Jamie 1 Posted June 1, 2014 Just whipped out my plugs to see what sort of condition they were in and to see if they could give me an indication of what my burning issue could be. They're pretty dark but dry so I'm thinking over fuelling as opposed to oil contamination. What do you reckon? They're not actually quite as dark as they look in the pics Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ray1965 10 Posted June 1, 2014 (edited) What Your Old Spark Plugs Tell You about Your Vehicle Condition Clues Probable Causes Remedies Normal plug Brown or greyish- tan deposit on side electrode, Everything’s fine. Just clean and re gap the plug. Carbon-fouled plug Black, dry, fluffy soot on insulator tip and electrodes. Overly rich fuel/air mixture, dirty air filter, too much driving at low speeds, or idling for a long time. Switch to “hotter” plug. (The higher the plug number, the hotter the plug.) Oil-fouled plug Wet, black, oily deposits on insulator tip and electrodes. Oil may be leaking into cylinders past worn pistons or poorly adjusted or worn valves. Clean and re gap the plug, or replace it, but find out where the leak is coming from. Burned plug Blisters on insulator tip, melted electrodes, burned stuff. Engine overheating, gap is too wide, wrong or loose plugs, overly lean fuel/air mixture, or incorrect timing Replace the plug. Worn plug Severely eroded or worn electrodes Plug has been in there too long Replace the plug. Edited June 1, 2014 by Ray1965 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie 1 Posted June 2, 2014 Nice one cheers Ray. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted June 2, 2014 They're all too dark and the bottom left 2 look pretty crusty, which is usually oil. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corrado wannabe 12 Posted June 2, 2014 I think you have two too many ;-) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie 1 Posted June 2, 2014 Cheers Kev. Not what I wanted to hear but I kind of knew in my heart of hearts that's what it be. Spoke to a mate earlier and he said it's not too bad a job to replace the valve guides, just sounds time consuming to me. Funny you say that CW - most of my mates give me stick cos there's two missing! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
corrado wannabe 12 Posted June 4, 2014 Lol the V8/V10/V12 club then Jamie! Aint no replacement for displacement as the Yanks say. Anyway back on topic for you.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kevin Bacon 5 Posted June 4, 2014 Cheers Kev. Not what I wanted to hear but I kind of knew in my heart of hearts that's what it be. Spoke to a mate earlier and he said it's not too bad a job to replace the valve guides, just sounds time consuming to me. I would get yourself a spare head from ebay or here and refurb that one. Then you can just pick a weekend and swap the head over and have a look at the bores etc whilst you're there. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jamie 1 Posted June 4, 2014 I did consider that Kev but I always worry if the one I buy is worse than the one I've got. It's not a major concern for me at the minute, the car doesn't do many miles so I'll get the head off when I take it off the road for the winter and have the work done then. May also combine doing this and fitting a set of 268s if the cash flow situation is ok when I get round to it :) Cheers for your replies Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
