Hi! My friend is the owner of a 2000 Type R that has recently been having some unusual trouble... He DOES have the oil consumption issue, eating about 1 qt every 700-900 miles, something that he's not too happy about, but the problem that he's concerned about is something that we think may be the headgasket, but I've never seen it before.

The plug wires are all clean except for cylinder two whose plug boot is covered in a chalky white coating, akin to something left over after evaporation. The bottom of the boot looks like it is covered in a thin coat of rusted water and this chalky substance. There appears to be something inside the cylinder, but we haven't taken the head off of it yet.

My question: is this typical for a dealer maintained 90k mile type R? It's had ALL service done to it, he doesn't beat on it, and more importantly, he babies the car like nobody I have ever seen. Could this be something more sinister than a bad HG? Do the HGs like to blow on the type R?

Thanks guys!

 

gots pics?

 

just sounds like water is getting into the spark plug tubes.

The white chalk substance is a bi product of moisture in an electrical area(moisture in dist cap, etc, don't know the proper jargon).

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bbasso &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">gots pics?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No, but I can sure get some.

The white substance goes up the boot to the top, which looks like coolant or a fluid was forced out of the cylinder and up the plug. Could this be a cracked head? Is it possible for coolant to make it past the plugs and into the holes? (wait... plug gaskets... I guess it can.)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evs-One &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">just sounds like water is getting into the spark plug tubes.

The white chalk substance is a bi product of moisture in an electrical area(moisture in dist cap, etc, don't know the proper jargon).</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's only on one cylinder... does a blown gasket in the #2 cylinder coupled with a bad plug gasket make sense as a diagnosis? The car has never overheated and will not blow smoke, just runs poorly and when he took it out of storage, it just tries to run on three cylinders.

What I think happened, is that he had a failing gasket in the #2 cylinder, when he took it out for a drive last month, that may have degraded what was left of the gasket, and when he parked the car, that allowed hot coolant to seep into that cylinder. When he fired up the motor again this month, that coolant was in the cylinder, was forced out the gasket and dried leaving evidence of the blown gasket and the bad seals.

Sound about right?

Any chance the head may be bad? Would a new gasket and plug seals make it good-as-new? Would this also create an oil consumption issue like I mentioned before? (1 qt every 700-900 miles)

Thanks!

 

I would do a compression and leak down test first. What color are the plugs after running the car?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Rdriver &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I would do a compression and leak down test first. What color are the plugs after running the car? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Standard color (no fouling, 30,000 mile use... no detonation with some carbon on them.) with some of that white crap on them.

 

if the tube seals are bad and allowed moisture/oil to get into the cylinder- I could see that.

Otherwise, there is no way water/oil/air is going to get past the spark plug into the tube, unless it was loose.

A blown head gasket does not force coolant into the spark plug tube...ever.

 

Take off the spark plug at #2 and crank the engine til all the oil/coolant are out. Switch place between #2 and #1 spark plugs. Now drive the caR for 10 miles or so. Pull the #2 plug (which used to be #1) and report back.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Evs-One &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if the tube seals are bad and allowed moisture/oil to get into the cylinder- I could see that.

Otherwise, there is no way water/oil/air is going to get past the spark plug into the tube, unless it was loose.

A blown head gasket does not force coolant into the spark plug tube...ever. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I've had a few cars (one was a GS-R) that needed new plug gaskets, and the symptom was oil covering the plug boots. If coolant got into the oil, it could have gone through those boots correct?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by CW-ITR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Take off the spark plug at #2 and crank the engine til all the oil/coolant are out. Switch place between #2 and #1 spark plugs. Now drive the caR for 10 miles or so. Pull the #2 plug (which used to be #1) and report back.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'll see what he can do... he's VERY reluctant to even start the car. He's thinking it's a cracked head or some other such thing.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Colonel Warden &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I'll see what he can do... he's VERY reluctant to even start the car. He's thinking it's a cracked head or some other such thing.</TD></TR></TABLE>


Ninja edit: Ok so you have 90k on it? I'd very seriously doubt a 'cracked' head would be the case. However, where you seem to be getting coolant from would make me think you could be right. Might want to pull the head off and check that thing out man. You can pop the head off in about 40 mins.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Colonel Warden &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I've had a few cars (one was a GS-R) that needed new plug gaskets, and the symptom was oil covering the plug boots. If coolant got into the oil, it could have gone through those boots correct?

I'll see what he can do... he's VERY reluctant to even start the car. He's thinking it's a cracked head or some other such thing.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have no idea what you mean by plug boots. but as EVSONE said, no way for coolant to get into the plug tube unless something is broken. oil could get in there via the valve cover gasket for the spark plug hole. but then there would more than likely be a puddle of oil in there. if the plug is pretty clean or nothing odd, then its not a head gasket failure. there is no fluid in the cylinder that could get into the spark plug hole. if there was, the plug would be caked in oil and/or coolant and the car would run like complete ***.

If there is coolant in there you would smell it and Im pretty sure it would be completely soaked. not only that but it would do more than just fill the plug hole and wouldnt mysteriously dry up. the cooling system is pressurized so it would probably fill the tube, leak all over the place, maybe even force the plug off the spark plug if the cover isnt on.

the first thing I thought of was water getting into the top of the plug hole. next was possibly just some hondabond residue from the valve cover spark plug hole gasket. my plug wires usually have hondabond residue all over them.

pics would help greatly. did you check the radiator and oil for any mixing? oil would be brown and foamy looking, radiator would have oil floating and/or build u on the radiator cap.

 

He is telling me that there was some of that white substance on the plug. We cannot see any coolant in the cylinder, and there appears to be a slight film of oil in the coolant. It's an odd issue...

Here is an artist's interpretation of the problem... lol. He won't be home to get any pics until late tonight. The dried stuff goes clear up the boot on the wire, and there is brownish rusty looking gunk on the bottom of the boot.

 

has the engine every been washed? if the plug wire wasnt "snapped" all the way down while the engine was cleaned, water could have easily found its way in there. does this car have a stock hood? or one of those vented hoods carbon fiber hoods?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RTW DC2R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">has the engine every been washed? if the plug wire wasnt "snapped" all the way down while the engine was cleaned, water could have easily found its way in there. does this car have a stock hood? or one of those vented hoods carbon fiber hoods?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Stock hood. The mods are a comptech header and intake, and a comptech exhaust. I was thinking that water may have gotten in there, but none of the other plugs or wires are affected. It's baffling. But, it's going to the shop to get diagnosed. Hell, maybe it will end up being a bad head... it does burn oil like crazy.

 

well like I said if the plug wire wasnt SNAPPED all the way down, water can easily get in there. if the other plug wires were securely attached then no water is gonna get in. Ive seen it before, my friend had aftermarket plug wires that didnt snap all the way down. without realizing it he rinsed the motor, and then the car wouldnt start. turns out every plug hole was full of water.