What are symptoms of a bad rod bearing? I have smashed my spark plugs (when they were in the engine) and i am turning oil VERY fast, also my idle will fluctuate from about 500-1400 RPM, then i'll adjust my timing, then it happens again a few days later.

 

Number 1 and 2 plugs are like that, and they weren't damaged on drop in, also i changed and put some new ones in that were bent down almost touching the two parts of that tip, so i re-gapped them (these plugs are the right size i know for sure) and i'm gonna check them again tomorrow.

 

teken..why dont you go ahead and post what could cause a fluctuating idle, in priority order

 

The engine is internally stock (only CAI) and could a rod bearing cause the piston to contact the spark plug? Yes i know it would hit the valves first, but when they were bad like the pic i did get a ticking noise. A guy at my local tire shop said that it's likely my rod bearing because my oil start getting black after roughly 500 miles. Also the timing belt may have an extremely large amount of miles on it.


[Modified by Prelussion, 4:13 AM 3/10/2002]

 

do you over rev your motor alot?

i turned a rod bearing in my motor before. it had the nastiest knocking you have ever heard. like your motor is about to blow up.

lots of work if thats the case.

 

What Rod bearings??????

If the gap on the plugs is being collapsed like that, your engine must sound like a thrashing machine! By the time this happens, your crank is already destroyed.

BTW this assumes you had the correct plugs installed.

 

Yea, I'm gonna have to agree with this one. If you're smashing your plugs due to rod bearing failure, the engine must sound like someones rattling a coffee can full of nuts and bolts.

You say your engine is stock internally? Have you done any head milling or block decking lately?

If you over-reved your engine, this could happen, but usually the valves are the first to go.

 

I usually don't get over about 6500, a while ago i had a mis shift from 3rd to 2nd, but all was fine and there were no problems. this all started after i bottomed out on some uneven pavement. then for a few days there would be a click in the throttle when i pushed down about 1/4 way, and the engine was ticking at various RPMs. and when it made a ticking sound it would bog down some. then it got real bad and the whole thing shook and lunged, that's when i took it to the dealership and they found the plugs had been smashed. then we took it back here and changed the plugs to new ones, which got smashed a little bit, not as bad as those, and then we changed them again to the bosches that are in there. The current plugs are now fine. the car runs strong, i was able to keep up w/ a 525i the other night, but my idle just started fluctuating from 500-1500, it had done that before i adjusted the timing, but now it seems to have gone back. Also about 2 weeks ago i checked my oil and it was a bit over 1/2 full. then today the dipstick shows no oil at all, but my plugs are fine. no head milling or block decking, everything on the engine is the way it came except the CAI.

 

You beter really check what plugs should be in this car VS what plugs you actually have in this car. These guys are right, having spun a few bearings in my life of more than one engine I would be surprised you got that much movement to bend a plug before the engine would have snapped off a rod, or self destructed from loss of oil pressure. Besides you the knocking would be unbelievably loud. Like someone slamming a hammer between 2 steel bars. My opinion is your plugs are way to long to start with.


[Modified by virginia_dude, 3:43 PM 3/10/2002]

 

i don't think so, because i had all 4 plugs in for about 6 months, then only the #1 and #2 got smashed, then i got a set of plugs from acura and the #1 and #2 plugs were semi smashed a week later.

 

What engine? The plugs on some B series are WAY shorter than other motors- you better check the plugs you are using (I wouldn't use anyhting but NGK or Denso) and compare them to the plugs at the dealer. This one size fits all BS at AutoZone isn't going to cut it.

 

the origanal pic was a pic of a smashed denso, then the second set as i said in my last post that i smashed were NGKs from the dealership. and the Bosches i got at AutoZone are the ones that are in there right now. They were the same size as the other plugs.


[Modified by Prelussion, 11:45 PM 3/10/2002]

 

wow..........that's one of those unexplainable problems

pull the head off and inspect for head/piston damage?

 

we might be getting somewhere. Extremely advanced timing due to timing belt slippage? i don't think it's ever been changed!?!? YES I ADMIT I HAVE TIMING BELT NEGLECT PROBLEMS!!!!! haven't seen pits or melt marks, but i maybe i'm missing something. i'm going to change T-belt and water pump soon, i also gotta inspect my dented oil pan, cause a checked my oil about week or so ago and it was half full, now it's empty!

 

Bent spark plugs are bad Take a look at what happened to mine.. Of course mine wasn't bent, just demolished. https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=143127


[Modified by BlackOutSi, 4:53 AM 3/11/2002]

 

A belt being off 1 tooth or 20 won't do that to a spark plug- if the piston hits the plug either you have the wrong plug or a jacked up engine. The timing belt has nothing to do with piston to spark plug clearance.


[Modified by fixhondas, 11:14 PM 3/11/2002]

 

what if a foreign object becomes lodged in the combustion chamber?

just a thought from wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy left field?

related to the ticking noises?

probly not it...

t..

 

Well if he had a foriegn object in there since he was running his engine and this wasn't a fresh startup he would be able to kiss his enginge good by, it would have banged up his head , piston and probibly cylinders.

 

I dunno, it all runs fine now, my timing belt was a tooth off, and it was about to fly off, but my cars fine now. I even beat a 97 Lude w/ I/H/E recently.

 

"A belt being off 1 tooth or 20 won't do that to a spark plug- if the piston hits the plug either you have the wrong plug or a jacked up engine. The timing belt has nothing to do with piston to spark plug clearance."


Incidently that is an accurate statement with Hondas. A point of note is they are "interferance" type engines. THat means the pistins will hit the valves if the timing belt breaks or skips enough teeth. However you are correct in the issue of spark plugs this thread is about. Pistons would never touch a spark plug but they would hit valves. BUT it takes more than 1 or even 4 teeth off to do it.



[Modified by virginia_dude, 8:29 AM 3/26/2002]

 

True True, if the belt is off the only way it would crash into the plugs is if the valve hit it. I think you have spun bearing. You also have a lack of oil, a dented pan can mean more problems than you can see. Your oil pickup might be bent or smashed. then you really got problems. Lack of oil to the head and so on.