48ply1stcar Posted June 9, 2021 Report Posted June 9, 2021 Just for giggles I searched "Black Goo". None the 16 threads mentioned black goo at the base of a spark plug. I have been running Champion plugs for years. The engine was rebuilt about 4 years. Aside from the antifreeze in the well of plug number three for over a year now last week I discovered that the base of the number 4 plug was filled with black goo. Can I assume that the plug just gave up and died? I think the antifreeze is leaking from a head bolt and I'm going to talk to the rebuilder about the recommendations I received from this group to remedy that issue. I'm hoping that the spark plug just died and is not related to the coolant leak. Quote
knuckleharley Posted June 9, 2021 Report Posted June 9, 2021 Well.dying IS what Champion spark plugs are known for doing best. 1 Quote
desoto1939 Posted June 9, 2021 Report Posted June 9, 2021 I run Autolite A9s in my 39 Desoto not Champions because of the bad press that they get from being of poor quality. ALso try an Autolite 306 which is a resistor plug but the gap will be around 30-35 Rich Hartung 1 Quote
Young Ed Posted June 9, 2021 Report Posted June 9, 2021 Are you talking goo on the head at the base of the plug or at the tip of the plug on the combustion side? Quote
48ply1stcar Posted June 9, 2021 Author Report Posted June 9, 2021 11 minutes ago, Young Ed said: Are you talking goo on the head at the base of the plug or at the tip of the plug on the combustion side? It was on top of the head around the base. The plug electrode still looked good. I may have pulled it in time. Quote
greg g Posted June 9, 2021 Report Posted June 9, 2021 Take a pic. Maybe the plug wasn't seated all the way and carbon tinged exhaust gasses were sneaking out. Quote
Young Ed Posted June 9, 2021 Report Posted June 9, 2021 48 minutes ago, greg g said: Take a pic. Maybe the plug wasn't seated all the way and carbon tinged exhaust gasses were sneaking out. That was my thought too. I'd suggest either cleaning that plug really good or replacing and make sure it's tight. See if that fixes it. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted June 9, 2021 Report Posted June 9, 2021 remember also the spark of the plug is dependent on the ground connection.....is your plug bad or your connection faulty. Quote
Solution greg g Posted June 9, 2021 Solution Report Posted June 9, 2021 (edited) Oh wait he said Champion. One of their QC issues was porcelain porosity so it could be blowby between the porcelain and the metal of the plug. Dump the Champs. I`ve been running the same set of AC 45R gapped at .030 for 45k miles. Edited June 9, 2021 by greg g 1 1 Quote
48ply1stcar Posted June 10, 2021 Author Report Posted June 10, 2021 Greg G, Ding, Ding, Ding, I think we have a winner. Quote
plymjim Posted June 10, 2021 Report Posted June 10, 2021 You mentioned coolant in plug wells #3 & 4 & leaking head bolt. You're almost certainly talking about bolt # 1 in the torqueing sequence. Maybe you will get real lucky & only have to retorque that bolt or at worst the whole head. Do you see steam coming out of your tail pipe? That could point to a leaking head gasket caused by head not being properly torqued also causing an "end of life event" for your plugs, Champion or any other brand for that matter. Quote
48ply1stcar Posted June 10, 2021 Author Report Posted June 10, 2021 I think it's bolt #3. I couldn't tighten it any more by hand. Temp goes above 160, uses very little coolant. I really haven't checked for steam. My oil leak from July of 2020 was fixed and replaced with this coolant leak. Excerpt from thread below. Quote
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