though. I like a more flexible vacuum hose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipplLKFybnw
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[Abscate]

Can someone make a video on how to count your spark plugs?
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[TheLills.com]

slave1pilot - That's a cool trick for threading hard-to-get-to spark plugs, thanks!

Abscate - Are you referring to the count of the firing order? It is an important thing to remember when you're putting the wires back on, if you're doing all four plugs at once. If you were meaning to be sarcastic, hehe.

- Peace & Love
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TheLills.com
1978 VW Westfalia

[SGKent]

[raygreenwood]

The spark plugs.....can continue providing sparks (and that does not mean quality sparks)....for far longer than you may WANT to use them.

As for basic copper type spark plugs.....if you diligently clean them and regap them during their life....can run about 40k+ miles.
The problem is that over time they start losing their thread plating and the nickel plating on the side electrode. It starts eroding and changes shape. You also get the center electrode rounding (sharp edges are more conducive to easy spark/arc propagation).....and it recesses....so then you bend the side electrode over further.....on your next gapping party.

Over time this means that it requires more current to arc. As Wildthings noted.....you will see this first as greater and more frequent carbonizing on the cap contacts....or the rotor tip depending on what type of plug you use (resistor, non resistor and with or without an internal air gap).
Our stock coils are just....adequate. At 18kv....they really put out about 12Kv at the plug when everything is perfect. This drops with rpm and shorter cycle/saturation time. As the plug electrode gets crappier with age and re-gapping.....the voltage requirement can increase.

Also.....with age north of about 50k a fair amount of plugs start leaking gas at the ceramjc to metal o-ring seal. At what point is it worth wringing longer miles and lower performance out of a $10 set of parts?

With the modern iridium plug....there is a ton of info to point to the fact that while they CAN...electrode wise.....last 80k miles.....the current VW/Audi plan.....
However because you cannot regap them....the increasing gap in numerous cars....not just VW Audi.....over drives the coils on systems that use ion sensing (most of them now).
As the gap increases.....the coil control system increases voltage to keep performance "normal". At some point....usually around 60-70k miles or so....this starts cooking the coils....but they dont care because the normal warranty is 35k.
Ray

[TheLills.com]

That is great information! We appreciate it Ray! - Peace & Love
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TheLills.com
1978 VW Westfalia

[Abscate]

[TomWesty]

[Abscate]

LILLS ....adjusting the idle mix isn't fixing your rich running problem, you actually need to rejet your carb internally at high altitude. There are lots of threads on this.
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[TheLills.com]

Abscate - Adjusting the air/fuel mixture screws did help considerably once we got up to high altitudes, but it wasn't enough. We mentioned rejetting our carburetor earlier on, to compensate for the high altitude that is making our carb run rich. Adjusting the Timing is another option, but the jets seem easiest. - Peace & Love
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TheLills.com
1978 VW Westfalia

[Wildthings]

Adjusting the timing is very easy and would be a first step, IMO. This is a skill you need to learn to do anyhow. If you use John Muir's method you can reasonably make an altitude adjustment without even having a timing light, but its best to use a light to set the timing initially.

Which carb(s) are you running? Some are easier to rejet than others.

[telford dorr]

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND using a spark plug thread chasing tool (with a little grease on it) to clean the deposits out of the threads, specifically at the combustion chamber end of the spark plug hole. Otherwise, they can build up, and lead to galling when you go to remove the plug. My rule of thumb: if a plug start seizing when being removed, screw it back in and leave it until it's time to pull the head.
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