They Blamed MMO

[Finz]

Interesting - Lord, I hope you're right Head gasket talk scares me

If it IS octane booster, would you say the plugs are still good?

More curious than anything as I have a replacement set ready to go but I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Finz
Interesting - Lord, I hope you're right Head gasket talk scares me

If it IS octane booster, would you say the plugs are still good?

More curious than anything as I have a replacement set ready to go but I don't want to throw the baby out with the bath water


Sure the plugs are fine, its just discoloration and it does not effect the plugs performance whatsoever.

 

[Finz]

That's great - back to AAP for a return than

Thank you

 

[SatinSilver]

You'd probably be lucky if it were a head gasket. The F23 has been known to have cracked lower blocks. I had a 99 that I sold with 166k on it. I did a used oil analysis and it showed coolant in the oil. Eventhough it looked fine to me. I'd at least do a used oil analysis and see what your dealing with.

When these engines get HOT they degrade very quickly. Since engine temp guage is supressed by the time it registers on the guage a lot of damage has probably occured. There's a fair amout of info on www.driveaccord.net . Fredsvt is very knowledgeable on the issue if you want to read some of his posts while doing a search.

Also the t-stats on these tend to stick and not open causing issues. Hopefully, you still don't have the oem one in there. When replacing your best bet is an oem unit. Since the temp at which it opens is much lower than the universal ones.

 

[Finz]

Funny you should mention the thermostat - i just picked up a replacement rated at 170 degrees. I believe the OEM is set or 180.. granted, not a big difference but every little bit, right?

Thanks for the input & i'll check out that link

 

[Clevy]

The deposits on those plugs look like mtbe added to the fuel to me

 

[Trav]

Originally Posted By: Finz
Funny you should mention the thermostat - i just picked up a replacement rated at 170 degrees. I believe the OEM is set or 180.. granted, not a big difference but every little bit, right?

Thanks for the input & i'll check out that link

If the oil does not look milky with no level increase on the stick and no coolant loss don't worry about head gaskets and cracked blocks.
I guarantee you there are more of these engines running around that nothing happened to them. Sure there may be more instances than usual but its still a minority.
The plug discoloration is from fuel additives, like Clevy said probably MTBE.

Keep going and sleep well.

Edit: From an article.

Quote:
Some fuel refiners in several areas of the United States have introduced a manganese additive (MMT) for unleaded fuel. During combustion, fuel with MMT causes the entire tip of the spark plug to be coated with a rust colored deposit. This rust color can be misdiagnosed as being caused by coolant in the combustion chamber

 

[Finz]

Very reassuring - thank you again for all the input

 

[jkhawaii]

Sounds like you need a engine, or car.

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: jkhawaii
Sounds like you need a engine, or car.


How so, care to elaborate?

 

[suspiciousmind]

Originally Posted By: Clevy
Originally Posted By: suspiciousmind
You might consider a "piston soak". Dump a 50/50 mix of acetone/atf (or concotion of your choice)through the spark plug holes and let it soak overnight. Put a towel over the empty plug wells and spin the engine with the starter (disconnect coil pack/cam angle sensor/etc first?). Drain the oil and refill.

Overheating can fry the oil control rings and cause them to stick leading to lots of oil usage.



What exactly is the ATF supposed to do. Please. In detail explain your logic


This is a popular do-it-yourself mix that many folks swear beats liquid werench type solutions for rusted fasteners and such. Many have used it for the piston soak too. I can only guess that atf is readily available, non-evaporative, and has some lubricity. It also thickens the mix a bit so it doesn't quickly run through the rings but lingers a bit longer and adheres to the surfaces for a while.

 

[suspiciousmind]

Originally Posted By: Finz
I'm totally doing a piston soak - got my 19mm wrench all ready to turn the engine

I was thinking of using Kreens but then I was reading about a guy who used his gun cleaning solvents...? That's a little ballsy for me.

So you like Acetone/ATF...? An oz or 2 down the well?

OK - here's the problem with BITOG: I read all these great things to do to a car and I love to tinker (My motto: if something ain't broke, break it so you can play with your tools)

Then I hit up Amazon, right? Buy a truck load of oil filters, specialty tools, O2 sensors, a scythe - for heaven's sake: what in God's name am I going to do with a scythe...?!?

So, I'm slowly but surely going to the poor house with a car that works fine but just has this stupid red tint on the plugs

Talk about OCD

But I AM going to do the piston soak


I think more than a ounce or two for the honda as the cylinders are at about 45 degrees I believe. I think you want to flood the entire piston top surface.Maybe a 8-10 oz per cylinder if indeed that's the case. Acetone/atf is just cheap....feel free to improvise the concoction to suit yourself!

 

[Finz]

Thank you - yes, they are at 45 degree or thereabouts