If my car has been standing idle for a couple of weeks (which happens a lot) I turn it over with the plugs out for a bit, to reduce startup wear.
However, I've lost my spark plug socket. Looks like I left it under the bonnet after I last used it, and it fell out in the road somewhere. Annoying, since it means I'm also down a good quality King Tony breaker bar and extension.
I should be able to replace these when I next get to Kaoshiung, (city about 50k away) but meantime the best I could find locally was a rather nasty universal jointed socket on a T-handle, for 65NT. This wouldn't budge the plugs until I put a foot-long steel tube on one end of the T, suggesting I've perhaps been over-tightening the plugs with my one-finger-on-the-breaker-bar technique. Perhaps I should use a torque wrench, which I've never bothered with before.
Since I take my plugs out a lot more often than most people, increasing the risk of thread damage, this further suggests I perhaps should be using some sort of anti-seize treatment on the plugs. I've never bothered with this before either, and Taiwan is a bad place to start, since I can't usually buy anything here .
Half-assed improvisations I've considered include PTFE plumbers tape, graphite pencil, rubbing with an old tyre weight, perhaps in combination with cheapo chassis grease (which I think is clay based, and may bake solid).
The PTFE is discussed on the web with the usual mass of unsupported opinion-mongering, but the specific objections are it'll melt instantly (doesn't seem to match PTFE's 300C+ temperature range), will insulate the plugs electrically (doubt coverage will be that complete, plus it can still earth through the washer, and I could measure the resistance to check) and thermally (more plausible, and difficult to measure). I've also read somewhere that burnt flourocarbons (I think fluorinated rubbers) can release fluoric acid, which would be truly scary even if its rather unlikely in this case.
I havn't seen graphite pencil dicussed. It should work but involves the (theoretical at least) possibility of galvanic corrosion of the alloy.
So I'm favoring rubbing with an old tyre weight, which I havm't seen discussed either. This'll transfer some lead (or lead-antimony) into the thread grooves. I suppose some of it might get into the engine but I can't see it doing much harm. Antonony is rather high in the electrochemical series though, so perhaps galvanic corrosion of the alloy is a (theoretical at least) possibility here as well.
However, I've lost my spark plug socket. Looks like I left it under the bonnet after I last used it, and it fell out in the road somewhere. Annoying, since it means I'm also down a good quality King Tony breaker bar and extension.
I should be able to replace these when I next get to Kaoshiung, (city about 50k away) but meantime the best I could find locally was a rather nasty universal jointed socket on a T-handle, for 65NT. This wouldn't budge the plugs until I put a foot-long steel tube on one end of the T, suggesting I've perhaps been over-tightening the plugs with my one-finger-on-the-breaker-bar technique. Perhaps I should use a torque wrench, which I've never bothered with before.
Since I take my plugs out a lot more often than most people, increasing the risk of thread damage, this further suggests I perhaps should be using some sort of anti-seize treatment on the plugs. I've never bothered with this before either, and Taiwan is a bad place to start, since I can't usually buy anything here .
Half-assed improvisations I've considered include PTFE plumbers tape, graphite pencil, rubbing with an old tyre weight, perhaps in combination with cheapo chassis grease (which I think is clay based, and may bake solid).
The PTFE is discussed on the web with the usual mass of unsupported opinion-mongering, but the specific objections are it'll melt instantly (doesn't seem to match PTFE's 300C+ temperature range), will insulate the plugs electrically (doubt coverage will be that complete, plus it can still earth through the washer, and I could measure the resistance to check) and thermally (more plausible, and difficult to measure). I've also read somewhere that burnt flourocarbons (I think fluorinated rubbers) can release fluoric acid, which would be truly scary even if its rather unlikely in this case.
I havn't seen graphite pencil dicussed. It should work but involves the (theoretical at least) possibility of galvanic corrosion of the alloy.
So I'm favoring rubbing with an old tyre weight, which I havm't seen discussed either. This'll transfer some lead (or lead-antimony) into the thread grooves. I suppose some of it might get into the engine but I can't see it doing much harm. Antonony is rather high in the electrochemical series though, so perhaps galvanic corrosion of the alloy is a (theoretical at least) possibility here as well.