After reading Roger's and Barry WY's posts about the Netherlands recall and problem with #4 spark plug and cylinder, I checked my #1 and #4 plugs today. My car is MY2000 with 9,800 miles. No sign of tapping noises or performance problems so far. I use 93 octane fuel and have had 2 oil changes. Currently on synthetic oil changed by the Honda Dealer. However, both plugs #4 and #1 show oil fouling, sooty electrodes, and scorched insulators. I expect #2 and #3 are the same.
Please advise me as a newbie whether:
1) I should just change plugs and keep monitoring the situation.
2) Reinstall the plugs and take into the Honda dealer for service.
3) What to say to the dealer as far as expectations for service.

 

Your discription sounds a little contradictory. If the plugs are oil fouled, then they would not be scorched. If the plug is too cold, it will build up excessive deposits on the insulator. If the plug is too hot, it will not have any deposits on it.

Check out NGK's "How to read a plug" article (http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinfo/spar...aq/faqread2.asp). I went to a slightly colder plug, and it has a bone white tip, with some buildup of deposits on the base of the insulator (you have to look down into the plug to see it). My original plugs were bone white all the way to the base of the insulator, which I believe means that they were too hot. Depending on the additives in your fuel, you can have some interesting colors deposited on the insulator as well.

 

Thanks for the article, Gernby.
I'm attaching pics of plug #4

and plug #1 so you can see what I attempted to describe.

Please be patient, this is my first attempt posting pics on this forum.
I've never seen oil on a plug (on the threads) and the scorching (on the insulator) like on my car. These are the OEM (Denso) plugs with 9,800 miles.
Has anyone else experienced these plug symptoms?

 

The pics don't show.

I haven't posted that many pictures either. The only way I have successfully done it, is to add them to my S2KI photo album (from the "Start Button"), then you can reference them from your post.

 

Tried that but just got frustrated. Oh well...
I can see the pics when I preview the my 2nd post.
I'll see about taking the car in this week to the dealer.

 

Have you seen any of the treads regarding improperly torqued plugs from the factory? It is a fairly well known fact that plugs can loosen to less than 6 #'s. They are supposed to be 13 #'s but even this has been shown to be too little. 18-20 #'s is more like what they need. Did you by chance notice that when you removed your plugs what torque it needed before they turned or notice that they unscrewed very easily? Plugs on that loose will not work properly, will not seal the combustion chamber properly. Many of us have seen for ourselves that right from the factory the plugs are quite loose and at times over-torqued as well (on 2002) - as high as 40 #'s. This may have been the cause of a couple of plug breakages.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by LouS2K
[B]Tried that but just got frustrated.

 

Thanks Xviper. The plugs were easy to remove in the first place. I am entering my VIN in profile to try one more time to post pics. The oily spots on the paper towel were from the threads on each plug. Plug #4 is the second photo. The scorching is visible on the ceramic insulators. What causes that???
I could not find replacement Denso or NGK plugs in stock at my local PepBoys, O'Reilly's, or Discount Auto Parts, so tomorrow I'll try foreign part houses.

 

It's hard to tell from the photos, but they look pretty normal to me. Are you sure the oil didn't come in from the top of the valve cover? Each spark plug tube has its own O-ring gasket. If the oil was coming in from the cylinder, the insulators would be much worse.

Are the gaps correct on these?

You should probably just order the new plugs from www.sparkplugs.com

 

I concur with gernby. The scorching looks pretty normal except maybe for #4 which might be a bit more than what mine looked like. The oily depositsmight be a result of the plug not being screwed down tight enough. My plugs were oily too the first time but after I torqued them down, the next time I checked them, they were not oily. I'm no expert on the #4 cylinder failures but a loose plug may have something to do with it. In most 4 cylinder engines, it's the #4 hole that gets the hottest. It gets the coolant last.