16
Old timer told me to use anti-seize on spark plugs... big mistake
Guy named Bill at the NAPA counter swore by putting anti-seize on spark plugs, said he'd done it for 40 years. I did it on a 2012 F-150 and ended up snapping two plugs off in the head because they over-torqued from the lube. Anyone else had a shop lead you wrong like that?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
keith_rivera1929d ago
Yeah Bill probably learned that trick back when plugs were steel going into cast iron heads. @alice269 is dead right about the service bulletin though. On those 5.4L 3-valve motors the plug threads are way shorter and the aluminum heads are softer. That anti-seize acts like a lubricant so your torque wrench clicks at the right number but the fastener keeps going. I've pulled those broken plugs out with a special extractor tool, its not fun. Always check the manufacturer specs before trusting old school tricks.
8
scott.miles22d ago
Ha, reminds me of the time a guy at AutoZone told me to pour water in my gas tank to "clean the injectors." Said he'd been doing it since the 80s. I knew better but I still wonder how many people actually tried it.
8
alice26929d ago
Don't those old school guys ever stop to think that maybe engine tech has changed since the 1970s? I mean, Ford even put out a service bulletin saying to install those plugs dry with a torque wrench, not by feel. Why would anyone trust "40 years of experience" over what the engineers literally wrote in the manual?
3