does this sparkplug plug look lean to you?
03-Aug-2004, 10:11 AM
#1
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does this sparkplug plug look lean to you?
these are the plugs were pulling out of my buddies h22a1...
They look lean to me, the porcline is white as new, and the strap has alittle white on it sometimes... inside the shell is black
my plugs always look tanned, like a straw colour... and i have always been under the assumption thats a perfect burn.
I think these plugs look lean...but the mechanic at altech, (where the swap was done) says they look fine...
and no matter how much fuel pressure we give it, they still come out like this... the plugs are also heatrange 7 (altech gave him those plugs) when all the service manuals calls for a 6... so the plug is actually a heat range colder than it should, and they still come out white as snow...
So is this just an h22 thing? or is this engine really running lean?
Temp gauge reads normal... engine runs really strong, 94 octane used, valves are newly adjusted...new 255 walboro pump, new fuel filter, new main relay...
all im left with is timing...but altech wont check it, cuz he says its impossible for the timing to get knocked out a few degrees... And i dont know how to check timing myslef..
Any thoughts on this? Do healthy mixtures produce white plugs in some engines?
They look lean to me, the porcline is white as new, and the strap has alittle white on it sometimes... inside the shell is black
my plugs always look tanned, like a straw colour... and i have always been under the assumption thats a perfect burn.
I think these plugs look lean...but the mechanic at altech, (where the swap was done) says they look fine...
and no matter how much fuel pressure we give it, they still come out like this... the plugs are also heatrange 7 (altech gave him those plugs) when all the service manuals calls for a 6... so the plug is actually a heat range colder than it should, and they still come out white as snow...
So is this just an h22 thing? or is this engine really running lean?
Temp gauge reads normal... engine runs really strong, 94 octane used, valves are newly adjusted...new 255 walboro pump, new fuel filter, new main relay...
all im left with is timing...but altech wont check it, cuz he says its impossible for the timing to get knocked out a few degrees... And i dont know how to check timing myslef..
Any thoughts on this? Do healthy mixtures produce white plugs in some engines?
03-Aug-2004, 10:36 AM
#4
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just the guy i was hopeing would reply...
well the plug is white... you can see in the first pic...
either way there is no colour what so ever on the porcline...
should it not be tan? what do your plugs look like, are they white or tanned
And dont i need a strobe light to check the timing?
well the plug is white... you can see in the first pic...
either way there is no colour what so ever on the porcline...
should it not be tan? what do your plugs look like, are they white or tanned
And dont i need a strobe light to check the timing?
03-Aug-2004, 10:44 AM
#6
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yah my batterys didnt have enough charge left for a flash, didnt really get the cameras settings right, then it died...then the plugs had to go back in to drive the car lol...
But still the pics are just bonus... lets pretend i didnt take any... a description should be good enough...
they are white white... 0 COLOUR!! the porcline looks brand new...
But still the pics are just bonus... lets pretend i didnt take any... a description should be good enough...
they are white white... 0 COLOUR!! the porcline looks brand new...
03-Aug-2004, 10:47 AM
#7
are they glazed at all? lean plugs get glazed.
if the plugs LOOK brand new, you may have a headgasket leak as coolant is getting into the combustion chamber, thereby steamcleaning the plugs. just a thought.
if the plugs LOOK brand new, you may have a headgasket leak as coolant is getting into the combustion chamber, thereby steamcleaning the plugs. just a thought.
03-Aug-2004, 10:52 AM
#8
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hmm... coolent hasnt moved in the past 3,000 km...we have been monitoring it frequently...and there no sweet smell in the exhust... how about water in the gas..? Ive supected this before, cuz of an intermitent idle problem
03-Aug-2004, 10:55 AM
#10
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Originally posted by bbarbulo
are they glazed at all? lean plugs get glazed.
if the plugs LOOK brand new, you may have a headgasket leak as coolant is getting into the combustion chamber, thereby steamcleaning the plugs. just a thought.
are they glazed at all? lean plugs get glazed.
if the plugs LOOK brand new, you may have a headgasket leak as coolant is getting into the combustion chamber, thereby steamcleaning the plugs. just a thought.
If they are shiny clean then you probably got coolant mixing. I haven't checked mine since I did the install, I can check em out and let you know.. I'm pretty sure they should be tanned. Mine will probably be blackish with all the WOTs!
And yes, you gotta have a timing gun to see the mark. You'll see an arrow once you pull the rubber marker off. As for accurate readings I'm not sure what you have to do to a Lude, but in my Civic, I loop the 2 pin under the passenger side dash before I check the timing. I'm running a P28 Civic ECU.
03-Aug-2004, 11:02 AM
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no pinging... the valves ticked alittle, but the valve adjustment cured that...
do you have an adj FPR? if u do what pressure do you run it at... we bumped it up to 48psi WOT (stock pressure is 42ish) just to see if we could get some colour on the plugs...negative... but damn it hauled *** lol..h22s sure like the fuel.
Mods are : AEM CAI, 21/2 exhaust, highflow cat, B&M fpr
do you have an adj FPR? if u do what pressure do you run it at... we bumped it up to 48psi WOT (stock pressure is 42ish) just to see if we could get some colour on the plugs...negative... but damn it hauled *** lol..h22s sure like the fuel.
Mods are : AEM CAI, 21/2 exhaust, highflow cat, B&M fpr
03-Aug-2004, 11:09 AM
#14
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joe at altech told my buddy (the owner of the car) that its the inside of the plug that tells you whats up... and not the porclyn 
first time ive been told that... he seems to think its fine... Im just haveing trouble swallowing that cuz out of the hundreds of people i have ever prev talked to, or read about, or any manual i have ever owned says that its colour of the porclyin that you are supposed to read..and the overall condition of the plugg..
Maybe ive been mislead lol
first time ive been told that... he seems to think its fine... Im just haveing trouble swallowing that cuz out of the hundreds of people i have ever prev talked to, or read about, or any manual i have ever owned says that its colour of the porclyin that you are supposed to read..and the overall condition of the plugg..Maybe ive been mislead lol
03-Aug-2004, 11:22 AM
#17
water in the gas will do that as well.... doesn't have to be coolant. it's not a bad thing... really helps to decarbon the motor. I plan to pour water inside my SW2 motor to help it get clean. if there is no glazing, there is no leaning out usually. as for timing, what you do Cablerat, is to prevent the ECU from adjusting timing on the fly, so you can set your base, unadjusted timing. That's the correct way to do that. But I don't know specifically how you do that on all cars, cuz it will depend on the ECU that you run.
04-Aug-2004, 04:54 AM
#18
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Originally posted by bbarbulo
water in the gas will do that as well.... doesn't have to be coolant. it's not a bad thing... really helps to decarbon the motor. I plan to pour water inside my SW2 motor to help it get clean. if there is no glazing, there is no leaning out usually. as for timing, what you do Cablerat, is to prevent the ECU from adjusting timing on the fly, so you can set your base, unadjusted timing. That's the correct way to do that. But I don't know specifically how you do that on all cars, cuz it will depend on the ECU that you run.
water in the gas will do that as well.... doesn't have to be coolant. it's not a bad thing... really helps to decarbon the motor. I plan to pour water inside my SW2 motor to help it get clean. if there is no glazing, there is no leaning out usually. as for timing, what you do Cablerat, is to prevent the ECU from adjusting timing on the fly, so you can set your base, unadjusted timing. That's the correct way to do that. But I don't know specifically how you do that on all cars, cuz it will depend on the ECU that you run.
come get some american SHELL gas..... youll get plenty of water
04-Aug-2004, 12:29 PM
#19
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If one or two plugs were white, you may have a head gasket problem. The only way to know for sure is to do a block test. As for all four being white, check for a vacuum leak, plugged filter, or anything to make it lean. That's what it looks like to me.
