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Moose Explains - Changing Spark Plugs!

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Bjkearns

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Moose is it a Mercedes 190?
thats the only 1980's MBZ I could think of with a 4cyl
 
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billymade

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Umm, how long is the Moose gonna keep the answer from us? The suspense is killing me and there isn't even a prize! LOL! :) Actually, the suspense died a long time ago.... I just wanna know which car it is! :)
 
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Moose-LandTran

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It's a Volkswagen Golf MK 3.5 Cabrio.

VW_Golf_IV_Cabrio_white_vr.jpg


Like a MK III Cabrio, but with a MK IV front end and certain interior parts. Gotta love the obscurity. :D
 
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wafrederick

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Bosch spark plugs are junk,mostly failures and there is one good place for them: in the garbage can!.This is one reason why Ford,GM and Chrysler products run like ****.Had this with a 1996 Dodge intrepid after an engine replacement,replacement engine had bosch plugs ditching them and ran fine after installing Champion spark plugs.I have seen brand new Bosch plugs fail and this was in a 1998 Chevy Blazer which another used car dealer brought in,every spark plug was a Bosch and went good bye replaced with AC Delcos.Took the distribitor cap out too
 
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Theloniousmonk

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Bosch plugs dont ****... the go-ol super plug coppers are awesome, the oem spec plugs for volvo, mercedes, audi, vw are awesome too... i stay away from the platinums for various reasons, but next to any "off the shelf" plug, except maybe NGK, imo, Bosch is supreme. Ford, etc... have bad running engines for more reasons than the mis-speced/wrong/non oem valued spark plug- not the fault of bosch. I use Bosch oem valued plugs daily, also use Beru in certain situations... never had a problem w/ any of them, but I don't put resistor plugs in a car that shouldn't have them,I don't put an exotic "platinum/uridium" plug in a car that didn't have them when new, I don't listen to the compatibility list at the parts store either, usually the list is wrong.

Most of the these cars end up with platinums in them, due to ignorant owners listening to ignorant part guys at the local "autostore"... putting the oem spec plug back in solves the problem. I too have seen platinums fail w/n 1k miles, but there are other things going on in the engine that caused the plug to fail, issues that are not so bad for a cheap coppertop.

bTW, Moose - great writeup! This is very entertaining.
 
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I can fix anything

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wafrederick said:
Bosch spark plugs are junk,mostly failures and there is one good place for them: in the garbage can!.This is one reason why Ford,GM and Chrysler products run like ****.Had this with a 1996 Dodge intrepid after an engine replacement,replacement engine had bosch plugs ditching them and ran fine after installing Champion spark plugs.I have seen brand new Bosch plugs fail and this was in a 1998 Chevy Blazer which another used car dealer brought in,every spark plug was a Bosch and went good bye replaced with AC Delcos.Took the distribitor cap out too
Click to expand...

Its not the plugs fault they are being installed in the wrong application.
 
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wafrederick

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Bosch plugs are cheaply made and I wonder why they do not last.Bosch plugs are known for ruining GM ignition systems too.
 
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Theloniousmonk

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In my humble opinion - putting the wrong plug into a car, due to misinformation at a chain store is known for shortening the life span of any ignition system, bosch or otherwise. take for instance, a 1994 MB w/ a m104 engine, EVERY list at EVERY chain store and online calls for a resistor plug, but it wasn't a resistor plug from the factory - people put high resistor platinum plugs in these cars and shorten the lifespan of the COP's, which then allows the engine to run like ****.

Wrong plug = poor running engine. has nothing to do w/ manufacturer. I have personally pulled factory Bosch plugs w/ nearly 120k miles on them (non platinum - very robust coppers), with negligible wear.

I run bosch 3 prong non platinums in my turbos, they'll take alot of detonation and super lean conditions w/o failure (within means of course)...

for the most part, a plug is a plug is a plug (as long as it matches what came from the factory - it'll work just fine)

bosch doesn't do any special magic tricks w/ their plugs that would cause any engine to fail or fry the ignition system, as long as the proper valued plug is installed (which isn't the case most of the time w/ diy'ers that don't do their research or read the glovebox owners manual)

-and i'm not even getting into the fine art of plug matching (heat, etc...)
 
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