spark plug cleaning tool

[johnlt]

I just finished a service on my R12RT at 34K miles. The plugs looked pretty good but I wire brushed them anyway. I recall as a kid that the local gas station had a sand-blast sparkplug cleaning thing. Is there anything available today to do that same thing? I have air but no tool. Not looking for a big investment, but just a simple plug cleaning tool. Thanks

[Firefight911]

Yup.

 

LINKY

[AnRSguy]

I have one of those, and IMHO, it is a piece of junk. It is cheap though, so a cheap piece of just is better than an expensive piece of junk.

[T__]

Johnlt, just replace the plugs when they get old or worn.. Those sand blaster type plug cleaners might have worked in the old days but most modern plugs have center porcelain’s that can be damaged by the blasting process & become porous.. The new fuel injected systems seldom if ever foul plugs & those plug blasters can do nothing about correcting electrode wear..

 

There is a reason you don’t see those plug cleaners in shops anymore..

 

Twisty

 

[markgoodrich]

I'm curious, John: the original plugs? I changed mine at 18000 miles because the annual service list said to. They looked fine. Took 'em out last week, at 42k, and the plugs looked fine. I didn't replace them.

[Skywagon]

Wire brush is fine. The old days were for getting lead out. Still a requirement on airplane plugs since they still get lead wedged in, but not MC.

[ragtoplvr]

There is always the possibility the sand will get trapped and then get released in the engine. Nikisil is hard, but not that hard.

 

A square sharp edge is best for the spark to jump from. The non- coil on plug 1100 and 1150 single spark operate with a single coil, the polarity on one plug is opposite the other. The postive side errodes, the negative one will stay sharp. So swap sides at 6K miles.

 

New plugs are cheap, really. Autolites cheaper still. I swap side to side once and then recycle them. Not worth cleaning them.

 

Rod

[FlyingFinn]

New plugs are cheap, really. Autolites cheaper still. I swap side to side once and then recycle them. Not worth cleaning them.

 

I have to ask... If not going to replace or clean the plugs, why take'em out to swap sides? Why swap sides at all?

 

And on the note that plugs are cheap, that's still not a reason to replace them, IMHO. I replace any part if it's worn out or broken. Cheap or not.

Lot of things are cheap but I don't replace them if there's no reason to.

 

--

Mikko

 

[Selden]

A square sharp edge is best for the spark to jump from. The non-coil on plug 1100 and 1150 single spark operate with a single coil, the polarity on one plug is opposite the other. The postive side errodes, the negative one will stay sharp. So swap sides at 6K miles.

 

New plugs are cheap, really. Autolites cheaper still. I swap side to side once and then recycle them. Not worth cleaning them.

 

Rod

This is something I had never heard before, but it makes sense, and swapping plugs from one side to the other during valve adjustment requires no additional effort. My main reason for tossing plugs is concern that the crush washer is not infinitely reusable. Thanks for the tip.

[T__]

New plugs are cheap, really. Autolites cheaper still. I swap side to side once and then recycle them. Not worth cleaning them.

 

I have to ask... If not going to replace or clean the plugs, why take'em out to swap sides? Why swap sides at all?

 

And on the note that plugs are cheap, that's still not a reason to replace them, IMHO. I replace any part if it's worn out or broken. Cheap or not.

Lot of things are cheap but I don't replace them if there's no reason to.

 

--

Mikko

 

Mikko, you gain nothing swapping sides on the 1200 COP systems as ALL 4 plugs spark center electrode to ground electrode (all 4 plugs the same ground polarity)..

 

Now on the older (lost spark) systems of the 1100/1150 (pre twin spark COP systems) one side would spark center electrode to ground electrode & the other side would spark ground electrode to center electrode..

Probably not worth removing the plugs & swapping sides as a separate service but a lot of people remove the spark plugs to do the valve adjustment (easier to rotate the engine) & as long as the plugs are out of the engine might as well swap sides at that time..

 

Twisty

 

[Albert]

Wire brush is fine. The old days were for getting lead out. Still a requirement on airplane plugs since they still get lead wedged in, but not MC.

 

Wire brush is OK if you check it thoroughly. A small fiber of metal will play havoc with the firing of a plug. I wire brush my lawnmower plug but if I'm doing the bike I just change them at the suggested intervals.

[johnlt]

I'm curious, John: the original plugs? I changed mine at 18000 miles because the annual service list said to. They looked fine. Took 'em out last week, at 42k, and the plugs looked fine. I didn't replace them.

 

Mark, I believe they were the original plugs. I still had the original plugs in my GSA at 43K and they looked fine also.

 

I think on modern cars and bikes, 100K+ is not unusual for a set of plugs. On the other hand, my old BMW airheads only get a couple K out of a set up plugs. They were probably one of the primary maintenance items on the airheads, at least the "old" airheads.

[KDeline]

FWIW, I never have replaced the plugs in any oilhead/hexhead I have owned. One with 120,000, one with 97000, and others with lower milege. IMHO they just don't wear out like they use to, I wire brush and reinstall. I have had one failure in 700,000 BMW miles and it was on an airhead in the mid eightys with 82,000 miles on it. Lucky? Don't know. I really should start carring a spare on long trips.

[SAAB93driver]

I just finished a service on my R12RT at 34K miles. The plugs looked pretty good but I wire brushed them anyway. I recall as a kid that the local gas station had a sand-blast sparkplug cleaning thing. Is there anything available today to do that same thing? I have air but no tool. Not looking for a big investment, but just a simple plug cleaning tool. Thanks

 

Harbor Freight or similar.

 

I have one and use it for my generator and small engine equipment plugs - it does a nice job of cleaning up the plug as far as appearance goes. I used to use it on the BMW but now I run iridium plugs in the bike and I wasn't real comfortable using the blaster on the small diameter electrode.

[Rob L]

I just finished a service on my R12RT at 34K miles. The plugs looked pretty good but I wire brushed them anyway. I recall as a kid that the local gas station had a sand-blast sparkplug cleaning thing. Is there anything available today to do that same thing? I have air but no tool. Not looking for a big investment, but just a simple plug cleaning tool. Thanks

 

Harbor Freight or similar.

 

I have one and use it for my generator and small engine equipment plugs - it does a nice job of cleaning up the plug as far as appearance goes. I used to use it on the BMW but now I run iridium plugs in the bike and I wasn't real comfortable using the blaster on the small diameter electrode.

 

I have one of the sandblast plug cleaners. It's at least 25 years old now! Mounts on the side of a tool cabinet and I use whenever I service an engine and install the old plugs. I have used it many times on the RTs plugs over the years. It cleans the porcelain and doesn't seem to do any damage. I have never had a problem. I like using it on mower, chain saw, weedwacker, snowblower, etc. plugs. I recently replaced the grit. First time in 25 years of use!!

[g_frey]

I have cleaned, filed, gapped and reused plugs to past 40,000 miles at times with no problems. My friends did the same as did my uncles with no problems. Plug replacement at low mileage doesn't seem sound to me. I have been doing this for 45 years. Cars, Trucks, Bikes, all seem to be fine. My oldest vehicle had 289,000 miles on it easily (the odometer did not work all the time) and lasted over 30 years. Actually it is still going with another owner at 37 years! Yes there were spark erosion problems but they seemed to mostly go away about 1980 or so. Previous to that if you matched your condensor up right the erosion was minimized in my experience.

[TRG]

Now on the older (lost spark) systems of the 1100/1150 (pre twin spark COP systems) one side would spark center electrode to ground electrode & the other side would spark ground electrode to center electrode..

 

 

I have a question regarding how this works. You say one side is sparking from ground to center electrode - but the ground is grounded through the threads to the head to the engine/frame. I don't think it would be possible to spark from the ground to the electrode because you would get no spark (battery ground is connected to the frame/engine). Seems to violate basic electrical theory? Or am I missing something?

 

Thanks

TRG