[champion_hero]

So, as per my other thread earlier this week regarding injector cleaning tto combat my mysterious misfire issue, I thought that seeing as I was already under there, I'd inspect the plugs and coils to be on the safe side, as well as giving the plugs a little clean.
To my horror, I found that the 3rd coil pack seems to be coated in rust and carbon!?


You can clearly see the difference been coil pack 2 and 3 in the picture below:


I inspected the cylinder where the pack plugs in and found it to be very very black, rough and covered in carbon, with a rust like substance around the entrance threading:


Compare this to number 4:


The plug itself seemed to have very little carbon build up on the tip, looking almost unused, whereas the base was very dirty. All other plugs looked more or less the same, with an even coating on the tip.


Is this a sign that the coil is bad, or something more serious?

Once plugged back in, I started up and lifted the packs out as much as I could one by one to test, but couldn't really hear a difference. Perhaps I didn't lift them far enough as I was fearful of shocks.

Any ideas? Should I be concerned? Is it possible to clean down where the pack plugs in?
The car past its mot last week so it's an odd one...
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
Jamie

[GaryB]

To me it looks like the plug hasn't seated properly and you're getting blow by. Clean the coil packs up, get new plugs and run it for a few hundred miles.

Was that plug loose?

[GaryB]

And what's with the rubber gloves ya wuss?

[richmc]

That looks like a LOT of gap on the plug. Try changing the plugs and if thats the only crap looking coil pack change it too. Leave it for 2000 miles and have another look.

[unclefester]

What he said .... both posts haha

[F3 ANG]

 GaryB, on 19 February 2012 - 12:05 PM, said:

To me it looks like the plug hasn't seated properly and you're getting blow by. Clean the coil packs up, get new plugs and run it for a few hundred miles.

Was that plug loose?

that plug has not being seated , I'd run a thread cleaner down that plug hole and change the plugs,

[GaryB]

And the plug not seating is probably the cause of your misfire....

[gbduo]

Yeh that gap is huge, I think it should be 0.7mm?

[F3 ANG]

Plug gap should be 1mm to 1.1mm A used plug when you take it out can be anything up to 1.3mm ( still within limits for a used plug)

[gbduo]

 F3 ANG, on 19 February 2012 - 01:24 PM, said:

Plug gap should be 1mm to 1.1mm A used plug when you take it out can be anything up to 1.3mm ( still within limits for a used plug)

Thanks for clearing that up!

Graham

[champion_hero]

Hmm thanks for responses guys. Will have to take them out again and check the gap then. Oddly though they were only replaced under a year ago by TGM. Tom put in iridium plugs as he believes they are better... I'd be rather surprised if he got them wrong.

The gaps mentioned above, are these the official gap sizes?

[F3 ANG]

 champion_hero, on 19 February 2012 - 01:40 PM, said:

Hmm thanks for responses guys. Will have to take them out again and check the gap then. Oddly though they were only replaced under a year ago by TGM. Tom put in iridium plugs as he believes they are better... I'd be rather surprised if he got them wrong.

The gaps mentioned above, are these the official gap sizes?

Yes as per service manual,,,,, Tom will have put them to the correct gap but as the plug was loose it will have being firing different than the rest, so will have burned the tip more, make sure they are seated when you refit measure from the top of the plug to the rocker cover edge, just to make sure No3 is in correctly, if it isn't don't force it get the thread cleaned on the head I'd still bin those plugs though.

[s2konroids]

Agree with above, don't gapp iridium tips you can break them or worse fail inside the cylinder.

[champion_hero]

I was checking the pictures I took and the model that have been put in are Denso iridium sk22. According to Denso's website, the sk22 are for the Accord!? The gap and the heat rating are the same, but there must be something different about them or why else sell an alternative. So I've ordered a set of the ngk platinum from opie oils (£36).. I can't imagine ill notice the 1-2 HP from the ngk iridium to justify the price, and hearing stories of tips dropping, as well as the above has made me paranoid now. Thanks for noticing that guys.

I've also ordered a thread chaser and a pipe brush to clean in there (will leave plug in when cleaning) ^_^

[GaryB]

 champion_hero, on 20 February 2012 - 02:16 AM, said:

a pipe brush to clean in there (will leave plug in when cleaning) ^_^

A good clean with the old plug in place and then a few good squirts with an air line to blow the crap back out. (While wearing eye protection as you'll end up with a face full of it)

[F3 ANG]

 champion_hero, on 20 February 2012 - 02:16 AM, said:

I've also ordered a thread chaser

Remember when using a thread chaser in the plug hole to coat the chaser in grease, any debris will stick to the grease rather than dropping into the cylinder

[WinFreak]

Might be worth sticking a vacuum cleaner on the end after to try and suck out any crap that still falls in?