• Milk of Magnesia Instead of Anti Sieze Lube on Spark Plugs?

    From eibbor2654@gmail.com@21:1/5 to All on Tue Jul 31 21:07:13 2018
    On Wednesday, March 5, 2003 at 5:40:13 PM UTC-7, A102_Hans wrote:
    Hi!
    I ordered some NGK B5HS plugs for my ‘73 Beetle's stock Type I
    engine.
    Right after that I got an e-mail about installing plugs.

    Here is part of it.

    Before you get started, make sure your engine is cool.

    Note: I wait until it has cooled for at least 12 hours or overnight.

    Before you install your plugs, it is recommended that you put
    something on your spark plug threads, to aid them in installing
    smoothly into the cylinder heads, and also to keep them from siezing
    in the cylinder head. DO NOT use anti-sieze type products on your
    spark plugs! The anti-sieze can get on the plug and cause the plug to
    foul, and also affect the grounding of the plug to the cylinder head, resulting in a fouled plug as well. We have learned over the years
    that despite what manufacturers say about Never-Sieze or Anti-Sieze,
    they do SOMETHING to mess up how your engine runs. The recommendation
    of Aircooled.Net is a trick learned from Jake Raby at Raby's Aircooled Technology, and that is to apply a drop or two of milk of magnesia to
    the threads of the spark plug. This is not a joke, we are totally
    serious! This works very well as an anti-sieze, and will not foul your
    spark plugs.

    I have used Permatex Anti Sieze lube for years.
    Do you think this is a good idea?

    If anyone is still interested in this, Milk of Magnesia (AKA MOM or Magnesium Hydroxide) is an excellent anti-seize compound for hot sections. I'm retired from the US Air Force, I was a Machinist. One of our jobs was to remove stuck screws and broken
    bolts. Our Jet Shops used Milk of Magnesia on the bolts in the hot sections of the jet engines, used that stuff by the gallons. When someone forgot to use it, that's when I got called out to remove the broken bolts. I know that MOM is used throughout the
    Military, in the jet engine world and probably in other areas were heat would be a problem with bolts.
    However, using MOM is not recommended for spark plugs. MOM is Not conductive for electricity and will cause misfires. I found this out the hard way using MOM on the spark plugs in my 65 Corvair.
    MOM is great for the bolts in the hot end of a turbo or exhaust manifolds and header bolts. It is not very good in cold to warm areas especially if exposed to moisture.
    I've never had much problems removing spark plugs in cars like my Corvair or Motorcycles. For the most part, many brands of spark plugs have been made with an anti-seize coating or plating on the threads from the factory for a long time now. Those are
    the only ones I buy now. The rule is, if it has a shiny silver coating or plating, it has anti-seize and most would recommend buying that type over the non plated type. But every manufacture I've checked with says Not to use any anti-seize compound on
    the threads.
    Most of the problems come from carbon buildup on the end of the spark plug. Carefully running a tap or an old spark plug body that you cut or file groves in the threaded portion, will clean the spark plug threads and is usually good enough. But be
    careful and know what you are doing or you could get in to trouble or do damage.
    I've never heard nor have seen MOM being used on aircraft spark plugs either. I have seen it used on jet engine igniters but the electrical systems in aircraft are different than in cars. They don't use the engine as a ground and they use special spark
    plug or igniter wiring that contain both leads, positive and negative. Even so, I've had to remove many broken spark plugs from big reciprocating (piston) radial engines and a few jet engine igniters. It is a big job and requires careful work with
    special tooling and insuring that any metal chips that get in to the piston area get removed. I've also had to fix the spark plug threads with threaded inserts. Helicoil Brand makes kits for 18 mm, 14 mm and I'm sure that they make the smaller threaded
    ones like the 12 mm and 10 mm too that are in some newer cars.
    To sum it up, never use MOM or any type of anti-seize compound on spark plugs. Always buy the ones that come with an anti-seize plating from the manufacture. Make sure that the threads are in good condition and clean. Never over tighten spark plugs. If
    the threads do get stripped out from the head, take it to a machine shop that can repair the head with a threaded insert. Or if you have the know how, buy a kit and do the repair yourself.

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