spark plugs (++) on my 411 ?

Discuss with fans and owners of the most luxurious aircooled sedan/wagon that VW ever made, the VW 411/412. Official forum of Tom's Type 4 Corner.
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haz
Posts: 60
Joined: Thu Feb 26, 2009 7:23 am

spark plugs (++) on my 411 ?

Post by haz »

My 411 does not "ignite" optimally, and these type 4 engines are new to me, and someone tipped me that the cylinderwalls get drained with gasoline and remove oil + that the spark plugs also get drained with gasoline so that they fail from igniting. Now, I would like to do a mini-service on tis engine, spark plugs, rotary, distributor cap, cables etc..

My question is: which spark plugs should I go for? There are so many new ones out there and please tip me on some spark plugs that you know work optimally for this type 4 engine. (It is the E version, which means injection)

Also tip me on what to do on a "ignition service" on this engine, such as the stuff I mentioned above.

Thanks guys :D
wildthings
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Joined: Thu Jun 03, 2004 12:42 am

Post by wildthings »

No reason to think that T4 engines are going to get washed by gasoline more than any other engine.

The general consensus is to run a copper core plug. Some prefer plugs with the multiple ground electrodes.

This engine has points and condenser that need to be changed periodically, typically at the same interval as the plugs.
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raygreenwood
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Post by raygreenwood »

In general, if you have a ninjected 411...your engine has some of the highest compresion put on stock ACVW's. I have found as Wildthings mentioned...that (a) The copper core plugs with stockish ignition ssyetms works best. More specifically..the triple electrode copper nickles.
Bosch W7DTC or NGK BP6ET triples. Both are excellent. You can also get BP5ET's etc.
New cap and rotor, new wires, new plugs. Adjust valves, check the fuel pressure. Replace filters. Ray
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Lars S
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Post by Lars S »

To me fuel injected T4's should "wash their engine" less than most other cars from the same age since the FI gives a more precise amount of fuel.

I have always used standard plugs, BP6ES, without any problems.


/Lars S
-914/4 -72 daily driver
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-VW412LE 4-door sedan -73
-Suzuki K50 -77
herr_sparky
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Post by herr_sparky »

in my opinion, an electronic ignition kit is worth every penny. here in the 'states a Pertronix brand kit is around $60, and you will never have to worry about points again. they are technically not a full electronic system since they retain the mechanical spark advance built into the distributor...it just eliminates the points and every mysterious symptom that can come from them. my '73 starts quicker, gets better fuel mileage, and never needs attention (to the points, at least.) i think Boyer Brandsen might be more common in Europe...
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raygreenwood
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Post by raygreenwood »

I totally agree. In well tuned D-jet....using a point replacment module is a noticable improvement. Yes...standard plugs are fine.
However.....with an mods ....and higher voltage coial and tighter tuning....the triple copper plugs are an improvement. Especially if you run lots of long high sped highway trips. They last longer, are smoother. They do not work quite as well with the stock coil.
The type 4 is rather underignited. Its 18kv coil is really only "adequate".

Going to 40-50kv with a pointless ignition and plugs that can handle it is a notciable improvement. Ray
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haz
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Post by haz »

guys, thanks a bunch for well expalined answers, however I do not automatically know what is meant by electronically conversion, but after last night I don't think I will investigate this for a while... my tranny is seriosuly acting up and needs urgent attention. Please see this thread and contribute if you have pointers, and thanks again guys, it really helps me out.
http://www.shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic ... 219#939219
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raygreenwood
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Post by raygreenwood »

This is the clutch slave. The clutch slave on the 411/412 has some issues.
The eraly 411 models....which yours might be ....were about 19mm and were actually better than the later 44mm ones....dependability wise.

The problems can happen in several places. Generally as the outer dust boot rots off with age...the abrasive dust from the clutch plate wear the seal in the bore. You lose a very small amount of fluid into the bell housing which mixes with the clutch dust....and forms mud....so you never see anything drip. But....on this horizontal cylinder, anything that drips causes air to be exchanged.
The later 44mm cylinder had a very big design flaw. Inspect the piston carefully. You will note that the skirt of the piston.....that approximately 7-8mm section on the pressure side before the rubber seal...is the identical diameter as the rest of the piston. This and the fact that there are no vents makes it very hard to inflate the cup with fluid and also provide lubrication. This makes the cup wear fast.

There is a design from a different mfg listed in the Haynes manual that uses two seals. All that other seal did was center the piston in the bore better to also make it wear less.

If you can find another seal...havn't found a rebuild kit in years....or get a newly rebuilt cylinder.....I take a file and put 4-5 notches in the piston skirt so it gets better fluid flow. It makes a large difference.

In teh last few years I have been rebuilding my cylinders by installing standard SAE sized cups that fit a little tight...and using a packing o-ring to back them up for proper tightness. The problem is getting the correct material.

The proper way to really get better work with these late model (44mm cylinders)...is to (a) have the piston put into a lathe and reduce teh skirt diamter by about .5mm (b) to have a 13mm wide x 1.5mm groove cut in the upper area of the piston above (outboard of) the seal so a teflon or delrin centering bushing made of a strip of the palstic can be wrapped around the piston. (c) I can now have proper seals of proper materials made for the piston by a company here in the US. I would have to get a group buy together.
A single seal would be about $169. If I can get about 50 of them made it could bring seals down to maye $10 each. I can cast the boots of high temp silicone.

If anyone is interested, let me know. I have sketches for it already I can e-mail if you want to know how this works. Ray
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