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Should I be concerned about the coloration of these spark plugs? (lemmy.zip)
submitted 6 months ago by to c/mechanicadvice@lemmy.world
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Bought this car second hand, they apparently put iridium spark plugs in, but i want to know if I should be concerned with the buildup and rusty appearance it's developed. For all I know this spark plug could be from 10 years ago.

Do I need to replace the plugs, and is that actually rust? Does this mean I have an issue with my head gasket?

Edit: Thanks guys! I'll be ordering some new plugs soon.

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[–] 3 points 6 months ago (3 children)

I think the plug color mostly looks ok, though hopefully others will chime in. I would replace though, that gap looks a little gnarly, it’s cheap enough and like you said, they might be ancient.

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  • [–] 7 points 6 months ago

    Any iridium plugs I've always used were pregapped for the vehicle, and regapping wasn't recommended (I assume because of the metal). I agree, if OP isn't sure what's there, start over with new, then maybe in 10k miles look and see what changes. If it looks like that, then there's something not right, something getting into the mixture, burning the wrong temp, or not burning fully.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    Gap might not be that bad, most modern ignition systems run gaps of 60-80thou. Hotter longer spark gets a better flame front for more complete combustion, which they design in for fuel eco, and modern coils have high enough spark energy that jumping the gap is not an issue.

    Unless OP is having a drivability issue I'd brush them off with a nylon brush and send it.

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