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

[bob.rossato at att.net]

> 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

Actually, they're a standard 5/8" hex sparkplug, just like any Chevy, though they are far from a standard AC Delco or Autolite plug.  And they are also 10 times more expensive.  ~$12 each seems to be about the cheapest.

BTW, the reason for this setup is because it is a 4V per cylinder setup with the sparkplugs centrally located, vs. the typical sparkplug coming in from the side of the head setup of a 2V/cylinder design (though not all 2V/cyl heads, i.e. Alfas and others).

, 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....

If you have oil in the spark plug recesses you have a leaky valve cover gasket.  The center piece that seals the spark plug area is leaking.  You might try tightening slightly the two hex shaped posts under the coil pack and see if that helps.

Bob