Cheap plug leads
Discussion
I want to change the plug leads on my 1992 Griff to see if this will sort the misfire problem and erratic tickover/ stalling. Has been cutting onto 6 or 7 cylinders recently and when I pulled out the plugs they were black, and two were oily. Cleaned them and it ran on 8 but still with tickover problem, but then happened again and same plugs oily again. I love my Griff but getting pissed off with constant problems; mainly misfire/ tickover/ stalling.
There are some leads on ebay for land rover/ range rover v8 for £12.99. There are also magnecore ones for £100+ Does it matter what leads I put on. Leads are leads aren't they. Will the cheap ones be ok? I don't race or drive it that hard. Any advice?
John
There are some leads on ebay for land rover/ range rover v8 for £12.99. There are also magnecore ones for £100+ Does it matter what leads I put on. Leads are leads aren't they. Will the cheap ones be ok? I don't race or drive it that hard. Any advice?
John
z1000john said:
... I love my Griff but getting pissed off with constant problems; mainly misfire/ tickover/ stalling ...
Do you love it enough to get it properly serviced?I notice in your profile you paid bottom dollar for it (£7,100); what's the service history like? When was it last serviced?
Don't buy either cheap ones or Magnecor. I'll be in the minority here again but I only use Moroso leads.
You have to cut them to the length you want, but they are much better than Magnecor lasting much longer.
Available from Real Steel. You'll also need to buy a crimping tool from them which is a couple of quid.
I got fed up with Magnecor failing and a couple of friends have had the same issues. I do quite a high mileage and the Moroso leads are stll going after the point Magnecor would. Have given me issues.
You can get them in 8.5 or 10mm . . . .
You have to cut them to the length you want, but they are much better than Magnecor lasting much longer.
Available from Real Steel. You'll also need to buy a crimping tool from them which is a couple of quid.
I got fed up with Magnecor failing and a couple of friends have had the same issues. I do quite a high mileage and the Moroso leads are stll going after the point Magnecor would. Have given me issues.
You can get them in 8.5 or 10mm . . . .
johno said:
Don't buy either cheap ones or Magnecor. I'll be in the minority here again but I only use Moroso leads.
You have to cut them to the length you want, but they are much better than Magnecor lasting much longer.
Available from Real Steel. You'll also need to buy a crimping tool from them which is a couple of quid.
I got fed up with Magnecor failing and a couple of friends have had the same issues. I do quite a high mileage and the Moroso leads are stll going after the point Magnecor would. Have given me issues.
You can get them in 8.5 or 10mm . . . .
Looking at the Real Steel site at the moment, can you point me in the right direction. I think i'm going to change my leads this winter, your comment about the Moroso leads sounds interresting.You have to cut them to the length you want, but they are much better than Magnecor lasting much longer.
Available from Real Steel. You'll also need to buy a crimping tool from them which is a couple of quid.
I got fed up with Magnecor failing and a couple of friends have had the same issues. I do quite a high mileage and the Moroso leads are stll going after the point Magnecor would. Have given me issues.
You can get them in 8.5 or 10mm . . . .
Cheers,
Fred
I run magnecore KV85's on mine and they made a big difference to the torque immediately. I did have a few teathing issues initially had to replace the No.1 lead twice (arcing across dizzie posts) and they would pop off accassionally during the first few hundred miles of use.
Once I got past the initial settling in period they have been good for me. Although they are expensive they do come with a lifetime guarantee see keep the reciept and you can replace faulty leads free for the life of your car.
Once I got past the initial settling in period they have been good for me. Although they are expensive they do come with a lifetime guarantee see keep the reciept and you can replace faulty leads free for the life of your car.
Swap the HT leads and plug extenders from the two plugs that keep fouling, with two that don't. If the problem moves with the leads you know what's causing it. If not, you may have something letting oil into those cylinders. Worn valve stem seals would be my first guess. This would also cause blue smoke (perhaps mostly on startup) so if you're getting blue smoke that would support this theory. It's not hard to replace valve stem seals and if you're happy changing plugs it should be well within your capabilities.
Bluebottle said:
I run magnecore KV85's on mine and they made a big difference to the torque immediately. I did have a few teathing issues initially had to replace the No.1 lead twice (arcing across dizzie posts) and they would pop off accassionally during the first few hundred miles of use.
Once I got past the initial settling in period they have been good for me. Although they are expensive they do come with a lifetime guarantee see keep the reciept and you can replace faulty leads free for the life of your car.
Id love to know any real power difference (as in Rolling road). Even stock carbon leads allow enough spark power to ignite all the mixture /flame front in one go, so no extra power is gained with a hotter spark. We are not talking NOS or ultra high compressions here that might put out a weaker spark here. Just a lighter wallet makes it go faster !Once I got past the initial settling in period they have been good for me. Although they are expensive they do come with a lifetime guarantee see keep the reciept and you can replace faulty leads free for the life of your car.
blitzracing said:
Bluebottle said:
I run magnecore KV85's on mine and they made a big difference to the torque immediately. I did have a few teathing issues initially had to replace the No.1 lead twice (arcing across dizzie posts) and they would pop off accassionally during the first few hundred miles of use.
Once I got past the initial settling in period they have been good for me. Although they are expensive they do come with a lifetime guarantee see keep the reciept and you can replace faulty leads free for the life of your car.
Id love to know any real power difference (as in Rolling road). Even stock carbon leads allow enough spark power to ignite all the mixture /flame front in one go, so no extra power is gained with a hotter spark. We are not talking NOS or ultra high compressions here that might put out a weaker spark here. Just a lighter wallet makes it go faster !Once I got past the initial settling in period they have been good for me. Although they are expensive they do come with a lifetime guarantee see keep the reciept and you can replace faulty leads free for the life of your car.
Thank you all
So I can use the cheap leads; seems the most significant difference between cheapos and ones that cost 10 times the price is durability, rather than performance. Just don't want to spend money unecessarily.
Yes my Griff was cheap, it's done a few miles, and probably could do with a full service. But I just haven't got the cash at the moment and just want to keep it running. Already spent on it for MOT and had it tuned and new plugs at Sebring.
It does smoke a bit and is a bit smelly but I've been told that these old Griffs are that way inclined and it is not necessarily knackered; it still goes like f... when the foot goes down. I just want it to behave at low revs and at least tickover without it trying to stall every other time I pull up.
I'm gonna try swapping the leads to check out whether it is them thats causing the problem with the plugs oiling up.
I noticed that there was nasty black bits and pieces on the oily plugs and all the others were soot-black. Someone said this would be evidence of worn inlet valve stems/ seals. This would explain the smoke too, which is blue too. If it is the stem seals someone else said if I can change plugs I can do the valve seals; Is it that straightforward? If so I would give it a go; any advice on doing that and how I can be certain it is the seals and not worn rings or cylinders?
I also know that the vacuum diaphragm thing on the distributor is leaking but that this would not be causing the misfire/ cutting out.
Thanks all/ much appreciate all the advice.
John
So I can use the cheap leads; seems the most significant difference between cheapos and ones that cost 10 times the price is durability, rather than performance. Just don't want to spend money unecessarily.
Yes my Griff was cheap, it's done a few miles, and probably could do with a full service. But I just haven't got the cash at the moment and just want to keep it running. Already spent on it for MOT and had it tuned and new plugs at Sebring.
It does smoke a bit and is a bit smelly but I've been told that these old Griffs are that way inclined and it is not necessarily knackered; it still goes like f... when the foot goes down. I just want it to behave at low revs and at least tickover without it trying to stall every other time I pull up.
I'm gonna try swapping the leads to check out whether it is them thats causing the problem with the plugs oiling up.
I noticed that there was nasty black bits and pieces on the oily plugs and all the others were soot-black. Someone said this would be evidence of worn inlet valve stems/ seals. This would explain the smoke too, which is blue too. If it is the stem seals someone else said if I can change plugs I can do the valve seals; Is it that straightforward? If so I would give it a go; any advice on doing that and how I can be certain it is the seals and not worn rings or cylinders?
I also know that the vacuum diaphragm thing on the distributor is leaking but that this would not be causing the misfire/ cutting out.
Thanks all/ much appreciate all the advice.
John
z1000john said:
I also know that the vacuum diaphragm thing on the distributor is leaking but that this would not be causing the misfire/ cutting out.
If it's leaking/faulty then replace it. I don't know how you can 'know' that it isn't causing the problem; it certainly can't be helping.GreenV8S said:
z1000john said:
I also know that the vacuum diaphragm thing on the distributor is leaking but that this would not be causing the misfire/ cutting out.
If it's leaking/faulty then replace it. I don't know how you can 'know' that it isn't causing the problem; it certainly can't be helping.Dave.
The part costs a few quid and is held to the dizzy with two screws (usually with a hex drive cap head), a pushrod sticking out of the vac module hooks onto the baseplate inside the dizzy. Make sure the new unit is hooked properly, otherwise instead of a vacuum advance you will just get random ignition timing.
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