Thread: how to clean spark plugs?

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this isn't for a car engine of mine ( Yet... I'm going to run 1 step colder plugs in the Falcon than the stock plugs, so I know I'm gonna foul them from time to time ). my dirtbike, loves to foul sparkplugs, some of it's my fault. I run the oil mixture a little high in the gas, so I'v fouled the plug a few times, oil fouled it, and even after cleaning it, I can never get it to spark again, always just put a fresh 1 in. if it's just gas fouled, or just lightly oil fouled, to the point it will still run, I put it under the flame on the stove, and it fixes the problem. what can I do to clean the plug off? at school we sandblast, but at my house, my blast cabinent is filled with 20/40 Black Diamond, a little course for a spark plug I think. at school we have some extremely fine blasting sand. I'v seen those air compressor powered " Spark Plug Cleaners " but do they work? I run NGK BR8- ES in it.

never thought about propane torch. I'v got 1. I'll have to give that a shot. thanks for the help.

It depends on what is fouling the plugs. If you have a bad right side crankcase seal on your dirtbike and you're sucking aluminum powder laced oil into the combustion chamber, there is no way to clean the plug. But, since this is for the car, the torch does work. However, at less than $2 a piece, it seems more economical to just buy new plugs.

run them thru the dish washer

well guys. Torch worked. had to do it 3 times. after I did it the first time, It did fire but it ran very weak, and only ran for a minuite. the second time, it sounded ok, I put it in gear, got it going, and a few feet from where it started, it died. the third time, I really made shure it was as clean as I could get it. got it started, was running ok, so I put it in gear, and took off. spark was very weak at first, almost couldn't keep it running, but I kept it at a throttle position that it would stay running, and eventually, I was able to wind it up and put it in second, and altho it wasn't running the best at that point, I just kept with it, and the spark plug cleaned itself off. I bought a new plug, NGK-BR8- ES today, went to pull the cap off the top that is supposto screw on ( my bike cannot use plugs with them on, plug wire won't fit it ) and ended up pulling the center shaft out of it, took a good look at this 1, and it has a non removable cap. only $2.00 with tax.

what kind of bike you have, i know NGK makes capless plugs for both my yamaha's.... btw a good way to clean a plug when its fouled on a dirtbike, is blast it with some carb cleaner and while its still soaked, light here up.... can be a little dangerous, but it does a hell of a job.... trick has saved me once or twice out in the middle of the desert..... luckily i keep a can in my backpack with my other couple tools i keep....btw generally if everything is mechanically sound on a two stroke bike, the reason the plugs get fouled is from choking it for too long....other than that your carb might need a rebuild or you're mixing too much oil into your fuel.....

Originally Posted by thesals

what kind of bike you have, i know NGK makes capless plugs for both my yamaha's.... btw a good way to clean a plug when its fouled on a dirtbike, is blast it with some carb cleaner and while its still soaked, light here up.... can be a little dangerous, but it does a hell of a job.... trick has saved me once or twice out in the middle of the desert..... luckily i keep a can in my backpack with my other couple tools i keep....btw generally if everything is mechanically sound on a two stroke bike, the reason the plugs get fouled is from choking it for too long....other than that your carb might need a rebuild or you're mixing too much oil into your fuel.....

the bike is a '78 Suzuki DS 100. the plug I bought for it b4, I just unscrewed the cap. yeah, I ran the oil mix a little rich this last time round, that's what fouled it, I'm shure. good idea with the carb cleaner, never thought of that.

ok... i dont know my older suzukis too well.... but yeah, that carb cleaner trick works like a charm