In an effort to preserve original lotus head castings I'm curious as to what the latest thinking is on leaving the original steel core plugs in place, that is untouched as installed from factory.
Is it's advisable to loosen the steel plugs(remove them, clean the head with a tap, re-install as loose as possible)? What kind of risk am I looking at? Are they able to be re installed and not have an issue with leaking? Recommended sealant? Etc... This is one of my concerns, the other being the removal. I've read they can be very tight. To be honest I've been afraid to touch them. Also keep in mind they're lower mileage lotus castings, one with 65k and the other with 35k, so in my opinion they're still in the window for failure.

Has anyone heard of a head cracking after having the plugs loosened? I'd hate to up my risk due to touching them.

I have read through the old threads and have my thinking is that torque is what's responsible for the cracking issue. I've also read that the amount of thread showing isn't necessarily an indication of how tight they may or may not be.

So in short is it best left alone? If it's not broke don't fix it, right?...but this is a TIII so I'm not sure this rule applies.