I forgot about that. You can mill off those handy eyebrows around the plug holes, Or with a good electric die grinder with a carbide bit. Or buy a thin wall socket from Racing Beat. Or make one yourself on your lathe. Or, use the die grinder to enlarge the hole to fit the socket.

There is enough material. All of this to force you to use NGK plugs. 

 

Now tighten the new plug into a scrap housing, or your wife's Honda to 14 foot pounds and then back out. This to flatten the sealing washer.

Then wipe on just a hint of Nickel anti-seize on the threads. Nothing within 1/4" of the tip. Practice torqueing to 10 pounds with extension sticking through between your middle and ring fingers. Torque a plug into a scrap housing to 9 pounds, then turn it by hand to what you think is 10 pounds. Then check the plug with the wrench set at 11 pounds.

The plug should turn a bit to get to 11 pounds. Get a feel for 10 pounds using your wrist only. 10 pounds with lube is plenty. After a few installations the anti-seize will have been spread all the way to the inside end of the plug hole. Great heat conductivity. Plugs will never lock up in the hole. Threads will last as long as the housing.

 

Always use a torque wrench. But if none is available you can do the ring finger trick and get 10 pounds every time. Only you tighten plugs, not your ham fisted brother in law.

 

Lynn E. Hanover  

 

Question for Lynn,

 

what are the racers doing about torqueing this plug? its hex section disappears in the rotor housing because it is so short.

 

Along the same line, I considered some time ago trying surface gap plugs, but ran into the same problem.

 

By the way, the AR2592 is no longer carried by AutoZone, it is now available at Advanced Auto Parts.

 

Richard Sohn
N2071U