[Zee]

its a little past 3am and I just finished my spark plug change. took me about 3 hours. but it was definitely worth it.

my ticking is gone, no more gas smell from exhaust, acceleration is 1000 times better, and no backfire. last plugs were ac delco rapidfires. they lasted about 5k and 7 our of the 8 plugs came out f'd up. one was like brand new.haha

so a shoutout to ngk tr55s! :rockon:

 

[shoebox]

No plugs should die that quickly just because of themselves when properly gapped and installed. I'd say the same thing is going to happen to your new plugs, because I'd bet something else is going on. If one plug looked like brand new, you might have a coolant leak into that cylinder. The others may be victim to improper fueling or engine wear or both.

 

[Racy Roadmaster]

its a little past 3am and I just finished my spark plug change. took me about 3 hours. but it was definitely worth it.

my ticking is gone, no more gas smell from exhaust, acceleration is 1000 times better, and no backfire. last plugs were ac delco rapidfires. they lasted about 5k and 7 our of the 8 plugs came out f'd up. one was like brand new.haha

so a shoutout to ngk tr55s! :rockon:

If you still have your old plugs take a few pictures and let us look at them.
An experienced person can tell alot from reading a used spark plug. ed

 

[FormulaJoe]

^^^ What Shoebox and Racy said, something else is going on most likely. Post up some pics if you can.

 

[Zee]

now that I think of it. they did have oil on them. for some reason my passenger side valve cover always seeps a little oil from the cap. so im guessing it got on the plugs.

the drivers side might be because I adjusted the valve lash while the car was running and didn't put a towel or something in between the head and manifold.

but besides all that the plugs that came out were acdelco 14s ore gapped at 0.060 and from what I remember they never really made a difference when I changed them. the ngks I noticed right away.

 

[steveo]

out of 8 spark plugs with low mileage, if they do not all look damn near identical, you have a mechanical issue

start checking for leaking injectors first off? that's an easy test -- just pull the rail and jumper the prime connector.

you might have some blowby, meaning low compression, oil getting past rings, and compression/firing stroke is pushing into the crankcase. remove the oil cap while running and give it a bit of a rev while holding your hand over the hole, if it's blasting air out, it's probably rebuild time, but a compression test would be the next step. too bad you put it all back together without performing that compression test -- now you have to take it all apart again.

 

[Zee]

the only plug that came out fine was passenger far back. there was no oil around or on it. the others were all covered in oil. so I think my problem might just be that compression which is causing oil to seep through the vc onto the plugs. hopefully I don't need a rebuild but I wouldn't be surprised if I did.

any ideas on how much a engine rebuild ends up costing? I can pull the motor myself with some friends and undress it. so parts and machine work?

 

[shoebox]

Oil on the outside of the plug and oil on the inside (combustion chamber) are two different things. When you were referring to how they looked which was it?

 

[Racy Roadmaster]

To stay on line with Shoe; when your valve covers leak oil ,the oil stays on the outside of the spark plugs,oil wont seep past the threads of the spark plug and contaminate the inside of the spark plug. If oil is on the plug(inside) it gets there thru the rings or valve guides! ed

 

[PHXLT1]

Wow! Its amazing what you can find out about your car just from spark plugs huh?

 

[Racy Roadmaster]

Dont want to get corney or anything like that, yea, each plug kinda tells
its own story. ed

 

[Scrub88]

the only plug that came out fine was passenger far back. there was no oil around or on it. the others were all covered in oil. so I think my problem might just be that compression which is causing oil to seep through the vc onto the plugs.?

:craz28: one more time the outside portion that sticks out of the block aka insulator not a concern replace leaky valve cover gaskets if needed

Not sure u even have a problem no clear answer .... The important part the electrode< is covered in oil or gummed up ? . Then your NGk plugs will do the same if there clean and there's just oil on the outside < insulator replace .. Valve cover gaskets

 

[Zee]

yeah I understood the whole oil on outside and inside of pluh thing like 4 comments ago.haha

there was no oil on the actual plug part that goes into the chamber. they were charcoal burnt-ish. several were somewhat loose.

thank you racy and shoebox. I will do that compression test when I get a chance.

 

[shoebox]

Ok, well no plug is going to work well when it is loose. I'm sure it is running better with plugs that are tight.

 

[steveo]

so NGK plugs that are tightened properly are way better than AC delco rapid fire plugs that are loose......

thanks, tips :craz28:

 

[steveo]

i nominate this be added to the official LT1 faq

 

[shoebox]

:thumbsup: Properly installed spark plugs FTW! :werd:

OP, don't take it all too seriously.

 

[schollianmj]

so NGK plugs that are tightened properly are way better than AC delco rapid fire plugs that are loose......

thanks, tips :craz28:

Ouch..... :devil:

 

[Zee]

haha no need to worry shbox. after all. it is just the internet. and i did ask a somewhat dumb question. guess i was a little off when i did those plugs.