Strange that this thread should come up at this time. Just last week I was
talking with my local British Car repair shop guy and this subject came up.
Apparently another nearby MG repair guy had a running problem with one of the
engines he ahd rebuilt. To make a long story short he learned that the people
he sent his engine to to be "dipped" were using a new procedure where somewhere
in the process they heated the block up to about 1200 degrees. Apparently this
new procedure has been very successful (and probably cheaper) than the old
"dipping" process. This procedure works fine on American blocks that don't
have these aluminum plug inserts. From what I recall (this thread is getting
tenuous) the heat softened (loosened) the aluminum plug (AL U MINIUM in
British speak) to the point where the old plugs looked good after a cursory
examination but would not hold up when the oil pressure built up after the
engine was reassembled. According to the MG guy he spent a lot of time and
money discovering what the problem was. Just something else to be aware of
when you rebuild your next engine.
Mike Lunsford, 1970 TR6
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