Spark Plug Ignitor covered in oil
06-09-2012, 12:07 PM
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Spark Plug Ignitor covered in oil
2000 AP1 Honda S2000
Hey everyone,
Well, today was meant to be a routine spark plug change, but it turned out to be something much worse.
I should start with some background info. I have been having some problems with oil leaking very slowly from the front of the engine where the head and block meet. I was going to address this after I changed my plugs, but I think I now know the problem. The car has been driving very poorly, lots of jerky power when i would accelerate. Now what I saw...
here is what the ignitor looked like when it came out...
As you can see, not good.
My thoughts are that this is the sign of a worn out head gasket. My plan is to change to gasket, water pump, and timing chain while I am at it.
My question to you guys is... Where is the best place to buy these parts? Are these the right parts I should be changing? And, are there any DIY articles that could help with this?
Thanks again guys!
Hey everyone,
Well, today was meant to be a routine spark plug change, but it turned out to be something much worse.
I should start with some background info. I have been having some problems with oil leaking very slowly from the front of the engine where the head and block meet. I was going to address this after I changed my plugs, but I think I now know the problem. The car has been driving very poorly, lots of jerky power when i would accelerate. Now what I saw...
here is what the ignitor looked like when it came out...
As you can see, not good.
My thoughts are that this is the sign of a worn out head gasket. My plan is to change to gasket, water pump, and timing chain while I am at it.
My question to you guys is... Where is the best place to buy these parts? Are these the right parts I should be changing? And, are there any DIY articles that could help with this?
Thanks again guys!
06-09-2012, 12:53 PM
#3
^ this , plus was your spark plug tight when you removed it in that cylinder ? , some plugs have been known to back out and loosen spewing combustion gasses upwards. Definitely get a new valvecover gasket kit as mentioned above.
06-09-2012, 02:49 PM
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Ok, glad its not what I thought it was then, and Thanks for the quick info. I will look into getting a kit later today.
06-09-2012, 02:51 PM
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I am not sure if the spark plug was tight or not, becuase once i saw this I kinda just put everything back together until I knew how to proceed.
06-09-2012, 02:54 PM
#6
That's the sign of a loose spark plug. What do you mean by "routine" spark plug change? What plugs were in there to begin with? How long were they in there? What torque was used to install them before and what torque did they still have when you took them out? Old style plugs did not have stainless steel crush rings. Honda did a recall on those and changed all plugs to ones with SS crush rings. They also upped the install torque of plugs from 13 to 18 lb/ft. I go with 20.
Some of the original plugs on these cars have been commonly found with less than 6 lb/ft of torque when removed. This was less than finger tight. Gases from the combustion chamber would get past the plug threads. This has been known to destroy an engine.
Additionally, valve cover gaskets on S2000's with over 100K miles have not shown signs of severe leaking. Those that do, have been messed with or have had some other malady be the cause.
Some of the original plugs on these cars have been commonly found with less than 6 lb/ft of torque when removed. This was less than finger tight. Gases from the combustion chamber would get past the plug threads. This has been known to destroy an engine.
Additionally, valve cover gaskets on S2000's with over 100K miles have not shown signs of severe leaking. Those that do, have been messed with or have had some other malady be the cause.
06-09-2012, 02:58 PM
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That's the sign of a loose spark plug. What do you mean by "routine" spark plug change? What plugs were in there to begin with? How long were they in there? What torque was used to install them before and what torque did they still have when you took them out? Old style plugs did not have stainless steel crush rings. Honda did a recall on those and changed all plugs to ones with SS crush rings. They also upped the install torque of plugs from 13 to 18 lb/ft. I go with 20.
Some of the original plugs on these cars have been commonly found with less than 6 lb/ft of torque when removed. This was less than finger tight. Gases from the combustion chamber would get past the plug threads. This has been known to destroy an engine.
Additionally, valve cover gaskets on S2000's with over 100K miles have not shown signs of severe leaking. Those that do, have been messed with or have had some other malady be the cause.
Some of the original plugs on these cars have been commonly found with less than 6 lb/ft of torque when removed. This was less than finger tight. Gases from the combustion chamber would get past the plug threads. This has been known to destroy an engine.
Additionally, valve cover gaskets on S2000's with over 100K miles have not shown signs of severe leaking. Those that do, have been messed with or have had some other malady be the cause.
I am still going to change out the valve cover gaskets. Are any of these a good bet? http://www.partsgeek.com/catalog/200...asket_set.html
Also, does anyone know the best way to go about cleaning this all up?
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06-09-2012, 03:33 PM
#10
60K is time to change the plugs. Honda says they're good for over 100K but I think that's way too long if you want to keep the car running well.
NGK platinums are a good choice so long as they are not the original ones. You need the part number with the "S" on the end. Just screw 'em in properly.
You may need to get a new coil pack but before you do this, I would suggest you clean that one up as best you can and swap it for another position and run it like that for a thousand miles or so and check it again. If nothing changes and the car runs OK, you may have bitten the bullet. When you change plugs, make it a habit of using a bright, sharp flashlight and looking down each plug hole to see what the top of each piston looks like. Are they all the same? Have they changed since the last time you looked? Doing maintenance on a car is not unlike going to see your doctor. If you check certain things routinely, you'll know when something changes. You can predict a car's health by doing this just like the doctor can keep trap of your health by knowing what things are normal and what things are different.
Change the VC gasket. Can't comment on that brand of gasket. Haven't needed to change mine yet - >80K miles and still tight. I've serviced a friend's S2000. He sold it at 100K miles and his gasket was still tight.
PS. Don't mistake a leaking VC gasket due to oil seeping out the metal of the front of the head. The early heads have been documented as having very porous metal. They do seep and sometimes, it appears as though it's leaking oil out the gasket.
NGK platinums are a good choice so long as they are not the original ones. You need the part number with the "S" on the end. Just screw 'em in properly.
You may need to get a new coil pack but before you do this, I would suggest you clean that one up as best you can and swap it for another position and run it like that for a thousand miles or so and check it again. If nothing changes and the car runs OK, you may have bitten the bullet. When you change plugs, make it a habit of using a bright, sharp flashlight and looking down each plug hole to see what the top of each piston looks like. Are they all the same? Have they changed since the last time you looked? Doing maintenance on a car is not unlike going to see your doctor. If you check certain things routinely, you'll know when something changes. You can predict a car's health by doing this just like the doctor can keep trap of your health by knowing what things are normal and what things are different.
Change the VC gasket. Can't comment on that brand of gasket. Haven't needed to change mine yet - >80K miles and still tight. I've serviced a friend's S2000. He sold it at 100K miles and his gasket was still tight.
PS. Don't mistake a leaking VC gasket due to oil seeping out the metal of the front of the head. The early heads have been documented as having very porous metal. They do seep and sometimes, it appears as though it's leaking oil out the gasket.