spark plug problem


  #1  
Old 08-08-07, 04:42 AM
Z
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spark plug problem

I installed Bosch Platinum spark plugs in my car about a little over a year ago (about 12K miles). I thought I was being nice to my car getting platinum plugs, but those little platinum tips ended up becoming my problem. Now the past week the car has been running poorly. I pulled the plugs and 2 of the 4 had the little tiny tip fall out. At the end of the ceramic, there is/was a little tiny tip in them about as thick as a pin and apperently just slightly deeper(compared to thickness) that was about flush with the ceramic. The plugs were still firing some, jumping the slightly larger gap, but the engine was definatly missing some.
Should I be worried about the 2 tips that fell off in my engine? Do you think they got blown out in the exhaust? Could they have gotten caught in the rings and scored the cylinders? Caught in the cat?

Upon some reading on the internet, I read that Bosch Platinum tips have the tendency to fall out in Turbo charged cars. Although my car isnt turbo'd it still doesnt speak well of the quailty.

The plugs with missing tips were on cylinders "2" and "4", labeling the cylinder farthest on the drivers side as 1 and the farthest cylinder on the passenger side as 4. (It's FWD so the engine is sideways)

Car 93 Grand Am SE 2.3L SOHC auto 36k Miles

Thanks
 
  #2  
Old 08-08-07, 06:29 AM
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I wouldn't worry too much about what the missing tips have done or where they've gone; if they were to do major damage, IMO, you would have found out rather quickly after they left the tip of the plug. Yeah, they're probably downstream in the exhaust pipe or catalytic converter.

To find out if they scored the cylinders would cost some appreciable $$. But what would you gain? Is your engine running OK (other than needing new plugs!!!)? Got good compression? Not using oil? I'd leave the engine buttoned up, and get a new set of spark plugs put in!
 
 

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