Yoshiemaster

... puttin the cai back in and takin stuff apart/assembling them, when i decided to take a look at my spark plugs. so i pull out the "rod" that's above my spark plugs and in the chamber i find that there is a good deal of rust built up on the inside. i was just wondering what could of caused the rust to build up, because it wasn't just inside 1 of the chambers, it was inside all 4.

also, i bought this car used about 2000 miles ago, should i replace the spark plugs?

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

Rust.... inside....can you explain where this is? Most of the engine is aluminum, which should not be rusting... you mean rust inside the the connection to the plug?

hockeystar17mnj

I would guess that you have had water in your engine, either through your gas or it going under your hood. Which side is the rust on? spark side, or the coil side?

ctx66

Maybe the previous owner washed the engine compartment, and water went down the spark plug tubes.

hockeystar17mnj

I hope the previous owner didnt wash the engine compartnemt too often with a power washer. I normally just strip everything i can out of the engine. Take rags with rubbing alcohol and wipe everything clean. Now if the rust is reachable take some really fine grit sand paper and get rid of it. Just make sure nothing goes into your engine when you have the sparks out.

Yoshiemaster

yea i'm going to go ahead and take a small rag and screwdriver and take the rust off of the inside of the chamber, take the sediment out with a low power vacuum, then change the spark plugs.

scansel912

iTrader: (4)

How many miles are on your car?

Unless you have over 100k, changing the plugs is unnecessary.

Yoshiemaster

yea actually i just talked to one of my mechanically gifted friends and he said the same thing. i have 47k miles so i'm not going to change them, instead i'll just spend my time cleaning the rust to pass the hours of boredom.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

the 100k spark plug change is Honda marketing BS IMO. I think Honda just wanted to say no major maintance for at least 100k miles. And while yes the OEM plugs CAN last that long, I found at 50k, changing them help power (it might have been the placebo effect) and MPG (not placebo effect - recorded). Not only that, but then I took them out they looked horrible. So for the $10 for new ones, I just replaced them and was done with it.

Yoshiemaster

well i went and got autolite double platinum spark plugs and did the swap. i'm glad i did because i immediately noticed that the car was more responsive to my accelleration.

i looked at the tips of the old plugs and i think there's too much fuel entering the engine kuhz the tips are really dark. is there anything i can do to fix it?

bOoStEd042dr

iTrader: (2)

yeah...that's stupid not to change your plugs for 100k....you'lll kill your power and driveability imo

hockeystar17mnj

feeling a power increase is not all in your head. I changed my plugs for the bosch 2's and it felt alot smoother and it didnt feel as if i had to press the throttle down as much to get to the speed i wanted. And for everyone who says that you dont need to change your plugs until 100,000 miles, you really should look at a plug at 50,000 miles. It isnt pretty, so take that and multiply it by 2. "yoshiemaster" i would suggest changing your plugs. It is a relatively cheap change and you will not regret it. Unless your like my idiot friend and left the plugs out and went to lunch. A bunch of **** went into his motor and the genius did not even check. we all know the result of that one... BOOM!

Yoshiemaster

yea i changed the plugs. didn't cost me much and it gave me sumtin to do. the only thing i have a question about is how to regulate how much fuel enters the engine because my spark plug tips were pretty dark, which means that too much fuel is entering.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

99% of all cars made today run rich for safety reasons. If your cars runs lean... well it won't run to long; but if it runs rich, you'll waste a little tiny bit of fuel. And the cars runs extremely rich during cold startup. So between these two things, your plugs will look pretty nasty by 50k miles.

Edit to say if your car runs lean, it won't run to long

Yoshiemaster

ahhh ok that makes sense. a friend of mine told me that the ideal spark plug should be like a golden brown color, but i've never seen a plug that color, so i wasn't really sure. but anyway thanks alot jrfish, you were a big help

cwo715

iTrader: (13)

NGK Iridium plugs and use anti seize on them plugs.. can the plugs come out or are they rusted in too?

Yoshiemaster

no i got the plugs out easy. i put anti seize on the douple platinum autolites.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

do you mean the burnt areas of the coil? i think thats normal. i dont believe there would be any rust. plugs are cheap, and for the money i sleep better knowing im getting the most out of an already anemic engine. $8 a year isnt that bad.

ctx66

Heres a picture of my plugs when i took them out at 90k..

Is the rust you're talking about where it's white and says Denso and the plug part number?

http://www.gts4.com/plugs/all4/medium1.jpg

02BLKCIVIC

iTrader: (8)

I too have this "rust"...

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

I think every plug that has been used has this "rust"

02BLKCIVIC

iTrader: (8)

So no cause for concurn?

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

If it looks like the picture ctx linked to, no cause.

Yoshiemaster

listen guys, it wasn't on the plug...... alright so you know that tube that you had to put your socket wrench into in order to get the plug out? it's the same "tube" that the plug is sitting at the bottom of. well the rust i'm talking about is located on the walls of that tube.

gearbox

iTrader: (95)

ya all mine have that. its scorch marks not rust. why does it matter anyway if everythings working.

Jrfish007

iTrader: (3)

Well rust in that area, sounds screwy to me... is it lots of rust? That area is sealed it really shouldn't have water in it.....

Yoshiemaster

ahhh, ok that makes sense. i was just wonderin what caused it.

civydcex

I would go with denso iridiums. Pricey but I have tried NGK, Bosch, Autolite, ect. and most noticable difference was with denso iridiums.