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Stranded...waiting on a flatbed

I'm far from an expert lol. I'm just rattling off things I know can cause burnt boots.


I once installed new plugs and wires on a 350. 2 days later I had 2 fried boots and had to buy new again.... So then a day later I notice another one fried :angry1:.

When I pulled that plug out I realized the ceramic spun in the steel. Went back and tried the first 2 and they did it too.

Haven't used a Champion plug ever since lol.
That was 21 years ago.... I'm guessing that doesn't happen much now adays.
 
Guess again--plugs today seem to do that a lot,especially on the ones with smaller than 14mm threads and the goofy Ford ones used in the Triton engines....I'd agree Champions seem to be more trouble prone than most other brands--Bosch plugs don't like Chevy engines much either especially platinum plugs..
 
shady said:
I'm far from an expert lol. I'm just rattling off things I know can cause burnt boots.
Click to expand...

Well, they didn't exactly fry...it the boot just had deep cracks that made it look like somebody took a box cutter to it...I could see the metal spark plug clip through the cracks.
 
Timing is set to 12* just like it was, so distributor did not move. New fan clutch seems to have resolved the overheating issue. I feel LOTS of air under the hood now...wasn't feeling much before...
 
I don't know what that quirky flickering was on the temp gauge though.
 
diesel4me said:
Guess again--plugs today seem to do that a lot,especially on the ones with smaller than 14mm threads and the goofy Ford ones used in the Triton engines....I'd agree Champions seem to be more trouble prone than most other brands--Bosch plugs don't like Chevy engines much either especially platinum plugs..
Click to expand...

I have a vintage pack of AC Delco spark plugs...I was tempted to put them in...these are late 70's or early 80's

These are AC before they merged AC Delco



DSC_0018-11.jpg DSC_0015-9.jpg DSC_0019-12.jpg
 
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Could have been a steam pocket.:dunno:.

And I figured when you said 'Cracked' it meant it was sort of hard and broke open. Only thing that hardens the boots is heat.
 
The lack of heat transfer compound under the module is likely what killed it...
A friend tried one of Accell's "high performance/high RPM" GM modules,it looked like a printed circuit board,like a computer's memory card--his 350 never ran right with it,he had also bought a distributor that only had mechanial advance,which was no good for street driving..his engine ran much better with the stock HEI put back in it..

On the fan clutch you'll notice the thermal spring on it can have one end of it be lifted out of the little slotted tab,and you can rotate it 180 degrees and put it back in the tab,this "locks" it in so the fan spins at engine RPM like it was a mechanical fan (as long as enough silicone is in the clutch to make it work as intended)..

I was shown that trick by a service tech at a Chevy dealership when I told him I had tried "everything" to keep my 400 SB from overheating with the plow on it..

I had the radiator checked for flow,it was clean--found out it was missing a thermostat,so I put a 195 degree one in it,made sure the water pump was good,etc--the only thing that cured it was locking the fan clutch,the guy told me the GM instructions when installing a dealer snowplow package option specified to do that "to avoid overheating during driving with the blade in place"..

It also stated to "angle the blade fully left or right" rather than leave it straight ,because that allows more air to get in the grille--I had been doing that anyway,but it'd still overheat after 5-10 miles at speeds above 35 mph or so till I locked the fan clutch..

The fan sounded like a friggin jet taking off though,and you could feel the loss of HP ,but at least you could drive it anywhere at any legal speed again without it peuking coolant..
I was surprised that engine never blew a head gasket,despite being overheated several times..
 
I wonder if my manifolds are considered "ram horn" style?

__manifold.jpg
 
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