Paul Hunt had this to say:
>>if the spark plugs are loose, is compression reduced? I would think so if
>>pressure is lost around the plug.
>
>Unlikely to be significant, I would have thought.
>
Yeah, I was doing a tune up the other day and forgot the plugs were only
in finger-tight (actually, less than that). I fired it up to set the
timing and didn't notice any running problems. Only noticed it when I
pulled the leads to access the distributor hold down bolts. Probably the
compression leakdown is too slow to make any difference at engine speeds
(i.e. something like 1/10th of a second at idle).
But then again, my wife's Honda 2-cylinder once blew a plug clean out.
Cross-threaded in the aluminum head, apparently. So I wouldn't recommend
running with 'em loose as a regular thing...
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the red one with the silver bootlid.
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