Spark plug tubes. Repairable?

[Sundowner]

Hi,

Yesterday I found that 2 of my SPRINTS spark plugs were swimming in an oil bath.

I did a lot of looking around and found that in order to cure this common problem, the club, along with a couple of the vendors, sell alloy 'O' ringed replacements.
Now, bearing in mind that I haven't taken mine out to have a look at them yet, can somebody advise me as to why the originals cant be rebuilt? I see that Rimmer's sell the 'O' rings and going down this route would be much cheaper.

So why is it that nearly everybody has swapped over to the alloy's? Can't the steel originals be overhauled satisfactorily? What am I missing?

Thanks & Cheers,
Rob

[Galileo]

The O rings listed on the rimmer site are replacements for their own (overpriced in comparison to the TDC ones) replacement tubes.

I've a small confession, I cleaned up my original alloy tubes that were covered in instant gasket, and then glued some off the shelf O rings on to them in the style of Bodget and Skarper Automotive Engineers...

[mahony]

I have not needed to upgrade to the alloy tubes as of yet as the original ones have always been oil tight by using two of the 'o' rings on the bottom of the tube and one on the top and some rubber grease, the Rimmer ones should be ok as they will have to be the same size as the original tubes

[Galileo]

Are the originals supposed to be steel? Both my car and my spare engines ones are aluminium tubes.

[Sundowner]

Are the originals supposed to be steel? Both my car and my spare engines ones are aluminium tubes.

The tubes in my car are steel and the 'O' rings are bonded to them.
Rob

[Mahesh]

I'll be removing mine on Tuesday evening, being a late replacement engine, it may throw up another variant.

[Sundowner]

Here's an alternative from the USofA.
http://www.prothanesuspensionparts.com/2749043
Cheers,
Rob

[tony g]

Thats a neat solution, almost factory , but clicking add to basket its not clear if the $37 is for one piece or one set

Tony

[RJF_70]

Thats a neat solution, almost factory , but clicking add to basket its not clear if the $37 is for one piece or one set

Tony

Tony, if you look in bottom right corner and click on in the box of 2749043 of that product it says 4- Triumph spark plug tube! So looks like it's a set?
Rich..

[xvivalve]

It is astounding that there is sufficient demand stateside for 16v components; there must be a lot of Sprinted TR7 out there I suppose.

OE tubes were aluminium with hard rubber collars bonded to each end.

[tony g]

Cheers Rich

Thats a neat solution, almost factory , but clicking add to basket its not clear if the $37 is for one piece or one set

Tony

Tony, if you look in bottom right corner and click on in the box of 2749043 of that product it says 4- Triumph spark plug tube! So looks like it's a set?
Rich..

[GrahamFountain]

The tubes in my car are steel and the 'O' rings are bonded to them.

I've never seen steel ones, ever. All I've ever seen are the cast aluminium alloy tubes, with hard (often brittle) plastic oil seals bonded to the tubes. All I've ever done is use silicon goo to seal them, though I've chucked a couple over the years where the oil seals have broken up. I must admit, the alloy is very hard though. Nearly as hard as the aircraft spec stuff.

The extra trick I find is to smear a small amount of goo into the crack between the top of the tube and the rocker box cover, just before I tighten it down. Doing that, as well as liberally coating the bonded seals before assembly, seems to keep the oil out of the plug tubes.

Graham

[Sundowner]

The tubes in my car are steel and the 'O' rings are bonded to them.

I've never seen steel ones, ever. All I've ever seen are the cast aluminium alloy tubes, with hard (often brittle) plastic oil seals bonded to the tubes. All I've ever done is use silicon goo to seal them, though I've chucked a couple over the years where the oil seals have broken up. I must admit, the alloy is very hard though. Nearly as hard as the aircraft spec stuff.

The extra trick I find is to smear a small amount of goo into the crack between the top of the tube and the rocker box cover, just before I tighten it down. Doing that, as well as liberally coating the bonded seals before assembly, seems to keep the oil out of the plug tubes.

Graham

Graham,
I've just R&R'd mine and I was both wrong and right.
Wrong in assuming that they were the original tubes with the O rings bonded to them, (even though I've had them out before) but right in that they are steel.
I guess someone made these up some time ago for a previous owner.
They're now back in the car with both new O rings and some sealant.
Cheers,
Rob

[Jon Tilson]

Indeed Rob...those are non OE and someone looks to have made a nice job of them.

I can testify to the general naff-ness of the OE ones, but my plugs dont seem to mind being in an oil bath too much.

Jonners