So you'd rather use an Motorcraft/Autolite plug that is PRACTICALLY GUARANTEED to cost hundreds of extra dollars during routine maintenance, as opposed to one that MIGHT be bad, but at least is guaranteed to come out in one piece? Interesting logic. If your comment on the percentage of Champion failures is based on some statistical evidence, I'd love to see it.
There are darn few problems with Champions in 3Vs and those few there are that I have seen, many are, or could be attributable to other things.

Look, it might sound like I'm busting your chops but I'm not. I don't really care what spark plug you buy but I am troubled when people make blanket statements. A lot of us make judgements about products based on experiences (or a single experience) in the past, or on "common knowledge." It's pretty much human nature. I contend that sometimes you need to revisit stuff because companies and products change, both for the good and for the worse. I can think of lots of products I used to love that now suck and products I used to hate that now are good.Or there are products a company makes for one application that are good but are poor for another.

The 7989 Champion is a premium plug that is as good as anything else in it's price range. If you want to compare the number of Gigabites on the web devoted to problems with Champion plugs in the 3V versus Autolites and Motorcrafts and use that as a criteria for choice,well, everyone would be buying Champions.

We have pretty slim pickin's for plugs for our 3Vs... basically Autolite, Brisk or Champions. Looking at it objectively, right now, I think the Champs are the best choice. That could change down the road and I'm open minded enough to change to when I see something better.

BTW, I just put 8 Champs in and have about 1500 miles so far. No problems.

 

There are many topics on these forums that are argued to death -oil brand, oil filter brand, spark plug type, etc. These arguments are so contentious usually because there is very little objective information but instead, endless numbers of anecdotal stories.

I prefer spark plugs that fracture well above the removal torque to those that fracture below the removal torque.

I'll be installing 7989 once the snow melts.

 

Plus, if you had work done to your car, and the problem reoccured most people would take their car back to the origninal shop that did the work. I'm an ASE cert mechanic, and I dont think I have ever seen a new spark plug come back, of any brand. Sometimes you will see one where the customer installed it and broke the plug without realizing it, but besides that there is not much to go wrong (of course besides the issue on the 3V engines)

 

well I see a lot of cars come in with a skip that just had non motorcraft plugs put in( 10,000 or less) and the plugs are the problem, now I'm not about to get into the argument about wether or not to use champs in a 3v but I have seen customers not take the car back to an independent garage and bring it to use to fix it right,

 

I know just what you mean. People can be so much more brand conscious than product detail conscious.

In 20 years twisting wrenches as an ASE master ('70-90s) I didn't have all that many problems with spark plugs either (unless I was ham-fisted and cracked the porcelain). We had more trouble then than today with spark plugs due to the vagaries of carbureted engines and weak ignition systems. EFI and ignitions that can fire a wooden dowel make them much more reliable.

The '70 & '80s was the era when Champion earned it's bad rap, IMHO. I have it on very good authority that, back then, Champ engineers were very conservative on heat ranges, generally running a step or two colder than what was ideal. Their credo was something like, "better a fouled plug than a burned up engine." All those old guys got blown out in the '90s, so I was told, so there are new schools of thought going on there now.

 

All I have to say about this opinion is.....

 

For what its worth....
I ran champions in both of the dodges I used to have (Dakota w/ 5.2L, Ram w/5 .7L) And NEVER had a problem with these plugs. (One of the few things that DIDNT break on the ram, haha)

Every product known to man is gonna have a lemon and somebody is gonna hate that product. Remember people who never have problems don't holler near as loud as someone with an issue.

 

I worked at an auto parts store and always had complaints and returns on Champions.....switch the customer to something else, and they'd come back to the store thanking us.

Now when I buy a car or a small engine machinery, I bring it home and throw the brand new Champions out, and install something else. Hands down, it's the best thing you can do.

 

I'm coming out of lurker status for this one! This is I think the second time that I have noticed you post this and nobody has asked for you to explain... So, please explain to us your method for using an impact wrench. It seems to go against every bit knowledge on this so far. Tell us about your prep before hand and I guess, the whole process that you use and your success rates. I'm open to new ideas, especially if they work!

Thanks, Nat

 

it's pretty simple we just use an impact to SLOWLY take the plugs out we let the impact break the carbon, we end up with 1 or 2 broken plugs out of about 5 trucks

 

Evidence of this???? Or is this just another chat room myth....since champion is one of the largest brands of sparkplugs out there....i'm going to bet its a myth...

 

I find this a bit odd......your the only person i've EVER found anywhere on the internet saying to use an impact.....and also saying you've seen alot of problems on 3v motors with non-motorcraft plugs.....which also doesn't jive with what everyone else seems to think.......

 

I said I'm not getting into the 3v argument what I said was I've seen alot of aftermarket plug problems in fords in general

and if you could read fords message boards then you would see others talking about using impacts

 

I'd be interested to know if a dealer was charging customers for removal of broken plugs when the techs used a process other than that specifically stated in the TSB...

 

Bingo...I hadn't thought about the axial expansion of the threads. I was just thinking about the diametral gap at the tip. That's what the concern is geared towards. At elevated temps the Aluminum female threads will have a coarser pitch than the steel male threads of the plug.