RUSTED SPARK PLUGS! I know this is gonna hurt!
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RUSTED SPARK PLUGS! I know this is gonna hurt!
I now have 1200 miles on the car since the motor was rebuilt and decided to pull the plugs just out of curiousity. Guess what I discovered. RUST on the plugs. All six of them. Same amount and all plugs looked identical. I should have taken a picture but didn't.
Obviously water is getting into the cylinders. Where and how I don't know, but I guess we are bound to find out.
I chose to run distilled water in my cooling system vice 50/50 coolant since I live in southern Texas.
The car does not overheat and I have not noticed any water in my oil or oil in my water at all.
Heads are not tightened down enough? Water in the gas?
Any thoughts on this is appreciated!
Obviously water is getting into the cylinders. Where and how I don't know, but I guess we are bound to find out.
I chose to run distilled water in my cooling system vice 50/50 coolant since I live in southern Texas.
The car does not overheat and I have not noticed any water in my oil or oil in my water at all.
Heads are not tightened down enough? Water in the gas?
Any thoughts on this is appreciated!
Last edited by done12many2; 04-25-2006 at 09:07 PM.
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Have you driven in the rain much? Could your Injen CAI be ingesting water???
On a side note, it gets really hot where I live too. It's been known to reach 110, but 100+ degree summers are typical. I use coolant all year because using plain water makes me nervous. Our cooling systems contain various metals and coolant has anti-corrosive additives. Heat also speeds up the rate of corrosion. If using plain water you should be using additives to help fight corrosion. To me it's just easier to use coolant and maintain the recommended 50/50.
Just some thoughts....
On a side note, it gets really hot where I live too. It's been known to reach 110, but 100+ degree summers are typical. I use coolant all year because using plain water makes me nervous. Our cooling systems contain various metals and coolant has anti-corrosive additives. Heat also speeds up the rate of corrosion. If using plain water you should be using additives to help fight corrosion. To me it's just easier to use coolant and maintain the recommended 50/50.
Just some thoughts....
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Originally Posted by roast
Have you driven in the rain much? Could your Injen CAI be ingesting water???
Originally Posted by roast
On a side note, it gets really hot where I live too. It's been known to reach 110, but 100+ degree summers are typical. I use coolant all year because using plain water makes me nervous. Our cooling systems contain various metals and coolant has anti-corrosive additives. Heat also speeds up the rate of corrosion. If using plain water you should be using additives to help fight corrosion. To me it's just easier to use coolant and maintain the recommended 50/50.
Originally Posted by Wired 24/7
What kind of plugs, for the record?
Originally Posted by audiblemayhem
pics please....
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Yeah, it was rust. There is no pink to it. It's just a nice brown rust.
There has been no nitrous use on this motor yet. These plugs were brand new 1200 miles ago when I started the motor for the first time after the build.
There has been no nitrous use on this motor yet. These plugs were brand new 1200 miles ago when I started the motor for the first time after the build.
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Could it be accelerated Galvanic Corrosion due to the heat & pressure? You have a lot of Disimilar metals in there that might not react well together under the heat and pressure (Think Dust/Shavings Bonding and breaking down). A few deposits of Galvanic Rust could be forming.
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Originally Posted by sq40
Could it be accelerated Galvanic Corrosion due to the heat & pressure? You have a lot of Disimilar metals in there that might not react well together under the heat and pressure (Think Dust/Shavings Bonding and breaking down). A few deposits of Galvanic Rust could be forming.
Originally Posted by 97supratt
Is the rust on the inside of the plug (electrode) or the outside threading? If its the inside then you have a problem. If its the outside its normal in damp and wet climates.
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One thing that I should mention is that the car is definitley not producing the power that it should be. It pulls less than it did prior to the build.
The differences between pre build and built were the addtion of:
11.0 to 1 pistons
Eagle rods
JWT cams
JWT spings
Supertech valves (1 mm oversized)
Ferrea valve guides
Solid motor mounts
Updated VTC cam gears
I understand that the motor still needs to be tuned, but it is no stronger than a z with a couple of bolt ons. In addition, a good friend of mine has the same cams and there is a noticeable transition over 4000 RPMS in his Z where the power really comes on. Mine exhibits none of this. just pretty much the same throughout the powerband.
I blamed most of the lack of power on it's untuned state, but with the discovery of the rusted plugs, I now suspect there is a lot more to this.
The differences between pre build and built were the addtion of:
11.0 to 1 pistons
Eagle rods
JWT cams
JWT spings
Supertech valves (1 mm oversized)
Ferrea valve guides
Solid motor mounts
Updated VTC cam gears
I understand that the motor still needs to be tuned, but it is no stronger than a z with a couple of bolt ons. In addition, a good friend of mine has the same cams and there is a noticeable transition over 4000 RPMS in his Z where the power really comes on. Mine exhibits none of this. just pretty much the same throughout the powerband.
I blamed most of the lack of power on it's untuned state, but with the discovery of the rusted plugs, I now suspect there is a lot more to this.
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I wouldn't think that using 100% distilled water is the best idea, especially in Texas where the temperature goes 90,50,80,30 all the time. Is there any specific reason you run water with no coolant mixture?
Also, who built your motor and what engine management are you running?
-Acree
Also, who built your motor and what engine management are you running?
-Acree
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Hey guys. I really apreciate all the suggestions that you are throwing out there!
Here are the pics. From left to right they are in cylinder number order. Cylinder 1 on left and cylinder 6 on right.
Besides the obvious discoloration, the only other thing I noticed was oil on the cylinder 1 plug.
I did a compression check while changing the plugs out and all cylinders were pretty much the same with the exception of cylinder 5.
Compression:
#1 - 210
#2 - 190
#3 - 192
#4 - 212
#5 - 183
#6 - 211
The motor had cooled down just a little prior to beginning the check. I only did it to check to see if anything was severly out of whack, so I wasn't concerned with trying to get a super accurate warm reading. My understanding is that warmer would have been higher.
I replaced these plugs with the new ones and the car is much smoother now and has much better throttle response.
Here are the pics. From left to right they are in cylinder number order. Cylinder 1 on left and cylinder 6 on right.
Besides the obvious discoloration, the only other thing I noticed was oil on the cylinder 1 plug.
I did a compression check while changing the plugs out and all cylinders were pretty much the same with the exception of cylinder 5.
Compression:
#1 - 210
#2 - 190
#3 - 192
#4 - 212
#5 - 183
#6 - 211
The motor had cooled down just a little prior to beginning the check. I only did it to check to see if anything was severly out of whack, so I wasn't concerned with trying to get a super accurate warm reading. My understanding is that warmer would have been higher.
I replaced these plugs with the new ones and the car is much smoother now and has much better throttle response.
Last edited by done12many2; 04-26-2006 at 08:03 PM.