[s-cars] RE: Spark Plug Torque (was: Oil plug and dynamite)

[Tim Radbourne]

I've been an S-car owner since last summer.  I joined this list at that
time and have followed it since.  I soon became aware of the loose plug
syndrome, and looked under the hood of my 93 S4.  

Where to find the plugs???  Coming from All American V8's, you just look
for wires, big wires going to big rubber boots.  

Not on Audi's you won't find them.  I finally pulled off a plastic cover
that looked like it was covering the plugs, but they were the weirdest
looking plugs I had ever seen.  It must have been something to do with
the injection system.  I well, I just gave up....

Based on your suggestion, I pulled off the big aluminum cover with "20V
Turbo" written on it.  Wasn't this the valve cover??  Once I got it off,
I was concerned I was in the wrong place, springs.... long rubber hoses
going deep into the bowels of the engine????  I don't see no stinking
plugs....  Wonder where those  5 holes in the block lead to???  No those
can't be plugs way down there, can they be???  Lets see if I have an
extension long enough.  No, my 13/16 spark plug socket won't even fit
into the hole....  Of course, this will be metric dummy....  And tiny
metric at that, lets see first plug a little loose, second plug mostly
tight, third plug needs 1/2 turn to seat, before I can even start to
torque it.  Wrench comes up quite oily too.  Guess that one was headed
for problems.  Thanks for the tips....

This list is definitely required reading for all who are dealing with
the Audi God.

Tim in MI

-----Original Message-----
From: Wayne Dohnal [mailto:wd1 at hevanet.com] 
Sent: Saturday, March 27, 2004 10:44 PM
To: S-car list; tr0910 at softhome.net
Subject: Spark Plug Torque (was: Oil plug and dynamite)

Since you're a new S-car owner, let me bring something to your
attention.
It is vitally important that you check your spark plug torque,
preferably
before you drive the car again.  The spark plugs tend to unscrew on
their
own, and when they get loose enough, they blow out of the head
destroying
the threads in the head, and the coil pack above.  Besides having a
disabled
car, you're instantly at least a few hundred dollars poorer.  This has
happened to a number of list members.  The Bentley says the proper
torque is
22 ft-lb.  If you're as clueless as I was, the plugs are under the
rectangular cover in the middle of the valve cover.  When you look it
won't
be unheard of if one or more of the plug wells is filled with oil.

The plugs ALWAYS work loose after being installed, but they blow out
only
occasionally.  After you retorque them 2 or 3 times they seem to stay
put.
So if somebody like the dealer puts them in and they aren't checked
later,
they will be loose to some degree.  2 of mine were finger-tight when I
checked them.  A number of listers recommend checking them on every oil
change.  Now don't ask me why the oil plug will never come loose because
of
dissimilar metals, and the spark plugs will never stay put with the same
dissimilar metals.  Must have something to do with the Audi gods' sense
of
humor.  If you replace your plugs, almost all of the listers will tell
you
that sticking with the standard F5DPOR is the way to go.  If the timing
belt
has 60K miles on it, you should be planning on replacing it.  If the
temperature gauges never come much off of the lower stop, your
thermostat is
stuck open, a common failure.

Your valve cover is probably leaking oil in the rear.  When you replace
the
gasket it helps to put some RTV gasket maker on the edges of the
half-round
plastic plug, which is notorious for leaking.  Another famous quirk is
that
if you get wet footwell rugs, it is caused by a blocked drain under the
heater air box (under the hood).  And of course probably half of your
little
switch and instrument illumination lights are out, and there's a 50%
chance
that one of your front seat heaters doesn't work, and if the gas pedal
pad
hasn't fallen off yet, it probably will soon.  These things are all
normal,
and you can find help for all of them on the list.

The spark plugs and oil plug are 2 of the worst quirks of the S-car.
But
don't let me discourage you, the positives far outweigh the negatives.
There was an informal poll a while back about how far the engine can go
before needing a rebuild, and the result was that nobody every heard of
one
ever getting worn out.

Wayne Dohnal
1994 S4

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