Old plugs pulled, #5 looks suspicious. Tell me what you guys think.
What do my spark plugs tell you? (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter CaptKevman
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Look OK to me. They needed changing before now....but I don't see anything alarming. 4 & 5 both have some oil on them...but probably from old spark plug seals letting oil drip down on them.
Check your new plugs after a couple thousand miles and see what they look like. New plugs should give you a better idea.
Your engine 'might' be running a bit rich, but its hard to tell from that photo the 'color' of the build up on the plugs.
Check your new plugs after a couple thousand miles and see what they look like. New plugs should give you a better idea.
Your engine 'might' be running a bit rich, but its hard to tell from that photo the 'color' of the build up on the plugs.
An oil analysis will tell you a lot more, and it won't be opinion. My $0.02
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thanks fellas, those are the old plugs, we'll see how the new ones treat me.
surfpig
The Anti-Tech
At least they weren't Champions!That the purchaser was willing to compromise, didn't step up to Denso!
1, 2, 4 are burning properly.
3, 6 appear to be running a bit rich
5 can't tell if it's rich or oil. A pic more straight on to see the insulators would give a better feel for what they're really doing.
3, 6 appear to be running a bit rich
5 can't tell if it's rich or oil. A pic more straight on to see the insulators would give a better feel for what they're really doing.
Hornd
SILVER Star
That the purchaser was willing to compromise, didn't step up to Denso!
I would not go discounting NGK Iridiums over Denso Platinums.
That's 80s tech vs 2000's tech.
You also do not gap the new plugs. They come to spec, and it likely has to do with damaging the center electrode.
DirtScaresMe
Trouble Maker
So I gapped mine becase:
a) the factory gap was .8mm (I think)
b) the gap wasn't right on these plugs that I bought: Amazon.com: Toyota Genuine Parts 90919-01176 Spark Plug: Automotive
I was a little confused because the FSM says one measurement, but then a bunch of folks on here say "don't worry, just use them as they come". I went with the manual's spec.
Hornd
SILVER Star
With a smaller electrode they come gapped for optimum performance.
You gapped to a plug that has a much smaller electrode than the OEM plugs.
See how it runs.
Flank
American by Birth, Texan by the grace of God.
They tell me "replace me"... See how the engine runs.
1,2,4,6 look like they have some deposit buildup. I've done plugs on a few different 80s for friends where the plugs weren't even tight enough. This will cause leakage/sucking in and buildup of deposits like this. Did they feel kinda loose when you took them out ? Also, 1,3,5 look like a little built up fuel. Could be incomplete burn from shut off as firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4. Nothing to worry about. Gap looks a little large from pic though. I would stick with .032 gap and just run plain old OE NGK or Denso. One thing I've noticed with Denso plugs is the ground strap seems slightly offset from the electrode. I don't know why. But, I choose NGK because of this. Can't go wrong with either I suppose. Just the weird offset makes me choose NGK. PLus I like the grooved electrode of the NGK for arc stability. I used to only run NGK back in my racing days. Under nitrous and turbo application it was the best plug to prevent pre-ignition.
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thanks everyone for their replies. I haven't driven in a while as I work at home and my Crusher mostly gets covered with tree pollen these days. which makes me a bit sad.
update; plugs were replaced and some weird stuff happened.
let me back up just a little bit; this all started when i stupidly washed the engine bay and then I developed a misfire (lesson learned). my first inclination was water in the distro. As it was due for basic tune up, I replaced the plugs, wires, distro cap, rotor. all brand new. checking the engine codes, it showed running rich and throttle position sensor codes. I replaced the TPS with a new one, pulled the battery for a while to reset everything and hoped for the best. nope. womp-womp. same behavior. Still misfires, runs rough and smells like there's unburnt fuel in the exhaust.
I drove it around a couple miles again to try to get it to fire off another CEL and eventually it did. again, running rich and TPS sensor codes.
I pulled my #5 plug and took a closer look at it as I've suspected this cylinder was being a jerk.
if you look closely at the new plug, it looks like the spark has been jumping though the white insulator .
why would this happen?
update; plugs were replaced and some weird stuff happened.
let me back up just a little bit; this all started when i stupidly washed the engine bay and then I developed a misfire (lesson learned). my first inclination was water in the distro. As it was due for basic tune up, I replaced the plugs, wires, distro cap, rotor. all brand new. checking the engine codes, it showed running rich and throttle position sensor codes. I replaced the TPS with a new one, pulled the battery for a while to reset everything and hoped for the best. nope. womp-womp. same behavior. Still misfires, runs rough and smells like there's unburnt fuel in the exhaust.
I drove it around a couple miles again to try to get it to fire off another CEL and eventually it did. again, running rich and TPS sensor codes.
I pulled my #5 plug and took a closer look at it as I've suspected this cylinder was being a jerk.
if you look closely at the new plug, it looks like the spark has been jumping though the white insulator .
why would this happen?
Maybe because someone dropped the box of spark plugs.
Yes, if it is arcing through, it's a bad plug.
My rule of thumb is that if a spark plug is dropped on concrete, it is no longer viable.
