I'm definitely a car enthusiast. I have a bunch of cars, mostly old.. and for the longest time my main pastime was wrenching on them.
Several years ago my wife and I decided to start a family. That decision really cut down on my free time, so my cars have been somewhat neglected in recent years.
Life has loosened up to the point where I've been able to find time to hit the garage and tackle a few of the car projects on my never ending list. Tonight I decided to replace the spark plugs on my 91 3fe land cruiser. It's probably been about 10 years since I've replaced them, so I'm sure they're due.
I begin with cylinder 1, and move toward the rear. All the plugs look good - normal wear, no oil. I'm happy. Things are going well, the plugs look good, I'm able to gain access to all of them without contorting myself.. life is good.
I get back to cylinder 6, which on the 3fe is in an awkward spot. I grab the plug wire, and it pulls off with less resistance than I would expect. I shine a light back there, and I see white powder residue... I look into the end of the plug boot, and there's powder there too.
Where did this powder come from, and what the heck is it? I wonder. I pull the plug and the tip looks good, but the end where the plug wire connects was corroded.
After scratching my head for a few minutes, I think - was that plug wire not connected and this is oxidation from the copper terminal?
So I put the new plug in and take it for a ride......
I've been driving this truck for nearly a decade on 5 cylinders.
I had to share this with you guys. I can't believe what a colossal idiot I am.
Several years ago my wife and I decided to start a family. That decision really cut down on my free time, so my cars have been somewhat neglected in recent years.
Life has loosened up to the point where I've been able to find time to hit the garage and tackle a few of the car projects on my never ending list. Tonight I decided to replace the spark plugs on my 91 3fe land cruiser. It's probably been about 10 years since I've replaced them, so I'm sure they're due.
I begin with cylinder 1, and move toward the rear. All the plugs look good - normal wear, no oil. I'm happy. Things are going well, the plugs look good, I'm able to gain access to all of them without contorting myself.. life is good.
I get back to cylinder 6, which on the 3fe is in an awkward spot. I grab the plug wire, and it pulls off with less resistance than I would expect. I shine a light back there, and I see white powder residue... I look into the end of the plug boot, and there's powder there too.
Where did this powder come from, and what the heck is it? I wonder. I pull the plug and the tip looks good, but the end where the plug wire connects was corroded.
After scratching my head for a few minutes, I think - was that plug wire not connected and this is oxidation from the copper terminal?
So I put the new plug in and take it for a ride......
I've been driving this truck for nearly a decade on 5 cylinders.
I had to share this with you guys. I can't believe what a colossal idiot I am.
