Afternoon everyone. Been looking at the site for a while but only just signed up. Got a couple of technical questions for you lot out there.
I have a 2001 2.2 auto CDX. Just done 100k. Normally have it VX serviced. On last service 11k ago, they warned me that the rocker gasket was leaking. Anyway, dutifully forgot about it till last week....
Doing about 40mph when engine warning light came on and then started to missfire. Limped about 1/2 a mile to get off dual carrageway. Got it recovered to VX garage where they informed me that the plug wells had filled with oil causing missfire. There was worse to come. Spark plug on No 3 cylinder had lost its central electrode and ceramic insulator.
Removed head to see extent of damage. Bore seems OK with only a couple of small scuffs and a few light dents in top of piston. Cant feel an grooves in cylinder when you run your fingernail over it. No sign of any piston ring damage although the electrode may have gotten trapped between piston & cylinder for a short while. Cylinder head seems to have born most of the brunt. Head looks like an orange peel effect with all the dings. I presume thats caused by being trapped on compression stroke (dont know how much clearence there is between piston and cylinder head at top of stroke). Now, Vx are telling me to replace the engine!! which seems a bit radical (if not expensive!!) But I'm asking them to skim the head and replace all 4 valves and seals. No sign of the spark plug electrode anywhere.
My questions are as follows: a. With all the dents in the head, will that cause hot spots on the head surface and therefore give me problems later?
b. Will the electrode have made it through the catalytic converter or am I storing up problems for later there too?
Moral of the sorry tale........Listen to the mechanics and change the rocker gasket next time.
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Topic: Sad spark plug tale (Read 709 times)