Community Forums

exrench · 05-01-2016, 09:50 AM

I am sure the burn't wire problem is chassis-specific and not an 8.1 universal issue. I have over 80K on my W22 with no plug or HT wire difficulties. There are no added provisions for rear wire cooling on my chassis.

Mudfrog · 05-01-2016, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by exrench

I am sure the burn't wire problem is chassis-specific and not an 8.1 universal issue. I have over 80K on my W22 with no plug or HT wire difficulties. There are no added provisions for rear wire cooling on my chassis.

I've read that this problem is random and occurs on certain rigs. The doghouse on ours is nice and roomy underneath so i am kinda surprised this is happening.

Upon looking closer, there are holes where air is bypassing the radiator. My common sense was telling me that, as long as the engine was running at normal temperature, that this air flow might actually help. Now i'm not so sure as it makes sense that air coming through the radiator might be better focused across the engine.

Any thoughts?

Kxbronco · 05-01-2016, 06:08 PM

Stearn, which one of these Bumper Mount Brake Ducts : Allstar Performance Bumper Mount Brake Ducts : ButlerBuilt Bumper Mount Brake Ducts : Five Star Bumper Mount Brake Ducts ducts did you use? Do you get any water from rain in them?

Quote:

Originally Posted by stearn

You can see and purchase the vents and hose at www.pitstopusa.com . They are called bumper mount brake ducts. I believe the hose is 3" . My ducts are wire tied to the grill with the attached hose is routed and wire tied to allow air to flow to the back two plugs. I am sure if you see someone with the Workhorse you will see how the duck work is installed. I had my doubts , but what do I know over 30K with no engine miss due to plug wires. I might add a fellow workhorse owner had the ducts installed and still had the same problem but not as often. When we compared installation we found his hose on the pass side wasn't aimed right. Hoping we fixed it!

exrench · 05-02-2016, 06:40 AM

My W22 has 20 cm (8 inch) steel plates that hang down below the frame rails and extend pretty well the full distance between the front wheels to the rear. I am not sure if this is unique to Fleetwood or if other manufacturers employ this addition to the frame of the W22 chassis. If Fleetwood added this steel to conceal the exhaust system etc. it certainly worked. As an added air flow bonus, these steel plates also form a huge "low pressure area" under the coach which greatly accelerates air flow over the top of the engine down to the underside of the coach while underway. This may explain my trouble-free spark plug wire life.

Most attempts to reduce excess heat near the spark plug wires has been the addition of ducts,fans etc. on the upstream end of the air flow while my rig addresses this issue on the downstream end. It seems to work!

F4Gary · 05-02-2016, 12:16 PM

My '04 Southwind doesn't seem to have any ducts or scoops for spark plug cooling either. My plug wires look pretty good, although I probably will replace them with the good stuff soon. I felt all around my exhaust manifolds too and didn't find any cracks or soot. *fingers crossed*

Mudfrog · 05-04-2016, 12:47 PM

Well, after checking each plug, making sure the gap was at .060, reinstalling, and then topping off with the new Magnum wires, i started it up to see how it sounded. I immediately noticed that the engine didn't seem as smooth as it should be. Went outside to the passenger side exhaust and sure enough, noticed the popping sound of an occasional miss. The driver's side sounded smoother. Took the rig down the highway and it seemed to run pretty good. That is, until i pushed down on the pedal to get it into passing gear. It started its stumbling and shuttering at a bit over 3,000 rpms. Sounded like some backfiring going on as well.

The AC 41-983s that are in it are only about 7,000 miles old but i'm gonna go ahead and try replacing them. Arrgggghhhhhh!

CJ7365 · 05-04-2016, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudfrog

Well, after checking each plug, making sure the gap was at .060, reinstalling, and then topping off with the new Magnum wires, i started it up to see how it sounded. I immediately noticed that the engine didn't seem as smooth as it should be. Went outside to the passenger side exhaust and sure enough, noticed the popping sound of an occasional miss. The driver's side sounded smoother. Took the rig down the highway and it seemed to run pretty good. That is, until i pushed down on the pedal to get it into passing gear. It started its stumbling and shuttering at a bit over 3,000 rpms. Sounded like some backfiring going on as well.

The AC 41-983s that are in it are only about 7,000 miles old but i'm gonna go ahead and try replacing them. Arrgggghhhhhh!

Make sure your spark plugs wire are firmly attached to the spark plug, should get a click when they go on

Mudfrog · 05-10-2016, 11:25 AM

Thought i'd post a follow up. The 41-983 plugs came in yesterday and i replaced them today. Went ahead and changed the oil and filter while i was at it then took the rig out for a test drive. What can i say,, runs great!

Seems weird that a plug with such low miles would go bad but this is the second time it's happened. Guess i should have pulled wires to see which one was the culprit but alas, i didn't think about it and now have no idea which plug it was. Oh well,

Thanks for the help!

exrench · 05-10-2016, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mudfrog

Thought i'd post a follow up. The 41-983 plugs came in yesterday and i replaced them today. Went ahead and changed the oil and filter while i was at it then took the rig out for a test drive. What can i say,, runs great!

Seems weird that a plug with such low miles would go bad but this is the second time it's happened. Guess i should have pulled wires to see which one was the culprit but alas, i didn't think about it and now have no idea which plug it was. Oh well,

Thanks for the help!

What you have experienced,was once pretty common way back in the days of leaded gasoline and high performance engines(for that vintage). A new set of spark plugs would be installed in the course of a tune-up and the engine would be operating with increased combustion chamber temperatures with an owner who decided to see if the tune-up was worth the price. When he floored the throttle and used more revs than he would customarily,combustion chamber deposits would be melted off and deposited on the spark plug insulators,forming a conductive path to ground. He would limp back to the shop,hot under the collar and demanding satisfaction.

This is the reason some shops of that era routinely used a combustion chamber cleaner before the mechanical part of the tune up. Today the EPA would have definite reservations about the great clouds of smoke that process generated! The use of Techron additive might very well head off a recurrence of this misfortune. From my own (more recent) experience, I had used several containers of Techron in the gasoline on my 8.1 and subsequently had to replace the right exhaust manifold gasket.This gave me the opportunity to look up the exhaust ports. The exhaust valves were surprisingly clean for an engine with 80k miles behind it. I assume the Techron was responsible.