Help!!! Rusty spark plug?!

[CMF_Toma]

Hi... just cleaning my Rocker cover and found my HT lead had a bit of rust on it.. looking down the hole a saw red/brown!!! I ran to the shed to grab the SP socket and whipped it out to find this horrible scene. There was no rust on the actual spark part but there is a little rust in the spark plug hole at the bottom. Im scared The water level is basically fine, hasnt gone down and still a bit in the resevoir. Ive no idea how old these plugs are. Ill go buy some new ones and put em in, and see if the rust comes back.

((((

Any ideas? Could it be the head?

 

[CMF_Toma]

.

 

[CMF_Toma]

OK, change of plan, Put rust spark plug in different cylinder and put newest looking (they all except 1 look so new) one in the rusty plugs hole. Give it a week, let results speak for themselves. Luckyly i guess, im getting a lump pay soon so i can get some fixing done!

 

[CMF_Yom]

Relax mate..

Most likely just some water went down the spark plug well and was down there long enough to cause rust before it evapourated.

Still You should buy some new sparkplugs. Also just looking at the charcoal on the spark plugs, it doesn't look like it is burning any water or coolant in the cylinder. Sparkplugs are too dirty for that to be happening.

 

[CMF_Toma]

Yeh thats the other outcome i came to... if my theory is correct, the replaced one will not get rust on it... if its all well and good, ill get to cleaning the spark plug hole and get some new platinums in there.

 

[CMF_Yom]

Don't bother. Platniums are designed so they last 100,000km. They are horribly expensive..

Just stick with the cheap NGK sparkplugs nissan recommend. I see you're running Bosch plugs. Thats reason enough to buy some new NGK plugs.

 

[CMF_nz_aj]

You haven't by any chance got some bonnet vents that are letting in rainwater OR perhaps somebody has waterblasted the motor area to clean it OR have you been driving throuogh flooded roads?
There's basically no way engine coolant can get in there.

Can't understand why you want to replace the sparkplugs?

 

[CMF_nz_aj]

As a note, GTiR bonnet vents are only for show. From the factory they are blanked off. Some people remove the blanks. Surprise, when it rains usually you'll notice the motor missing. Rusty spark plugs could easily result if the water went unnoticed.
Some people think that the best way to solve this problem is to make a cover over the rocker cover to stop the water getting in.

 

[CMF_Toma]

I see, Youve all put my mind at ease

Thanks a bunch. Yeh I did the dump thing of rinsing off my rocker cover once and thaught the plug covers would have done their job... Guess i was wrong!

Ill get to cleaning the hole (while blocking up the cylinder first) today, when i install some new Bosch Super 4's... Couldnt find any platinums at the store but thought id blow some money on these fancier ones. I doubt theres gonna be alot of difference, but hey, its better than rusted plugs!

Ps. keeping the olds as spares.

Thanks gang! U rock my socks.

 

[CMF_Yom]

bosch super 4's?

Sheesh. No offense but seriously if you havent installed them yet, take them back and get a refund.

Normal NGK copper plugs will do fine. Infact the super4 plugs are notorious for causing problems in cars which were't designed for them. Super4's are for alfas and other weird italian vehicles.

 

[CMF_Toma]

They work great actually.... starts without a fuss, isnt running lean as a couple forums i read said they might, and its got better respose from 2k-3.5k revs...

 

[CMF_Toma]

Ok, still happening.

Time to get some new HT leads? We've had like, 1 or 2 days of rain in Perth since i put the new plugs in. Are you positive theres no way coolant can get in there? If its not coolant, then logic would say the HT leads are not covering the hole as it should be. Correct?

 

[CMF_Yom]

that would be a correct assumption

 

[CMF_Toma]

Sooper Dooper. Just checked the offending HT lead now, seems theres a little bit of silicon thats detatched from the top of the plug... Ill whack a bit more silicon around it and see if the problem goes away. If not, new HT leads, coming soon!

 

[CMF_Toma]

Hmm. No rain lately, quite the opposite actually. Still rusty down there. Im going to take it to my mechanic guru and see what his wisdom will shed on the matter.

My idea, has something to do with the little ring in the middle. looks like a gap/edge that might be creating steam or something?

 

[CMF_Yom]

Unless you cleaned all the rust out of it the situation is not going to change.

 

[CMF_Toma]

Yeh, i did with a tooth brush and a bottle or turps. Any other chemicals you think i should try? Ive got a bottle of rust convertor, but my real issue is not converting, its cleaning.

 

[CMF_Yom]

yeh you're going to have fun cleaning down there - SAFELY.

I'm starting to think that mabye you should ignore it.

Its not going to damage the motor anytime soon..

 

[CMF_Toma]

Same. But the threat of rust boring a hole thru my head or worse, engine block, is something im happy about!

 

[CMF_Yom]

Haha it'd have to be really aggressive rust to do that mate.

It'd have to be a metal eating bug to do it in the car's lifetime.

 

[CMF_nz_aj]

The rust has only come fromt the spark plug. The rocker cover, head, block etc are made of plastic & aluminium, i.e. no steel anywhere. The rust will not get any worse.
I would ignore it. Cleaning risks getting debris into the cylinder and/or taking off the rocker cover & a lot of hastle.

 

[CMF_Toma]

Good point nz_aj.... so, if its the plug thats rusting... ahhh i dunno. The other possibility that i came up with is condensation. Could be forming somehow with the dodgy HT lead. I went to the autoshop and they apparently dont make HT leads for micras. *sigh* Anyone know of a place to get them? Nissan Service/Dealers maybe?

Also, good point Yom it looks like the kind of metal rust thats in dust form, so i really doubt it'll eat away anything in this century. I'll ignore it till i get it serviced next.

Thanks chaps.

 

[CMF_Yom]

Standard nissan leads are quite good. not performance based byt still quite good.

I suspect the leads for the micra are the same as the leads for a GA16.

I'll look further into that for you.