I dont have much experience with plugs,
in fact this is the first time i've pulled one by myself...

but it looks toast to me.
I already have a new set, but I want to know what you think about this plug,

I had my ignition timing off by 180 degrees,
could that have ruined my plugs?

 

Just looks dark to me. Clean it off and it should work IMHO.

 

Same problem here dude u just running rich which is not so bad. Running lean is worse. u want to have the correct air/fuel ratio. your engine is consuming an excess of fuel.

 

Doesn't look toast, but I would change it...

As already mentioned, it appears you've been running really rich.

What engine and mods do you have? Just curious...

 

for get about the spark plug worry about your engine running rich will leave carbon on your pistons and in the long run ive heard is bad. BTW how do u timing is off how do u do that cause i think my timing is off my car idles at 500rpms.

 

thanks,
this all happend cuz I botched a cam install.
when I put the cam on, I accidentaly flipped the distributor around 180(or rather the part of the dist that connects to the camshaft).
car wouldnt turn over, but it would try, and after a few trys, the trys got weaker.

 

You could say that's a TAD messed up.... understatement of the year.

Run with that, then put the new ones in and notice that it actually runs.... NORMAL!

 

ok thanks guys.

now important question, how would I go about cleaning these?? A rag can clean off some of the stuff, but is there any solvent or something I could use to do it thoroughly and gently?

I tried new plugs, and it just covered em in more black stuff real quick(i hope it doesnt do the same to the inside of my engine!!), no biggie if I can clean em.

any tips?

 

you might wanna bust out the old timing light man, you have a serious air/fuel ratio issue.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FlatLineEG8 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">you might wanna bust out the old timing light man, you have a serious air/fuel ratio issue.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I know.
i'm going to do my timing next,
it was off by 180 remember, but then I forgot to mark the dist when I flipped it around.. so now it works but its still out of spec.

still need to kno how to clean off those plugs though

 

Gasoline is a good solvent, and you know it wont damage the plugs

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by luti &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Gasoline is a good solvent, and you know it wont damage the plugs </TD></TR></TABLE>

hahaha, thats a VERY good point!!
although I dont have any gas on hand really.. aside from whats in my tank.

I heard wd40 works good?
basically, i'm scared to hurt the plugs with what i use to clean them.

thanks

 

brake cleaner

 

any degreser solvent will work okay. Just make sure it all evaporates off before you install them. WD40 would be okay. Brake cleaner too.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ec0n0b0x &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">brake cleaner</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

you are running super rich there.. and i mean super rich. get a VAFC or something and tone that down a bit..

 

wd40 leaves a residue. its made to "lube" stuff.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ec0n0b0x &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">wd40 leaves a residue. its made to "lube" stuff. </TD></TR></TABLE>

no its not, just because people try to use it for that, doesnt mean its a lube.

and yeah, i'm running way ritch, my timing is wayyyy off.
thats what I have to do, I havent done it yet because I havent gotten it idling steady enough to do it yet.
just got it idling so it doesnt dy out yesterday,
so I can actually warm the car up, but it does die out after a while,
my hypothesis, is that the plugs are getting so thoroughly coated with that black stuff that it gets harder and harder for it to hold spark and run.. or something like that.

SO hopefully I can get them clean enough, so that I can run it long enough to do my timing!!!

wish me luck(or give me some more pointers )

 

your electrode looks worn. i would replace it, it only costs like 2 bucks at honda.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mr. Choi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">your electrode looks worn. i would replace it, it only costs like 2 bucks at honda.</TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah i replaced the whole plug(or rather all 4)

but the new ones get covered in the black stuff too,
although their shape stays fine.

 

I wouldn't even run the car like that... fix the car, buy new plugs, and install them when you fix your distributor and get rid of some fuel. The car will start missing with plugs like that. Why would you clean them if they're going to get fouled again?

Brake/carb cleaner would take care of that.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Quik Chris &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Why would you clean them if they're going to get fouled again?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

it has to run to fix it.
ignition timing = car warmed up, and running