spark plug quiz game (1 Viewer)

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Feb 28, 2017
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Location
portland oregon
anyone out there bored enough with 2020 and/or covid lockdown that they need a diversion?

care to provide arm-chair mechanic insights into the condition of these spark plugs?
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disregard the gap note...that was reminder to myself for the new ones.

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they have been in service for a little over 1 year - maybe 10,000 miles. previous of tune-ups have been done by Josh @ Willamette Blvd Service...so I have not seen what past plugs have looked like from my truck. she does use a quart of oil in 3000 miles....i was half expecting to see the plugs a little more oil fouled. as far a where the quart goes: I have no oil drips on the ground where she parks...so that 1qt per 3000 is not dripping out of various orifices. (rear main and oil pan gaskets done at time of 5 speed swap 2 years ago.). Her bottom and backside are dry <-- insert mom joke here.

She gets a solid 15Mpg on the highway if not loaded down for a big trip. She gets 12 to 14mpg if heavily weighed with camping / fishing gear / dog / wife / etc...

no driveability issues - but I do get excessive pinging when climbing a grade and it's hot weather (especially if i dont run premium)

running higher octane fuel takes care of the pinging. (I've run more bottles of different carbon build-up removers than I care to admit...nothing has really made much difference). if its hot weather and i'm climbing grade and it's not running 93 octane...it sounds like an 80's era diesel rabbit!


i just changed the air filter and the plugs cuz i'm bored and it's been a year..


cheers!
paul
 
They look normal for that many miles between changes and the number of miles on the engine. Burning a quart of oil is normal for an older 2F. Your oil loss is going out the tail pipe. There will really only be black oily gunked up plugs if the engine is always run for short trips and not allowed to get hot.

My verdict: Change the plugs and you're done.

Has the EGR system been disabled?
 
I think the advance limiter pin on your distributor needs fixed.
 
They look normal for that many miles between changes and the number of miles on the engine. Burning a quart of oil is normal for an older 2F. Your oil loss is going out the tail pipe. There will really only be black oily gunked up plugs if the engine is always run for short trips and not allowed to get hot.

My verdict: Change the plugs and you're done.

Has the EGR system been disabled?

thanks OSS!!

EGR - nope...100% stock/original under there.

googling around for various spark plug pics...I have to agree - these look pretty normal with nice tan/brown haze...seems like that is pretty good.

Truck has 279K on the clock...and my trips are LONG...as in beyond total heat soak...cooked floorboards, warm drivers seat hardware, hot e-brake lever, and all the fun that comes with that!
 
An old 2F shouldn't pre ignite and knock annoyingly with regular gas if the timing is correct. But mid grade gas (I found) did let the engine run better.

I'd run through the functional tests of the EGR system detailed in the Emissions Manual and check the timing of the engine.
If the EGR system isn't working properly, the engine can ping.
 
An old 2F shouldn't pre ignite and knock annoyingly with regular gas if the timing is correct. But mid grade gas (I found) did let the engine run better.

I'd run through the functional tests of the EGR system detailed in the Emissions Manual and check the timing of the engine.
If the EGR system isn't working properly, the engine can ping.

just asking to clarify - my truck being an 88 - would this be the same for 2F vs. 3FE?

on the occasion that i find non-ethanol premium...the truck feels almost like a sports car! (and no pinging regardless of heat/incline/load)
 
Looks good for high mileage plugs. Replace with NGK Iridium gapped at .032", and if you want a little smoother running, index your plugs so that the open side of the plug faces the exhaust valve. Won't net you any power on these engines, but makes the idle and acceleration noticeably smoother.
 
How is that done?
Make a mark on your socket indicating the open end on the plug so you know when how far to tighten it. The exhaust valve is on the right on 1,3, and 5 the on the left for the rest, I think. Never heard of this before.
 
How is that done?
Lots of trial and error, plus I use indexing washers from Moroso (14mm flat copper washers). If the plug installs with the correct orientation without an indexing washer, you're good. If it does need a washer you remove the sealing washer from the plug, then the appropriate thickness of indexing washer to orient the plug correctly.
 
Truck has 279K on the clock...and my trips are LONG...as in beyond total heat soak...cooked floorboards, warm drivers seat hardware, hot e-brake lever, and all the fun that comes with that!
Somewhat unrelated to the sparkplug question, but if you feel like the floor boards are getting excessively hot it might be worth checking into the smog pump and air injection system. On a trip to Colorado a few years ago I had trouble with mine not shutting off when the catalytic converter got too hot. Its meant to heat up the cat to burn off any unburnt fuel in the exhaust, but mine got so hot that the cat was glowing red.
 
Somewhat unrelated to the sparkplug question, but if you feel like the floor boards are getting excessively hot it might be worth checking into the smog pump and air injection system. On a trip to Colorado a few years ago I had trouble with mine not shutting off when the catalytic converter got too hot. Its meant to heat up the cat to burn off any unburnt fuel in the exhaust, but mine got so hot that the cat was glowing red.


Hiya Machinist...thanks for that suggestion. I've never had anything related to smog/emissions looked at or serviced at all...so that's a good idea.

I will say that the floorboards get hot because I did a 5 speed swap a couple years ago and never got around to putting down new floorboard insulation and carpet...so part of that is my own fault for not getting around to redoing the inside. This summer I had a lot more time (thanks to covid) that I bought a roll of EZ-Cool and did 2 layers on the floor...it helped a lot on trip to wyoming.

I have a gopro i could strap underneath next time I take the truck on a long trip and see if the cat gets so hot that it glows...i've never looked.
 
Hiya Machinist...thanks for that suggestion. I've never had anything related to smog/emissions looked at or serviced at all...so that's a good idea.

I will say that the floorboards get hot because I did a 5 speed swap a couple years ago and never got around to putting down new floorboard insulation and carpet...so part of that is my own fault for not getting around to redoing the inside. This summer I had a lot more time (thanks to covid) that I bought a roll of EZ-Cool and did 2 layers on the floor...it helped a lot on trip to wyoming.

I have a gopro i could strap underneath next time I take the truck on a long trip and see if the cat gets so hot that it glows...i've never looked.
If its just warm its not really something to worry about. Mine was hot enough to start to melt some of the sound deadening material and I could feel the heat through my boots! ...Im probably just paranoid about my truck catching on fire after that incident haha
 

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