I went in with a fairly simple problem - a spark plug in a small Johnson outboard had become extremely corroded and broken while I removed it. Upon further inspection, the threads into the engine had been altered. When I showed the removed pieces to the man at the parts counter, he immediately dismissed any solution and insisted that the engine needed a whole new head! With that analysis, I requested to return the newspark plug that a friend coming through town had purchased from him earlier, and he refused, saying it was "used". In fact, the marine air might have put a slight sheen on the plug, but it was exactly as he gave it to us earlier. A quick call to a mechanic friend to confirm the analysis sent me instead to an auto parts store where the extremely competent parts man found the hell-coil to match the spark plug threads, which (as my friend predicted) fit exactly into the engine threads and it now runs perfectly. While I understand that the parts man at Bamforth might not have thought of the solution, he had an extremely sour attitude and had no intention of helping me think of a solution - I deal with parts folks all the time in my business, and he was really unpleasant, not helpful and offered a really expensive ($300?) solution to a $30 problem. read more
