Is there any valid reason to change spark plugs on a low mileage car based on time? Such as they may be very hard to get without breaking if left in for say 5 years or longer.

Does anyone use anti-seize lubricant on the plugs? I know it's not recommended but with the heads being aluminum and the plugs being steel I would think a certain amount of oxidation might occur which could make removal very hard.

Thanks, Ron

 

Ron,
I recently did a plug change on a friend's 911 and one had a lot of drag coming out, then looking at the threads you could see bright aluminum in the threads of the old plug. That made me a believer for using anti-seize. The stuff I use is a non metallic anti-seize I got from Groits Garage, useing just a small amount down in the threads.

 

There was a time when I believed in anti-seize. Then I had a plug freeze in the head of my '84 Carrera; I snapped it off in half and needed a engine removal and a head removal. Plug had to be removed by drilling it out. Since then I've beeen following Porsche's advice and not using it.

Pretty picture: top half of plug on left, what was left of drilled out plug on right - they never damaged the cylinder head threads, and said wasn't any obvious reason why it seized. For info I used the copper-based anti-seize, and my speculation is maybe I used too much and it baked around the spark plug end.

 

Hey ron, Having fun with that car??

I use the anti-seize on my car-which is also aluminium head, I just don't use much, put it on the threads then wipe most off with a rag. On brakes, I really slop it on though.

Jason

 

I would not recommend changing your plugs on this car yet. I changed mine for the first time at 55k and it took a whole weekend (16 hours for two people with a lift. I did plug wires and distributor caps too.) About $1,000 and a royal PITA. With that mileage, you have lot's of life left and this is not a simple maintenance activity.

 

Ron, sorry to divert from your topic, but I have to ask Jack this question: when will you be comparing 993 C4 vs. Impreza WRX <img src="graemlins/burnout.gif" border="0" alt="[burnout]" /> and share with us your POV?
Thanks

 

Thanks for the question Jean. I'm taking both to Sebring for a PCA DE on November 17th. I should be able to give some interesting comments after that. Although this is my first Porsche, I am not a guru, here are some initial observations:

P-car - Have grown to love the firmness of the breaks and stopping power. WRX feels really mushy and not nearly as short of stopping distance.
- P-car is slower off the line that WRX. Seems 1st gear in 993 is only to get the ball rolling. 3k revs to 6k revs in 2nd and 3rd gear on P-car beats crap out of WRX.
- I think I need new dampers in P-car so can't compare handlings honestly yet.
- WRX feels much more "solid" on the highway (Lexus-like.) Much less noise. Absorbs road imperfections well. Spinning Turbo sounds neat. No noticeable lag. Has more headroom. Has more room for my size 11s when shifting. Looks "cute" from the front (we got the wagon.) Perfect daily driver for my wife (teacher.) Carries the dog and stuff from home depot. FOr the first week I was really enjoying the WRX, but now I don't envy my wife every morning. Oh yeah, shifts smoother than P-car. (Even with short-shift kit.)
- P-car sounds much better under higher revs, turns heads. (Though at Sebring last month I noticed lots of folks with M3s and P-cars talking to the rice burner Impreza guys out of curiosity.)

In summary -- it's no P-car. But all wheel drive, 227 horsepower (chipable to 270,) roomy, seems bigger than it is on the highway, (silver on black) Brand new for $23k. It's a great and fun second car. No regrets. We'll see how it is on the track.

Thanks for asking.

<img src="graemlins/r.gif" border="0" alt="[king]" />

 

I'm going to be doing my plugs here soon as well, first time on the 993. I have changed plugs on other cars, and used anti-seize. I saw the recommendation against using it, so I've been doing some asking around from some powertrain experts that I work with. The likely reason against using the anti-seize is the fact that the lubrication increases the clamp load on the threads when tightening.

Another good tip I was given was to blow out the surrounding area with air before removing the plugs. If there is dirt/debris around the plugs, it's risky to try to clean it out after the plug has been removed. With lubricant on the threads, it would be easy to attract clumps of gunk when inserting the plug.

 

AJ,

The anti-seize compound recommended by Dick above sound appealling; however, I've decided not to use any lubricant or anti-seize. When I checked a couple of the easy to get to plugs they came out very easily, in fact I thought they were not in tight enough in the first place.

My plugs are original to the car and are Beru
14 FR 6 LDU. I'm going to replace them with Bosch FR 5 DTC which I think are a cooler plug, that is they operate at a cooler heat range.