I have a boosted H22A, specs are as follows:

* H22A
* JGE Iron Sleeves
* CP 9:1cr Pistons
* Scat I-Bean Rods
* Balance Shafts Eliminated
* ACL Race Bearings
* Master Power 60-1 Turbo
* Tial EX Waste Gate
* DRAG Ex-Manifold
* Skunk2 Intake Manifold
* Skunk2 Throttle Body
* Skunk2 Cam gears
* B&M Transmission Cooler
* Greddy E-manage Blue
* P13 Auto ECU Chipped
* Apex-i World Sport II Exhaust
* Turbo XS Dual Stage Boost Controller (Hi 14psi : Lo 8psi)
* Custom Intercooler Plumbing
* RC 550cc Injectors



Now yesterday I hit the high boost she sputters at 6k then falls flat, I get a knocking sound from my motor and it started misfiring I swore I threw a rod. I decided to pull the plugs to check them out, on #4 I see this!



Now I changed the plugs, no knocking sound no misfiring and I am trying to figure out what on earth would cause a spark plug gap to close like that.

Thanks in advance..

Regards,
Kurt Knight

 

wow that's crazy, i'm interested to know also.

 

thats crazy!
we need some insights on this, anyone?
some big tuning/motor guru should have an answer.
too much boost pressure for the plug?
piston hit plug
foreign material in combustion chamber
gap was too tight to begin with
cylinder was too hot soften the strap
what else?

 

does the bottom surface of the spark strap (Section that the piston would come in contact with if that what caused it) look like its been damaged? if so, i would pull the head and check the piston..

 

were plugs gapped correctly before install

 

This happened to someone I know but it was caused by broken piston material hitting the plug

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RudeLude &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">does the bottom surface of the spark strap (Section that the piston would come in contact with if that what caused it) look like its been damaged? if so, i would pull the head and check the piston..</TD></TR></TABLE>

exactly what i was thinking.
check the plug to see if the piston had contact with the bottom of the plug.

 

how long before the car started running bad was the last time you had the plugs out?

 

also nother problem my boy always correct me on is when I install spark plugs I usually just drop them in the holes and then tighten them, he said that will possibly cause the gap to be closed by dropping them in. its better to use the socket with rubber in it to put them in the holes.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by rudebwoy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">also nother problem my boy always correct me on is when I install spark plugs I usually just drop them in the holes and then tighten them, he said that will possibly cause the gap to be closed by dropping them in. its better to use the socket with rubber in it to put them in the holes.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats why I asked...lol

 

It doesn't seem like the piston came in contact with the plug there is just not that much damage to the bottom of the plug. I had to rebuild my turbo a few days ago so I didn't have the turbo on so I ran it N/A for a couple of days and I changed the plugs to the DENSO Q20PR-U11 (a hotter plug). I gapped that plug to .030 wider than my usual boost .025 gap.

I spun a con rod bearing on my first JGE block due to a poorly balanced crank.....thanks Javier, now I had to get that bitch home so I drove it until there was NO bearing left on the crank and the crank slapped the crap out of the rod(SCAT H beam)









Now I would think that if a piston was to hit the spark plug it would have been then when the rod was loose but it didn't......why now? why the knocking sound then and not now?

Guys I swear my motor has gotten quieter! **SIGH** TOO QUIET....Quiet enough to make me uneasy.....i'm scared shitless to run high boost!

 

what broke on the turbo? maybe a hunk of turbo debris made it through intake into the cylinder?

 

Just the turbine seal was leaking due to too much oil pressure, nothing broke. Only thing is if there was anything in the intercooler pipe that made its way into the cyl.

 

in my opinion, if it were piston contact it would have done it again when you put it back together. I would take off all of the charge pipes, intercooler, and maybe the intake mani as well for a good inspection and douche, and blow that cylinder out with air with the intake valves open. Maybe it could have been a huge chunk of carbon deposit? I wouldnt worry any more than that.

 

think about any of the options above , and see if they could have been a option,
do a compression test to see if anything about that cylinder is out of wack. I know what it feels like to have problems that can't be explained.
my car died on the autobahn accelerating from 160kph, then I towed it home couldn't figure it out, no spark so I thought the ignition was bad, so I bought all new ignition stuff, still no spark , while trying to put the engine at tdc I was having difficulties doing that, after 10 tries I noticed a hole in my brand new greddy timing belt, now I am upset, I took the timing belt cover off and found a 7/16 bolt in my timing cover, (note I never used any other bolts but metric bolts in my car and I only have the lower cover on) I suspect sabotage.
anyways I fixed that, then start the car after it was flooded by disconnecting the fuel pump to burn the excess fuel off. then I reconnect the fuel pump but I also accidentally disconnect the vacuum line to the AEM fpr, the car started right up, then I noticed fuel spraying out of the vacuum section of the fpr. turned out that the diaphrgm is torn, replaced the fpr with a stock one car runs great, now my wideband o2 is dead. so many problems right after each other. I am confused.
just check everything possible.

 

I drove tonight and well the infamous piston slap sound is back so I feel a bit better, never thought I would be happy to hear that again. What can I do to get rid of the piston slap noise? I don't know if JGE run slightly smaller pistons in their motors but I really can't stand that noise.

 

dude, your killing me. where is this piston slap noise coming from. open the hood and stick your head in the engine bay with a screw driver to your ear. you will look retarded yes, but put the tip of the screw driver all over the head and near the block if at all possible. im assuming you dont have a stethoscope of course.
im thinking that whoever is doing your machine work is not up to par, that or your not checking the clearances on everything when your putting it back together. you cant half *** something because your in a hurry. im guessing you threw those rods back in with new bearings being that this thread started the 26th and this happened the 25th. no machinist can do that in a day with other orders.

 

looks like a pre ignition or detonation happen to the plug. cusbustion chamber got too hot and pretty much almost melted the plug tip causing it to bent like that. Maybe?

 

I agree on the pre ignition or detonation

 

Thats what I was thinking also...

 

Ok I pulled the head off and number 4 piston had a chip and piece missing.....gotta be detonation!

I am replacing all 4 pistons what do you guys recommend?, I want something QUIET.

 

bummer, weiscos are nice, the slap is going to be from a loose cylinder\ring clearance.

 

what are you tuning with

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GT4X-1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Ok I pulled the head off and number 4 piston had a chip and piece missing.....gotta be detonation!

I am replacing all 4 pistons what do you guys recommend?, I want something QUIET.</TD></TR></TABLE>
take the block to machine shop along with some new .20 over pistons and have them bore the block to the piston manufacturer's piston to wall clearance.

 

If the strap got really hot due to detonation (like previously said) it would become more flexible and possibly bend.