[RESOLVED] heavily damaged spark plug

[92-eagle-talon]

Ok, So my car is running like shit. I pulled the spark plugs and the plug from the number 2 cylinder is all mangled. wtf ? It is bent, and chewed up real bad. there's probably about
1/8 inch of it just torn off. What would cause this ? Is my engine trashed ?

 

[delta448]

Most likely yes.

I doubt that the plug was directly hit by a piston, so if you're sure it's mechanical damage and not tuning damage or a foreign body in your cylinder, you most likely smacked a valve with the piston and broke off the valve head. Which in turn would have hit your plug and also munched like an Ethiopian at a buffet on your piston and combustion chamber.

Just a guess.

 

[spectre22]

Sorry the link did not work. Here is the right one. Spark Plugs

 

[DSMunknown]

• http://www.aa1car.com/library/reading_spark_plugs.jpg
• Spark Plugs

EDIT: Too slow...

 

[Defiant]

Nothing that's supposed to go through a cylinder will cause mechanical damage to a spark plug. You've ingested a fastener, or a valve face has come apart, or some similar disaster. The engine will probably need to be torn down.

 

[Rob10_99]

Any time you have spark plug damage caused by something physical(not tune related) you will be tearing that engine apart, or you can just have a 3 cylinder.

 

[92-eagle-talon]

you guys are right, that's probably what happened. When I first bought the car the timing belt shredded. After I replaced it the engine had a rattle/knocking noise at idle. The noise would go away when rpms were raised. That noise was probably a piece of valve floating around or something. Well, I guess this ends my dsm journey. I'm selling the talon and buying another honda. Sorry guys. Maybe one day when the time and money are right I will get another dsm, preferably a 1g talon/eclipse awd turbo.

 

[Defiant]

Ah. Always nice to get the rest of the goddamned story. I suppose there was no need to mention the thing had already been broken.

Good luck with the Honda.

Quitter.