Forrest Gump
CCCUK regional rep
To grease or not to grease?
When refitting my spark plugs today I questioned if it’s correct to put a smear of copper grease on the threads.
The heads on my C3 are alloy so it’s somewhat instinctive to put some kind of anti-seize on the threads to avoid ripping out a thread when removing a plug. I always use copper grease on header bolts and other ancillaries but spark plugs rely on good electrical conductivity to the heads. So what to do?
I decided to look up the plug manufacturers (Autolite) installation instructions.....They say NO anti-seize or grease is needed on their plug threads because they are nickel plated and therefore won’t seize.
They say grease can cause issues with heat transfer and electrical conductivity, plus lubrication of threads can lead to the plugs being over tightened
It’s still not totally conclusive though because they threw-in that if the vehicle manufacturer recommends anti-seize then it should be used!
When refitting my spark plugs today I questioned if it’s correct to put a smear of copper grease on the threads.
The heads on my C3 are alloy so it’s somewhat instinctive to put some kind of anti-seize on the threads to avoid ripping out a thread when removing a plug. I always use copper grease on header bolts and other ancillaries but spark plugs rely on good electrical conductivity to the heads. So what to do?
I decided to look up the plug manufacturers (Autolite) installation instructions.....They say NO anti-seize or grease is needed on their plug threads because they are nickel plated and therefore won’t seize.
They say grease can cause issues with heat transfer and electrical conductivity, plus lubrication of threads can lead to the plugs being over tightened
It’s still not totally conclusive though because they threw-in that if the vehicle manufacturer recommends anti-seize then it should be used!