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93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
1st - 5th Generation Civic 1973 - 1995In the years from 1973 to 1995 Honda released its 1-5th Generation Civics.
1st Gen 1972 - July 1979
2nd Gen 1979 - 1983
3rd Gen 1984 - 1987
4th Gen 1987 - 1991
5th Gen 1992 - 1995
93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
I just pulled these plugs from the 1993 Civic VX D15z1 that I just bought. I've been having some some slight hesitation with partial throttle issues and I wondered if new plugs would help. I pulled these out to discover they look way different than the recommended NGK plugs (these are Bosch) and I'm wondering what someone can tell me about my engine condition from these. Some have a weird white crusty covering on parts, some have a lot of carbon around the base. Do I need new spark plug gaskets? Any advice anyone has is helpful, thank you!
Re: 93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
Originally Posted by Colin42
looks like its burning oil, make sure you're putting the proper ngk plugs in
Yup I just put the OEM recommended NGKs in and it was performing way better at first, now it seems to be about the same as it was. Is burning oil something I can fix myself with new spark plug O ring gaskets or would that be a repair like new piston rings?
Re: 93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
They look normal except for the one that has the dry, white discoloring on the anode and tip. Looks like a lean burn situation..possibly, a bad fuel injector? Do a cylinder drop (rpms) test by lifting spark plug wires one at a time and listen for rpms to drop while engine is idling.
Any blue-ish/black smoke with a burnt oil smell at startup emitting from the tail-pipe? Have someone rev the engine while you stand behind the car and look (and smell) for any abnormal smoke. Wait until engine is near or at operating temp before revving.
Inspect the air filter and replace if needed.
Inspect the PCV valve..shake it and if rattles (ball valve) it's working. If it doesn't rattle then replace it. Even if it rattles it's to spray some brake cleaner in it and shake it around to clean it out before reinstalling
Clean the throttle body with Throttle body cleaner spray (only) and use a toothbrush.
Do a compression test
Last edited by Wankenstein; 02-02-2018 at 09:03 PM.
Re: 93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
Fouling on that one plug looks like it may be from coolant possibly entering the cylinder. OP..check the radiator and reservoir coolant level everyday for a week in the morning (cold start) before you start the engine. While you're at it check the oil level each day as well.
Last edited by Wankenstein; 02-03-2018 at 04:24 AM.
Re: 93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
Originally Posted by Megalodong
They look normal except for the one that has the dry, white discoloring on the anode and tip. Looks like a lean burn situation..possibly, a bad fuel injector? Do a cylinder drop (rpms) test by lifting spark plug wires one at a time and listen for rpms to drop while engine is idling.
Any blue-ish/black smoke with a burnt oil smell at startup emitting from the tail-pipe? Have someone rev the engine while you stand behind the car and look (and smell) for any abnormal smoke. Wait until engine is near or at operating temp before revving.
Inspect the air filter and replace if needed.
Inspect the PCV valve..shake it and if rattles (ball valve) it's working. If it doesn't rattle then replace it. Even if it rattles it's to spray some brake cleaner in it and shake it around to clean it out before reinstalling
Clean the throttle body with Throttle body cleaner spray (only) and use a toothbrush.
Do a compression test
Thank you guys for the advice, I'm interested din trying the cylinder drop test but i can't find a video online that is like what you described so i'm still not quite sure how to do it.
And yes there is a slight exhaust smell on startup, but i don't have a catalytic converter and it's pretty much a straight pipe (ugh i know, previous owner)
I will test the PCV valve and come back with the results, thanks so much!
yours will probably look worse, but it gives you an idea of whats involved to do it properly.
you can try seafoam, and other products like mopar combustion chamber cleaner (super aggressive apparently)
or just live with it and keep an eye on the oil level
changing the piston rings on my daily is a little out of my wheelhouse at the moment. I would consider engine cleaner but i've read some very scary things about people developing engine problems afterwards, and about how much damage they do to all the gaskets in your engine. Have you had success with a certain brand?
Re: 93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
I have not personally had to deal with this, since the head is off your em1 you could remove the pistons out of that, clean them and replace the rings and that would give you practice since the engines are essentially the same
Re: 93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
Originally Posted by Colin42
I have not personally had to deal with this, since the head is off your em1 you could remove the pistons out of that, clean them and replace the rings and that would give you practice since the engines are essentially the same
Swapping the engine heads on the EM1 is already miles outside my comfort zone, and from what I've read changing piston rings is a whole lot more work. I did have a slight oil consumption issue on the EM1 (and blow-by?? carbon deposits on my back bumper above the tailpipe) but the shop that looked at my head also told me that one of my valves had not been sealing all the way, and those things can produce similar symptoms if I'm not mistaken. Could I get by just keeping an eye on my oil level or is it worth a bottom end rebuild? Same question goes for the VX
Re: 93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine?
You can buy alot of oil for the price of an engine rebuild. Hell you could buy a used engine for less money than a rebuild.
The em1 probably has oil ring issues as well (it's common on Hondas) just not as bad as the '93.
Just monitor the oil level and add as necessary, if it starts getting to the point where you're putting in more oil than gas then you might want to do something about it. Oil burning will lead to shorter cat and o2 sensor life, but not super drastic until the oil burning gets really bad
02-02-2018
93 Civic VX sparkplugs, what do they say about my engine? 
