Help, spark plug tip broke inside cylinder.

[scrllock]

Unfortunately I don’t have the disposable income for that!

if you can't afford to trade it in you definitely can't afford to not fix it. at the very least clean all that gunk out.
my guess, injector #2 is going, was running lean and melted the strap.
the car has 70k on it right? was anything maintained prior to this? injectors, plugs, coilpacks?

 

[Acadia18]

if you can't afford to trade it in you definitely can't afford to not fix it.

My thoughts exactly. That is not a healthy engine, and in my far from expert opinion, looks like a ticking time bomb to a very expensive repair.

 

[fattypros]

Thanks scrllock, I am definitely not calling this changed plug the end all be all solution.

My last few items for the carbon cleaning arrive Monday, so perhaps I can start disassembling and inspecting then. I already have replacement injector seals and the tool kit so I was prepared in the event they needed work.

I am about to hit 70k, the car has been to the stealership for all regular maintenance intervals and when prompted by the car itself, only declining minor options like air filters and pads/rotors which I changed myself.

The spark plugs were changed back in 2020 with 40k Service (I think?)

The clutch failed at approx 50k or so and I had a local shop replace it with Sachs Stage 1 since reading on here the stock clutch is failure prone.

I was checking out another thread about piston appearances and seeing other folk's pictures (and how much better they look even at higher mileage), obviously I am not done here.

I am going to move this to it's own post as we are past the spark plug stage.

Thanks Diggs, Dak and scrllock for your feedback so far, it is appreciated!

 

[fattypros]

My thoughts exactly. That is not a healthy engine, and in my far from expert opinion, looks like a ticking time bomb to a very expensive repair.

Thanks Acadia for the unfortunate feedback, just my luck I guess.

 

[Acadia18]

Thanks Acadia for the unfortunate feedback, just my luck I guess.

It seems like you have a good plan in place though. As long as you're not just sticking your fingers in your ears going "blah blah blah it's running fine for now!" and ignoring that there's a deeper issue, hopefully you can prevent that from happening.

 

[Diggs24]

Bad: You either have such a horrific leak at the cam cradle that a massive amount of oil is making it into the cylinders that the spark plug could no longer fire consistently.

Worse: The piston rings in 2/3 are toast and the engine needs a rebuild.

Neither are a cheap fix. You are way past carbon cleaning or injector replacement solving anything.

 

[fattypros]

It seems like you have a good plan in place though. As long as you're not just sticking your fingers in your ears going "blah blah blah it's running fine for now!" and ignoring that there's a deeper issue, hopefully you can prevent that from happening.

I certainly felt there was more to this, hence me posting here, thanks for the confirmation.

 

[fattypros]

Bad: You either have such a horrific leak at the cam cradle that a massive amount of oil is making it into the cylinders that the spark plug could no longer fire consistently.

Worse: The piston rings in 2/3 are toast and the engine needs a rebuild.

Neither are a cheap fix. You are way past carbon cleaning or injector replacement solving anything.

Well that sucks. I guess I need to figure out next steps. I can drive the wife's car in the interim although not ideal. I am gonna move this over to a new post to stop cluttering the broken spark plug electrode post. Thanks for the feedback Diggs.

 

[GIACUser]

Where did you buy your plugs? Lots of fake NGK lugs out there. DO NOT buy off Amazon.

 

[fattypros]

Where did you buy your plugs? Lots of fake NGK lugs out there. DO NOT buy off Amazon.

Hello GIAC, the ones I pulled were OEM put in by the dealer during 40K service (or whatever interval it occurs). The replacements are OEM I purchased from the dealer. Thanks for the warning. I normally frequent FCP Euro.

 

[GIACUser]

Hello GIAC, the ones I pulled were OEM put in by the dealer during 40K service (or whatever interval it occurs). The replacements are OEM I purchased from the dealer. Thanks for the warning. I normally frequent FCP Euro.

I had to bring it up because counterfeit plugs are a common B issue. I had it happen to a new motor couple years ago.

http://imgur.com/LHG8Bls

 

[tigeo]

^^^maybe fakes? The VW branded ones should always be fine but the NGK branded ones could be fake.

https://www.ngkntk.com/newsroom/blog/emea/fake-or-not/#:~:text=What to do if in doubt? 1 1.,Have a close look at the electrode.