Hey i have a 96 civic ex with a 98 b18c1. it recently started to run and idle bad, so i just replaced my spark plugs. three were completely rusted and corroded like crazy, while the one on the farthest left was looking pretty nice. The car still runs exactly the same. Crappy idle, that is so low it almost stalls. And when i floor it and hit vtec at about 5500 it feels like i was playing with the accelerator. pulls then slows and pulls and slows. But the pedal is to the floor? i dont know what to do. Ive been working on this for like a month. Also a shop recently told me i had water in my gas tank. I used water remover in the tank. But could this have messed my motor up? Please help. please.


Modified by stehigs321 at 10:46 PM 2/7/2004

 

change ur wires, cap, and rotor as well. also your fuel filter. i would drain my fuel tank then put more gas in it then change my oil. make sure to flush it out first. that might help. take a qt of oil with the drain plug off and pour it in. try that and if it still runs like **** then.......dam i dont know

 

You might want to edit your post, it's really hard to understand correctly and fully. Any way I'll try and help. Were any of your plugs 'DRY"?...........John

 

what does dry mean. 3 of them were rusted to hell and one of them looked fine

 

well pull your new plugs if its doin the same,
see how they look now

sounds like theres definetely something wrong here

if theres something thats fouling your plugs that badly,
replacing them isnt going to help, because its not the plugs that are the source,
they are just telling you that somethings wrong.

take some pics of the plugs and postem, maybe ppl who know more can diagnose better from that.

 

Heres what my plugs look like. What do u think is wrong with my car. Read above for full details.

 

umm that looks like water? head gasket maybe?...i would try to purge the engine of all oil...gas...replace the filter run some oil through like mentiond above..clean out the plugs holes...where did you get the engine? did you notice any water in it or rust when flushing the cooling system?

oh ya...autolite plugs suck!

 

autolite plugs dont suck. ask rocket

 

that looks like water got into where the top of the spark plug is at. I remember a few times when I cleaned my motor, i drove it after and my car started hesistating and sputtering at high rpms. It was from the water seeping into the top of the spark plug from the spark plug wires after i hosed my engine. Happened to me twice. Just took the water out both times and it ran fine.

 

are you driving a domestic car? you are using autolite plugs. use ngk or denso. you have got water leaking thru you plug wires.

 

Since you've already replaced the plugs, check your cap, rotor, and wires.

 

If the plugs you pulled out were rusty chances are your motor was cleaned with a pressure washer after it was pulled out of the original car. The water sat and rusted the plugs and the wires. I'd do like everyone else said and do wires, cap, and rotor and see what happens then.

 

could it be the head gasket now. I was told about a month ago by a shop that i had water in my gas tank. Well i replaced the plugs and there is no water in there now. But i still runs ike crap.

 

I'm sorry but do you have the same plug wires?

 

yeah same wires

 

Then do what everyone else has said and change them!!!

If you blew a headgasket why would the plugs be rusty on the part outside of the head? I don't know your car so the head may be blown but whatever caused the rust is not a headgasket.

 

hey man, i had a similar prob. the thing that fixed it for me and might help you was easy. i replaced the fuel filter. it must have been in pretty bad condition because i did not have that prob anymore. just a thought.

 

Also i recently took it to a shop to have the cooling system worked on. Well I drove it for about a month and the car ran hotter than usual. So i checked the cooant and it was completely full of water. Doesnt this ruin the head gasket?? would it have ruined anything else??

 

for how it sounds the headgasket may not be the issue but somehow water keeps hitting the plugs..have you tried to clean the plug holes?...id take off the vavle cover and chk everything...

 

My 96 hatch with a Ls swap just started happening like that recently. I'm still wondering what's wrong. Around 2-3 k it'll studder and bogs. If i give it more gas i'll take off. sometimes it'll just bog and bog in first gear. I'd pull over and restart the car and it'll run fine for awhile and it'll come back. Anyone know how to fix this problem? please help!!!

 

Idont know how water would be getting on my spark plugs. Theres no water anywhere in my engine bay. I havent put water near it in ages. And i just changed the plugs and its the same thing happening. I checked my cooant and on the underside of the radiator cap were some small brown pieces. the coolant wasnt really too brown, but these particles were here.

 

For water to get on that side of the plug the head would have to be cracked and leaking it into the spark plug hole. Maybe you've got some sale down in there or something. Try letting it air out for a day or two. Use a rag to clean the holes out.

 

anything yah can think of? It just happen again tonite. I was driving on the highway and all of a sudden it bogs and bogs so i give it more throttle it'll go but it'll continue to bog. So i pulled over and restarted teh car and it made it home.

 

Well it hasnt been wet in my area for a long time. I dont know what to think. MY coolant has small brown pieces floating it it and some stuck to the underside of my radiator cap. could this mean blown head gasket??

 

what do u guys think??