[jc96]

Best to do this on a cold motor and whatever you do, do Not over tighten the spark plugs. The head is soft alloy compared to the threaded portion of the spark plug(s) and stripping the threads in the head will not be pleasant. Start the new plugs with your fingers as to help ensure not to strip or cross thread. If you have access to an air gun/compressor, after removing the wire/cable/boot and before removing the old plug, blow the area around the plug out as well as you can. This keeps any small bits from falling down the opening. Find the gap spec for the plug(s) and get that set as well. Youtube is a good resource for this as well. It's very easy to do and also very easy to mess up. ciao jc

 

[jc96]

I use those long Q-Tip kinda things with wood handles to clean the seats on/in the hole before restarting the plug. I soak the cotton end in solvent and swab it out.

Plus one on the crush"iness" of the sealing washers.

I've also seen folk use a shop vac and put the nozzle down over the plug before removal to remove any debris. Aside stripping the threads, problems seem to arise with pulling the boots off the plugs as well. Mr Randall' advice is well advised. The dielectric grease is a great tip as well.

here's 2 pics of the tools I use and 2 types of plug. The socket may or may not work the first time you break them loose but after changing, they come out easily with this set up. The plugs are both from 4 cyl Alfa engines. Used but they clean up well and are spares if needed. Ones a Beru from the 164 - commonly known as a "peanut plug" as the hex is 5/8 inch - and the other from the 75 and it's a Lodge 2HL. Very hard to find new and very expensive here in Italy. I have 4 new ones that were a gift and really dont want to use them.

The 2 final pics. Note the two types of ends at the top of the plugs. One - also seen above on the Beru - is the threaded clip on type and the other is the "normal" kind. Sometimes, in the box will be an end you screw onto the threaded end. It's wise to check what kind of end the removed plug has and ensure your set up is the same.

Also shown in the top pic, is the tool to check and adjust the gaps. Alot of us use different brands of plugs with single electrodes thus require setting. On the multi pronged plugs like these 2 are, YOU DO NOT adjust the gap. On the next set of pics you'll see this tool and how it's used. ciao jc

 

[jc96]

intake or exhaust valve burned/notched? The plugs on the 164 cant be indexed as there are 2 per cylinder and the factory plugs are multi electrode. Well they "can be" but it'd take a bunch of them or indexing washers if using traditional single electrode plugs. Same with the 4 running the Lodge plugs. Is this why they run multi electrodes? I have no idea but the more sparking, the better the burn. On the 75 I do index the NGK I run. Indexing is simply orienting the electrode/ground strap a particular way relative to the intake valve(s) or injector nozzle(s). Does it really make a difference? Beats me but I feel good doing it. Some good explanations come up if you google it. I particularly like Summit and Evinrude short videos. This write up from NGK is very good as well.

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/spark_plugs/installation.asp

ciao jc

 

[jc96]

kwik primer

I'm fortunate in that I dont have alot of over the top stuff to clear as my car has dual carbs and is euro. Here's how - down and dirty.

1. Blowing the area
2. Loosening the plug boot, grasp the boot, not the wire!! Twist while gently pulling upward, set aside
3. Loosen plug....
4. When plug is half way up, blow again then remove
5. Pointer pointing to crush washer. it can be reused.

Plug is a wee bit dark as I had started car cold and moved it to work area - normal color is light tan on properly running car. more to come

 

[jc96]

next

1. Checking the gap. .30 in my case
2. Adjusting the gap if needed. The grove slides on the electrode and you bend as needed.
3. Spark plug hole - you dont want to drop stuff down there
4. Cleaning the sealing area
5. Anti seize to lube the threads

more to come

 

[jc96]

next

1. It takes very little anti seize
2. Screwing plug in with fingers. also verify the little top is snug - finger tight - then tighten plug with socket. I do hand tight with the little "T" bar wrench. If using new plugs, you'll feel the washer squish a bit. After it squishes you'll note it gets "tight". It's an acquired "feel".
3. Small dab of dielectric grease, smear it around the insulator/white stuff, reattach wire, you'll feel it click on the top when it seats. The anti seize also makes it easier to remove the boot next time.
4. Done

This small "demo" took all of 5 minutes and most of that was making pictures

 

[jc96]

Thank you all for the nice words. I like helping where I can and the dude said he was new to this. The car:

1989 75/Milano in the USA with a 1.6 litre 4 cylinder. Dual carbs 5 speed. The compressor looking thing is a power steering pump. dont ask me why...

There are 2 dipsticks. One behind the steering wheel and the other is between the alternator and the exhaust manifolds under the steering pump. In the pic, you can just see the handle to the right of the P/S pump. Oil held in 5 quart pan. The exhaust is the standard fare over here. Cast iron.

This setup is very common here in the motherland from older stuff to the series 4 Spider. Yes with dual carbs as well.

There is a cross over from a tin bit that bolts to the exh manifolds and feeds the air cleaner. It is disconnected for a variety of reasons right now. A pic is attached of how it goes/looks. ciao jc