I Gotta Beeg Problem

Here is Timesert's spark plug insert page, which I mostly cannot understand.

Plug page

This page says several interesting things. 1)It's an over the fender repair, meaning you don'thave to take off the head.

2) It lists a 20 mm insert, but per the spark plug page at Z1Ent ( Z1E Plug page ) the NGK B8ES is 19mm, so the insert will be 1mm to long.

3) Timeserts can't be shortened. But, 4) I can get an 18.3mm insert, slightly too short. That seems preferable to me. Might get some carbon on that last thread on the plug, but shouldn't be too bad.



Post edited by: Z1Boise, at: 2007/07/31 15:55

Post edited by: Z1Boise, at: 2007/07/31 15:59

wiredgeorge wrote:

Re-anneal your four outer bronze crush washers that go over the engine studs

Would you please explain 'anneal' as I can't figure it out.

I was not able to open the link, the pics you show look like a time sert, the items you get from napa will need to be trimmed off the bottom cause they stick into the cyl and yo udont want that, they also have a shoulder to seat on the head, and it gives the plug a good flat surface to seal on, without that you would have to make sure the inset is in plum with the seat area of the heador you may leak compression

The pic is from Timesert's page. Apparently the second step is to counter bore, i.e., bore a counter sink so the top of the insert is flush.

That kit is about $100, plus you also have to order the inserts. I hate to spend that much $$ for a probable one-time repair, but I guess I have no choice.

I got this nice email from the folks at Timesert.

"You will need our standard spark plug repair kit part #4412 (M14 x 1.25) which is in stock and costs 101.86. Unless this is for a hole 6" or deeper then you will need our extended kit part #4412E which is also in stock and costs 146.17. These kits come with a tap, wrench, seat cutter and driver. Neither kit comes with inserts. Those will have to be purchased separately and I will need to know the exact length you need to provide pricing and availability. If you have any other questions or would like to place this order feel free to contact our office at 310-891-1995 just ask for sales, everyone will be happy to help."

Ouch Your looking at $150 for a repair. How much is a different head:side: Well I guess if the timsert is steel and fits the hole exactly I think it is well worth it.

The NAPA inserts work fine... and are a whole lot less expensive. I would use Timeserts exclusively if money were no object as they are the best out there.

Anneal... There are four brass or bronze washers under the outside four cylinder head nuts on most KZs. These nuts are on studs that are in the middle of oil journals... the oil flows from the bottom of the engine to the cam area via these passageways. This requires that the nuts on these studs be sealed because otherwise, you will get oil leaks on these studs.

The inner studs don't have oil journals so on some models, the washers under the nuts on these studs are either aluminum or steel... can't recall which. These washers are very likely used because they are cheaper than the brass or bronze washers needed on the outside studs.

Anyway, brass or bronze or whatever it is is used because it CRUSHES when you tighten the stud nut. Unfortunately, it only crushes once. In order to restore some of the crush-ability, you need to anneal these brass/bronze washers. To anneal, they need to be heated red-hot until glowing and then tossed into cold water. This adds some ability to crush again and allows them to seal. I don't think you would be able to do this with less expensive aluminum crush washers like on braking systems under banjo bolts. I don't think you can anneal aluminum and that is probably why they used the brass or bronze washers for this application.