Owner Change/rotate spark plugs?

Can an owner do this?

TIA, {|;-)

Victor J. (Jim) Osborne, Jr.

"Victor J. Osborne, Jr." wrote in
:

Can an owner do this?

According to FAR 43, one may.

--

On 2005-02-11, Victor J. Osborne, Jr. wrote:
Can an owner do this?

Make sure you have new copper crush gaskets before you start...

--
Ben Jackson

http://www.ben.com/

I purchase copper gaskets by the 100 pack and I change them out when I
rotate plugs on my airplane, but it is not often that I see a mechanic
actually install new gaskets when working on an engine... Just
something I tend to notice as I hang around airports...
Also, only a minority seem to use a torque wrench when seating the
plugs... Perhaps their hands are better calibrated than this lifetime,
shadetree mechanic... And not many seem to use plug lube...

There is maintenance that the owner can do on his airplane, and often
do closer to engineering specifications than the bored mechanic...
Now, before the licensed mechanics on this list jump on me, I am simply
reporting my observations from a lifetime of being an airport bum...
If you do a better job, then hooray for you...

Denny

aolme too/aol

Seriously, Denny's observations are spot on.

I purchase copper gaskets by the 100 pack and I change them out when I

rotate plugs on my airplane, but it is not often that I see a mechanic

actually install new gaskets when working on an engine... Just
something I tend to notice as I hang around airports...
Also, only a minority seem to use a torque wrench when seating the
plugs... Perhaps their hands are better calibrated than this
lifetime,
shadetree mechanic... And not many seem to use plug lube...

There is maintenance that the owner can do on his airplane, and often
do closer to engineering specifications than the bored mechanic...
Now, before the licensed mechanics on this list jump on me, I am
simply
reporting my observations from a lifetime of being an airport bum...
If you do a better job, then hooray for you...

At the last annual, my mechanic showed me how to anneal the copper spark
plug gaskets before reusing them.

Is this common practice?

Jon Woellhaf wrote:

At the last annual, my mechanic showed me how to anneal the copper spark
plug gaskets before reusing them.

Is this common practice?

New gaskets cost $.19 each, with a 20% discount on a box of 100. Typical charges
for an A&P's time in this neck of the woods are $50/hr and up. I certainly hope
it's not common practice anymore.

George Patterson
He who would distinguish what is true from what is false must have an
adequate understanding of truth and falsehood.

"Jon Woellhaf" wrote in message
...
At the last annual, my mechanic showed me how to anneal the copper spark
plug gaskets before reusing them.

Is this common practice?

I don't know how common it is but it's done and it's not that time
consuming.

Mount a steel shaft horizontally in a vise and slide the gaskets to the vise
end. Below the open end of the shaft place a coffee can full of water. Slide
the gaskets out to near the open end of the shaft, heat them red, then slide
them off the end and they fall into the water.

Including setup time you can do 100 gaskets in about 10 minutes.

Oh, please, for the love of God, don't do this. This is how you HARDEN
them, not soften them for the annealing process. Heat them red hot with a
torch and let them cool in ambient air to soften them.

Jim



the gaskets out to near the open end of the shaft, heat them red, then
slide them off the end and they fall into the water.

"Jon Woellhaf" wrote in message
...
At the last annual, my mechanic showed me how to anneal the copper spark
plug gaskets before reusing them.

Is this common practice?



I take them home and do it in my spare time. Get them red hot with a
propane torch and drop em in a coffee can of cold water.