There was a time when, as a graduate student, I saved pennies by cleaning and
regapping the plugs in a BMW 1600-2 that we had. At 62,000 miles the car started
using oil and blowing blue clouds of smoke. I pulled the plugs, found one with a
piece of insulator missing inside -- a tiny chunk really -- and upon pulling the
head found that the cylinder wall had a long score mark in it in that same
cylinder. My verdict: the insulator somehow got jammed down in there and did a
job on the oil seal and compression. Had to bore the car out, so making a virtue
out of necessity, it became the first 1800-2 in the US. That rebuild cost me
plenty of my scarce student bucks. Ever since, the only plugs I clean and gap
are in the lawnmower, and only then if I don't have a new one handy. It ain't
worth the risk.
Chip Brown
LSelz@aol.com wrote:
> Bob -
>
> I think that cleaning spark plugs kind of went along with repairing TV sets
> and knurling pistons. At the cost of a piston today, who in the world would
> ever take the trouble to "knurl" one and put it back in an engine in that
> condition?, but it used to be common practice.
>
> Labor used to be cheap compared to the cost to manufacture, when it was ALL
> done by hand. Now that manufacturing is mostly automated, but repair labor
> is done by hand still, it's hardly worthwhile to repair ANYTHING anymore....
>
> Lannis
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