Gunky deposit left by new plug leads

[rodneybeauchamp]

Fitted a new set of Wells plug leads to my '63 Riviera and thought I detected a miss. After a couple of trips decided to check by removing one lead at a time.

 

What I found was a sticky black gunky deposit on the end of the plug where the metal clip attaches. I pulled the lead closer to the end of the cover , cleaned the gunk off the plug and put it back on. Ran much smoother, so I did this with all the other leads.

 

All plugs had the same gunky deposit that I then wiped from the end of each plug. Plugs were new too.

 

Almost tempted to put back the old leads as these were fine and tested ok with an ohm meter.

 

Is this gunk some dielectric grease or something else! Does not seem right to me.

 

Can anyone shed any light on this?

[slosteve]

On ‎10‎/‎4‎/‎2017 at 3:19 AM, rodneybeauchamp said:

Is this gunk some dielectric grease or something else! Does not seem right to me.

 

 

Did you happen to look inside the leads before you installed them?

I think I would consult with whoever you acquired them from.

 

Steve

[rodneybeauchamp]

Hi Steve, nah, who would think to look inside the lead boot, although I'm certain if their was anything obvious coming out,  I should have seen it.  I'm usually fairly thorough when replacing bits, so don't think it would have gone unnoticed.

 

And I have contacted my parts store who has offered to replace or refund.

 

I have also emailed Wells Technical from their website but yet to receive any response as yet.

 

If I need to replace them, are their any brands you would recommend, as some may be made in the same factory. I see OPGI do a OEM style set, any help would be appreciated.

Rodney

[telriv]

I don't use any of those mostly garbage type repro replacement wires. I normally use Taylor Spiro pro & cut & make up myself.

[RivNut]

I'd go with Tom's advice unless you're into a perfect restoration.  If that's the case, then look at Lectric Limited for some correct date coded wires.

 

https://www.lectriclimited.com/spark-plug-wire-sets

[slosteve]

On ‎10‎/‎6‎/‎2017 at 2:13 AM, rodneybeauchamp said:

Hi Steve, nah, who would think to look inside the lead boot

 

If I need to replace them, are their any brands you would recommend, as some may be made in the same factory. I see OPGI do a OEM style set, any help would be appreciated.

Rodney

 

Rodney, I would not have looked either.    I'm thinking someone else had bought them, put the muck on the plugs and then returned them 'cuz they mis-fired. (?)

 

I just used some 'made for your specific vehicle'  (sorta) from the local chain store auto parts place. Work okay for me but don't look so great; the lengths are never correct.

 

Steve

 

[rodneybeauchamp]

Hi Steve,

 

thanks for for your reply. 

 

I just spent an hour yesterday removing each lead, checking resistance, dunking each end in methylated spirit and cleaning the crap off each lead and the plug, checking the resistance again and re-installing. Reset the dwell and the idle speed down to 475rpm so will see what transpires. Only thought I did have, was that on each lead I had a ring of masking tape loose with the plug number on it.

 

Whether the glue from the tape had run down and gunked up the end, don't know.

 

Mr Wells in his email sent me the engineering drawing of the leads and suggested it was a points or fuel issue re the miss, but that doesn't explain the rubbish left on each lead. Looked more a production issue than a used set,  the sachet of dielectric grease was intact, however the instructions were missing, so didn't use it.

 

The resistance reading of between 560 and 620 ohms on each Wells lead shows continuity and perhaps better than the ones I removed. At least the Wells ones look ok, black with black boots and gold lettering, rather than some of the garish coloured ones I have seen in the past.

 

Am planning an interstate trip to Bendigo Swapmeet in November and want Snowflake to perform at her best.  Still not thrilled with the automatic choke, but that's another story. Might end up with a cable operated manual choke as another owner installed option, ?

 

Rodney