Are these spark plugs shot?

[camrydriver111]

If it's burning oil, you're going to be replacing those plugs. I would run cheaper NGK plugs like G-Power.

 

[Jetronic]

Yes they are. I have no clue how long they have been on there so I am going to assume they need to be changed asap. Car burns a lot of oil especially when coasting down a hill in gear and then giving it gas at the bottom of the hill. It puffs a big cloud of blue lol

clean these and regap

 

[circuitsmith]

Probably goes through a quart every 400 miles

I would try a piston soak.

 

[Highboy]

These are from my oil burner Scion tC. 80k on the plugs and 300 miles/quart oil usage. Did the b12 piston soak and I’m at 1300 miles to a quart now.

 

[carg618]

I would try a piston soak.

I tried a piston soak with marvel mystery oil and it helped a little. Any other things to try the soak with?

 

[carg618]

These are from my oil burner Scion tC. 80k on the plugs and 300 miles/quart oil usage. Did the b12 piston soak and I’m at 1300 miles to a quart now.View attachment 129194

I tried a soak with marvel mystery oil and it helped a little. How long did you soak the pistons with b12 and how much did you use? How much in each piston because I don’t want to lock up the engine. I’ll be sure to put a towel over the holes and start the car without the plugs to dry it out a bit

 

[Snagglefoot]

I ended up getting ngk 7090 platnum plugs for $2.50 each but I just realized that the gap is 0.040 while Toyota says this car should have 0.044. Does this little amount matter? Maybe I’ll just keep the order placed and just go to Walmart and buy a $1 gap tool

Fogetabout it. That would be anal retentive.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Whatever happened to cleaning and gapping plugs? Many shops had a machine in which a plug would be inserted and cleaned with some abrasive material. When I was a kid, my uncle would bring his car to our place to do tune-ups., etc. I'd take his old plugs and clean them with sandpaper and emery cloth and then regap them for him.

Yep, grandpa used to do that.

 

[spasm3]

How difficult is it to change valve stem seals on this engine ?

 

[SC Maintenance]

I still gap my plugs, or really just check the gap mostly. My dad taught me oh 40 years ago. We used to clean them too - can you do that with iridium? I would be tempted to try it in this case.

The benefit you get with iridium is they take less voltage to fire and the spark is more concentrated - so they should work much better in an oil burner than a copper core plug, especially if your already having a mis-fire.

+1 for clean, gap and try again.

 

[carg618]

How difficult is it to change valve stem seals on this engine ?

It’s time consuming for sure and it’s hard to do it without taking the head off. But I have to do a head gasket replacement one day so maybe I’ll do that as well

 

[circuitsmith]

I tried a piston soak with marvel mystery oil and it helped a little. Any other things to try the soak with?

MMO isn't very aggressive. As above, B12 or perhaps Seafoam would be more effective.

How long did you soak the pistons with b12 and how much did you use? How much in each piston because I don’t want to lock up the engine. I’ll be sure to put a towel over the holes and start the car without the plugs to dry it out a bit

I'd put ~50ml in each one. Then add a bit more and wiggle the crank back and forth each hour for 4 hours or more.
Cranking with the plugs out will spit out enough to avoid hydro-lock.
Then change the oil.

 

[mjk1967]

If you can still find Kreen, I had good results in a 07 Accord.

 

[Haakon]

Oil burning and a removed cat - that must suck to be behind in traffic! Cars like that make me really appreciate strict emissions laws and annual emissions checks.

Get those piles off the roads and out of my lungs…

 

[demarpaint]

The plugs are shot. Years ago people with oil burners would seek out oil fouling plugs, and top up with waste oil. I had an 85 E-150 I bought new, and it was fanatically maintained. My neighbor had an old Chevy G10 van that burned and leaked about a quart of oil every 200 miles. He swapped the plugs for oil fouling plugs and I gave him my waste oil. He ran that POS for a few years using waste oil and oil fouling plugs.

 

[Paco Pena]

I have a 2001 Corolla and a three day piston soak with 50/50 acetone and atf lowered the consumption considerably. I pull and clean the plugs every 6 months or so. Easy on that engine.

Paco

 

[Highboy]

I tried a soak with marvel mystery oil and it helped a little. How long did you soak the pistons with b12 and how much did you use? How much in each piston because I don’t want to lock up the engine. I’ll be sure to put a towel over the holes and start the car without the plugs to dry it out a bit

I put the pistons about half way in the cylinders and split a can across the 4 holes. Let them soak for a day and then turn the crank bolt with a ratchet back and forth. Added more B12 to the dry holes and waited another day and did the ratchet thing again. After that I pulled the fuel pump fuse and with a towel over the holes, crank it over with the starter to dry out the cylinders. I didn’t but should have oiled the cylinders down a little so it gets some compression right away. When I tried to start mine, it took awhile to get her running. I used 3 quarts of Valvoline Daily and 1 quart HPL Engine Cleaner. I’m at about 2900 miles and added 2 quarts so far.