• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Photo for Banjo

Share this page

T

Tinster

Guest
Guest
Offline
Hey Ben!

I replaced the plugs this morning after 83 miles drive
on them. I think they are smoked!

Something is wrong somewhere> I'm very happy David
is arriving on-island in 50 hours and ten minutes to
continue your brave effort. Eventually, DPO Pedro and
Crypty will be booted out of my garage for good.

Amos drives but I think I'll leave him garaged until David
arrives. Here's the plugs you installed yourself.

benPlugs.jpg
[/img]
 
DNK-
Because they are the only plugs Western Auto lists and
sells for TR6. I have kinda a limited selection.

d
 
Are Bosch low quality plugs?
DPO Pedro was not using them-
I think he used Sears riding lawn mower plugs..

Could the Bosch plugs be the cause
of the present ignition bugaboos?

What is wrong with Bosch plugs? If they are bad news,
I must quickly go out and find replacement before David
arrives.

The new plugs I installed this morning are also Bosch Platinum.

thanks,

d
 
Hey, don't knock those Sears plugs. Gap em right and they run good and give up to a 42" wide cut.
 
No problem with Bosch plugs,Plat are over kill. I am sure WA sells NGK BP6ES's.
 
I see no one is commenting on the coloration of the plugs.
I would say the engine is running rich, would I be correct?
The electrodes do not look eroded, so I would think they would clean up and be usable. Would that be possible?
 
Plugs shwo they've been running with too much fuel. So either the mixture is set too rich, or you took them out after running with the choke recently on.

My experience has been that the NGK BP6ES are the longest lived for these cars, followed closely by the Champions(someone gave the number here).. Dunno why, maybe the flow inside the combustion chamber, but the Boschs just do not last as long as the NGK's.

You should be able to get yourself an inexpensive digital multimeter from Sears or Radio Shack.

When you say you "burnt" it up. That usually occurs when hooking the leads to voltage while you have it on the ohm setting. Just about every multimeter made in the last 30 years is protected, internally, by a fuse.

So first thing is to pop the back cover off and replace the fuse. Multimeters are invaluable and are made for human beings, so they are often subject to misuse and that misuse can be correctable.
 
As far as the colour of the plugs go, if they were removed after cutting the engine at speed, then I would agree that the mixture is a bit rich, however if you have let the car idle for any length of time or drove it slow and then idle before removing the plugs then it may not be too rich.

After years of never being able to read a plug (they always 'said' too rich) I learned (from this forum) that the reading is only valid if done as a plug cut at speed. And if I remeber well the place you are looking at the colour is well down in the valley at the base of the insulating tower. Please correct me if I am wrong on either of these points.
 
Oh my god, somebody who pays attention. We better be careful what we say /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/devilgrin.gif
 
Adrio said:
if you have let the car idle for any length of time or drove it slow and then idle before removing the plugs then it may not be too rich.
Click to expand...
Agreed; if there has been any significant idling or slow speed running before you pull the plugs then the colour of the plugs is not a valid indication of mixture setting.
These cars tend to run somewhat rich at idle. I'm not convinced that you have to cut the ignition at speed and coast to a stop on the road dodging 18 wheelers whilst burning your hands pulling plugs to get a true reading; just limit the idling bit when you get home, shut it down promptly, let the engine cool a bit and yank the plugs then.
Those plugs do indicate rich though (except the shiny one)
 
Dale,
I was gonna comment on the Bosch Platinums, but they seemed to be ok so I let it lie. (for others here, I removed, cleaned and reinstalled them as they were loaded up before we tweaked the carbs. checks afterwards showed them looking pretty good. I suspect the buildup seen here may be partially from the failing coil. we had the mixture setting spot-on)
Personally I run Champions in TRs. At work we don't like the Bosch platniums because for some reason Toyotas don't like 'em. I've seen misfire codes and other drivability issues from them on the modern stuff. but I see no reason why they woulden't work on the old stuff.
My thoughts on the coil issue are wandering around the plugs and or wires as a possibility. You could try the above mentioned Champions. it may help. Also, seeing as how you have an upgraded GM alternator, and all new Dan Masters wiring in the car, you may need a newer style coil. maybe the coils actually for the TR6 aren't enough anymore.
But I'm really grasping here.
Wait for Dave. I'm sure his hands on inspection will be far better than my long-distance speculation.
 
AltaKnight said:
Adrio said:
I'm not convinced that you have to cut the ignition at speed and coast to a stop on the road dodging 18 wheelers whilst burning your hands pulling plugs to get a true reading;
Click to expand...

Off topic a bit, but just before I did the high speed cut I had bought a pair of mechaincs gloves. I never thought they would be of much use but I now use them all the time. Taking the plugs out of the hot engine was no problem. As to the 18 wheelers, let us just say the road I was on never sees a big truck or much traffic at all (now the speed limit on that road was not condusive to a high speed plug cut but.....well.... I had to do it some place)
Click to expand...
 
Hi Tinster;

Did`nt we all go thru this a month ago or so?

Being a Reg Sls Mgr for NGK & "NOT" prejudice; The Bosch Plats are a "Big Time Overkill"! The need a really Hot Spark to take advantage of the performance:

As several people here had mentioned; NGK BP6ES are just fine for a daily driver heat range: Gap the suckers at .025 & You should be good to go:

"Pull the plugs before you go any further":

Regards, Russ
 
Dale,
They do look as though the car is running a little rich, but as has already been said it may be that when the plugs were taken out you had only been for a very short run, or your coil had been playing up and not delivering sufficient sparks.
If I were you I would clean them up, put on your new coil and drive, drive, drive. It is amazing how much of a difference a long freeway drive will make to the running of a TR.
Nick
 
Back
Top