Anti-Sieze on spark plug threads?

[TheTanSedan]

I, too, have used it for well over twenty years after having -- once -- spending hours to get a broken plug removed and having to run a tap to get decent threads back into an iron head.

I prep the plugs the night before: inspect for electrode alignment; perfect the gap (per experience, not just spec); use DOW silicone dielectric on high tension cable end; use PERMATEX copper-based anti-seize paste on last few threads (AWAY from electrodes), carefully wiping on a thin film.

And I like to run a "cleaner" tap through cylinder head sparkplug threads prior to installation of new plugs.

And torque to spec, re-torquing after a few hundred miles when vehicle is known to have a problem with plugs seating properly.

 

[Jim 5]

I use antisieze on every fastener I think I might need to remove in the future.

A little now saves alot of bruised knuckles and rounded-off fasteners later.

 

[Eddie]

I use a very small amount of antiseize on most everything except lug nuts. Every modern car I've owned says NO to antiseize on lug nuts because manufactures put a coating on the studs for consistant and correct torque each time the nut is removed.

 

[1sttruck]

"I use a very small amount of antiseize on most everything except lug nuts. Every modern car I've owned says NO to antiseize on lug nuts because manufactures put a coating on the studs for consistant and correct torque each time the nut is removed."

I use a light film on a lot of fasteners, spark plugs, and lug nuts. For those that rotate tires and change to winter tires each season, it appears that some of the 'modern car coatings' are rust :^) A coworker's daughter couldn't bust the lug nut loose to change a flat on an older car, in the rain on the side of the road, she couldn't either, and her large husband had a hard time doing it too.

 

[HerkyJim]

Yeah, I got a used Toyota pickup '89 model last year. Over the weekend I finally got around to pulling the wheels and taking alook at the brakes. Everyting good, lots of lining left at least 70-80,000miles the way I drive. But lug nuts were on tight. Just two or three out of the 20. Never could have loosened with the factory wrench. I always clean, inspect, and lube lugs when I get a different car. Don't want o be finding out I can't get it off if a flat occurs somewhere I'd rather not be. Just a little smear of chassis grease on the threads and on the rubbing surfaces, and reduce the torque little bit. Ain't no way properly machined matching threads are going to loosen because they were lubricated before assembly. Check any machine design text.

 

[Crashbox]

IIRC, some engines, e.g., my Civic D15B7, gives a torque spec on the sparking plugs that includes the anti-seize factor.

Yep, anti-seize is cheap insurance!

 

[Steve S]

I have removed lots of spark plugs from alumimun heads that the threads and spark plugs came out as one. Use Anti seeze.

 

[Jim 5]

I use antisieze on lug nuts unless a manual tells me not to.

The way to ensure you can get the lug nuts off with the factory wrench at the side of the road, is by putting them on with the factory wrench. Hard to overtorque with a shorty.

Of course you could always use a torque wrench if you wanted to get it right.

 

[HerkyJim]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim 5:


...The way to ensure you can get the lug nuts off with the factory wrench at the side of the road, is by putting them on with the factory wrench. Hard to overtorque with a shorty...

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Say now, that's a good idea!

 

[LarryL]

Besides using antiseize on the threads of a spark plug there is another step you can do. Lightly buff the threads with a stainless steel wire brush like those mounted to a bench grinder, to remove surface corrosion from manufacturing and any rough edges. Then apply the antiseize on all but the end threads, but just a very tiny amount. Never use oil. Never touch the electrode or threads with your fingers. Turn the plugs in with your fingers until you are sure they are correctly seated. If the plug is a tough reach, use a piece of tubing stuck on the plug to start it, not a wrench. Torque every plug to the specs called for, don't guess. Before you remove a plug figure out a way to clean around the plug before you remove it, like a cleaner followed by compressed air. And keep track of the plug wires so they go back like they came off. You may not get all this care with the $49.95 tune-up at the local tire store.

 

[LarryL]

.........and check the gap, too.

 

[1 FMF]

quote:

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Originally posted by Jim 5:
I use antisieze on lug nuts unless a manual tells me not to.

Of course you could always use a torque wrench if you wanted to get it right.

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biggest thing to watch out for is overtorquing a fastner (any fastner) when using anti-sieze or any thread lube including oil. If the torque spec is given for lubricated threads, then no problem. But for lug nuts most times the torque value is always for dry threads, so your standard 1/2x20 lug nut gets 100 lb-ft dry. If you put oil or antisieze on the threads then your torque should be reduced down to something like 70-80 lb-ft, I forget what the % reduction is. ARP my have some info. If your still tightening them to 100 lb-ft with threads lubed, then you're way overtightened and usually results in snapped wheel studs. If they are aluminum or fancy aftermarket rims, that's also a good way to crack the rims.


Last I heard, spark plugs don't 'need' antisieze or any thread lube because the threads on them are nickel plated, so they are not supposed to fuse or sieze in the head regardless of the head material. Antisieze all over my fingers makes me feel like I did some real work, therefore I use it regardless of what's recommended