Krondo

Ok so yesterday, I replaced my spark plugs for the first time. (About 2 years ago, I had my mechanic throw in some Bosch Platinum 4's) and yes, those spark plugs are horrible which I just came to realize.

So, there I was. I had taken #1, and #2 out and then I decided to head over to #4 so see if I was a candidate for some of those horror stories. But #4 was clean as a whistle. Now, on to the last plug #3.....

I lean over, get the socket in the coil "tube", lower it, and WTF?!?!
MY #3 PLUG IS COMPLETELY LOOSE!!! So loose in fact, I never attached my wrench to the end of the extension piece, I just loosened it by hand.

So now I'm flipping out, so I go to a spy store, and buy a Fiber Optic snake camera and take a look at my cylinders. 1-2-4 are clean, shiny, and silver! 3 is completely black. So black in fact, that unless your camera is sitting on the top of the piston, you wouldn't be able to tell where it was.

Now, my question is how should I go about fixing this? There is NO chemical, or over the shelf cleaner that will break these deposits up. Do I get the engine rebuilt? Or run some compression tests? I'm really out of ideas. You see, I drive this car hard, and I reach vtec more than a dozen times a day. I'm not being sarcastic, I'm just trying to share as much info as I can, hopefully to aid someone in their diagnosis.

I'm wondering if the build up isn't that bad, because my car's made it to here, with 70k miles, and a loose plug. Maybe just having new plugs, and keeping it maintained might burn the deposits out? I have no clue.

I do know that I'm counting my lucky stars. I cannot believe my engine didn't blow up years ago. I highly recommend you check your plugs often. Honestly, I'd say every other oil change (5k-6k miles). It only takes 5 minutes, and trust me, it's worth it.

HonCBRf2

I'd just throw in the new plugs and make sure they are tight and run it for a few hundred miles and then go back and recheck that cylinder. I would bet that it is shiney like the others.

It is just carbon build up from the that spark plug not firing correctly. once you get the new plug in, it show start to blow it out.

INTJ

Agreed. Several engines have failed in the old days because of this, we have a very special plug directly from the manufacture for this.

Sea foam and BG44k are my favorites for carbon deposit cleaning.

INDYMAC

Change the plugs, use some fuel system cleaner (Valvoline Fuel Rail Cleaner would be best IMO), and order a couple of bottles of Auto-Rx. Your engine will be as good as new.

http://auto-rx.com/

Krondo

So you guys would recommend GM's Combustion Chamber Cleaner, or SeaFoam, (or Indymac's Valvoline) to help aid the cleaning process?

I took the S out to my favorite stretch of highway today and really got on it. I must say, it feels alot smoother, and my idle problem (stuttering, a/c almost kills it) has almost gone away. I didn't notice any white smoke, or traces of carbon burn off though.

Would it behoove me to check/change spark plugs within a few thousand miles, or change the oil more regularly now since I might be burning that build-up?

Anyways thanks for the quick replies and suggestions, I really appreciate it.

RevJunky

Spark Plug Recall

Krondo

I knew of that, but the ones that gave me problems where Bosch, and they were torqued to 15lbs I believe. I'm also assuming that Bosch plugs didn't have the same seating problem at the NGK plugs...unless they used the same type of "washer" on their plugs, which seems to be the case.

INDYMAC

The Valvoline fuel rail cleaner has to be applied professionally. It's taking the place of their 3 step cleaning process. The throttle body has to be cleaned separately though.

The Auto-Rx website explains exactly how to use their product (oil changes, filter changes, etc.). This is a fantastic product that cleans your engine slowly and completely with no harmful solvents.

Krondo

Hey Indy, that Auto-Rx looks great. I'm on the phone placing an order right now. I usually run Pyroil through to break up sludge, but a slower process that I get pour and forget looks promising. As for the Valvoline, I usually run Chevron's fuel system cleaner through every fill-up. I also ran GM's Combustion Chamber Cleaner through it not to long ago, and was very pleased with the results.

Funny thing though. All the results I've been seeing from these additives I've been using for years, might be botched due to the fact that one of my damn spark plugs was finger tight.

Thanks again!

INDYMAC

Here's a link to the BITOG oil additive forum. There is a lot more discussion about Auto-RX here than there is on the ARX website.

http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbth...&Board=5&page=1

You'll see pictures of my engine on one of the threads.