2008 Accord 2.4L Valve adj/spark plugs +pics @96k

[Brybo86]

Alright so my car has 96k on it, I have had it since about 32k.
Im assuming honda bulk oil used @9000 OCI before i got it.
I have used Amsoil 5w20 once and then 0w20 ever since usually between 8500 and 9500 per OCI.

Today I adjusted the valves and put in new NGK iridium plugs.

Here are the pics.

#1 and #2 plugs

#3 and #4 plugs
I have never touched the plugs, they were denso. They seem a bit white/lean to me. There is a very fine mist of whiteish buildup, best seen in this next pic

notice how the electrode triangle shape is slightly larger on the right than left.
I did not see any visible wear on the ground or electrode on any of the 4 plugs.

Now for the valve cover...

Generally looks good but on the right side, basically on the #4 cyl there is some black stuff, I thought it was some kind of hard carbon baked on there but it wasn't

the stuff was very soft and wiped off very easily. this was after like 3 wipes with my finger, no cleaner at all.

a few more of the valve cover

now the valvetrain

There was a tiny bit of the soft black stuff on the #4 plug tube
Other than a bit of surface coloring on the cams I didn't see anything else

the #3 intake valves were a bit tight to get my hand in the space with the feeler gauge as seen in the bottom right of this pic. there is a post that holds the plastic intake manifold/injector rail cover on

shot of the cam chain

SO the black stuff is a bit odd to me. history... i havent taken a 10+miles drive since last weekend. the car was parked on the street last night and I moved it inside @10pm. It was running for about 2 mins before parked in the garage. The black stuff is right next to the breather hole that goes to the air intake just before the throttle body. It could be a little colder on that side of engine I guess.

or is it leftovers from the 9k OCI on dino from 60k miles ago??....that caused a bit of soft sludge/black stuff.
I couldn't find any of the black stuff on the valvetrain only on valvecover.

I have used techron/chemtool/gumout regane a handlful of times since purchase mb 5 times
PCV was changed like 5k miles ago, old one seemed to be working fine when changed.

thanks for reading, I look forward to your comments.

 

[KrisZ]

The engine looks excellent. The deposits on the cover are meaningless as long as the breather and pcv are operational.

The plugs look like the engine is running a bit lean, but someone experienced with this engine family should verify if it's normal.

 

[gregk24]

Looks like the engine was sludged at one point, then was cleaned up but deposits on the valve cover remain. These engines are easy on oil and remain clean if oil was changed at appropriate intervals. Good idea changing the PCV valve at least every 100K. I would not be happy if that were my engine.

 

[Brybo86]

greg have u changed your plugs if so what did they look like?

do you have any pics w/your valve cover off to compare>?

 

[Hokiefyd]

I agree with Kris. The engine looks pretty good. The plugs do look like they were due for a change. I have almost 90k on my 2008 K24, and I plan to change them at 100k. Thanks for the pics.

 

[ARB1977]

Our CRV is at 106K. Haven't touched the valves yet nor the plugs. Although now maybe time for the plugs to be changed it's loosing about 1 mpg.

 

[gregk24]

Originally Posted By: Brybo86
greg have u changed your plugs if so what did they look like?

do you have any pics w/your valve cover off to compare>?


Plugs were changed and valves were adjusted at the dealer at 100K, so no unfortunately I have no pics to compare. The engine itself looks fine, the valve cover (which has no bearing on engine performance) is a bit sludged up. I chose to err on the side of caution and change my oil every 5-6 months with a full synthetic to hopefully avoid any deposits or sludge, its easy to prevent, harder to get rid of.

 

[CarbonSteel]

Those really look like the MC's I recently changed in my FX4 so it makes me think that ND is OEM'ing them for Ford. Mine lasted 130K so they are good plugs, but I understand that iridium ones are so better so all good there.

For the deposits under the valve cover (while it is/was off) a can of Berryman B-12 Chemtool would have removed all of that in a single application and had it back to factory fresh.

 

[Chris Meutsch]

My plugs in my identical 2005 K24 looked pretty much the same after 100k. They're due to be changed again in 3,000 miles.
I'm leery of trying my hand at the valve adjustment. I had my mechanic do it the first time at 110k. But I want to see under that cover....

 

[Brybo86]

I have 4 different feeler gauges and the angled craftsman ones were the ones that fit

 

[Brybo86]

a little follow up, here is a response from an accord only forum

"your v.c. looks exactly like every single other one in existence. I don't have a reason why but id think engine oil probably doesn't splash around as much around cylinder 4, naturally cleaning up everything it touches. just clean it up since it's off and slap it together for another 96000 miles."

if this is true... greg I hope you can sleep tonight...