How to "Read" your Spark Plugs | Goss' Garage
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Back in the day, cars had a lot of ignition parts that today don’t even exist. Like spark plug wires. But no matter how exotic or mundane, all cars still use spark plugs. And spark plugs wear out, now if you know how to read the spark plugs that you take out of your engine, you can determine the general condition of your engine.
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RIP. Patrick Goss (December 18, 1941 - March 19, 2022) 🙏 You will be missed.
I came to the comments to tell him thanks for the most clear explanation possible I didn’t know he died🥺 Rest peacefully sir I’m sure u are up there still turnin a wrench 🥹
oh man what a bummer. Even when I might not be interested in a particular car review, his segment and motor news were can't miss.
I am curious which one is applicable to compression, I suppose the dry one dealing with air.
Wish I had a Ford GT. My workbench is way too slow.
Nick Hamilton looks like the one from fast and furious 5
Lmaooo
Easy to fix this problem:
1) jack up the radiator cap
2) drive a new car under it
@Berry Tierno only took me about 5, tech is crazy nowadays lol
I am freaking out he has that box on that car
Goss always throws in something you don't see on the spark plug reading charts! Oil vapor deposits getting past the valve guide seals! Got to love Goss.
I've watched a couple videos on what information you can get from the condition of a spark plug, this guy knows his stuff. Many of the other videos basically were a waste of my time. Kudos to you sir.
John j Jonah
What if half the plug is sooty, but the other half is clean?
I have the same issue, I haven't fixed it yet, but everything's pointing to the fuel/improper combustion. I'm gonna try replacing the valve cover which may be warped/cracked and leaking gas fumes and messing it up.
Who could have POSSIBLY disliked this???
Good grief.
10/10 Excellent info!
diesel car owners
Perhaps found it difficult to learn from someone who, based on the shop and the car in it, has never worked on a real car and is just a spokesman???
a TSLA bigot...
I think youtube has bots that automatically dislike videos.
Rite?? Wtf, i dont get it either, smh...
I grew up on Goss’ Garage. And I still enjoy it!! Thank you!
Looks like he pulled those out of my engine.
CaptainYodelstein out of your ass
Damn those butt plugs are lit
I have oil leak from valve and under piston and spark plug melted and the ceramic capped out I can't even imagine how this engine work at this point 🤣😭😭
RIP Pat Goss.
Amazing man
Amazing voice
Amazing knowledge
nicely said
Very well explained and presented. So the lesson learnt here is when removing spark plugs from the engine, don't mixed them up for proper diagnosis. Thanks for your time posting this video.
This was excellent... all 4 of my plugs fit category 5 perfectly with the dry sandy looking deposits on top of the electrode... my '06 Outback is burning oil and now I know it's the valve seals. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!
For Christ's sake crush it and buy an sti, u want be sorry! Make sure it's not a regular impresa but an STI.
@@wildestcowboy2668 STI are trash bro lmao what are you talking about? A normal Subaru is the only one you want to get cus it's the only reliable one.
@@johndc2998 LMAO
Couldve been head gaskets considering its a subaru
@@LargeMuscularTitties It smokes on cold start up and stops smoking after running about 30 seconds. As I understand it, that also a sign it's the valve seals. I've heard when it's the head gaskets, it smokes all the time when it's running. Anyway, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
0:25 except diesel cars
and all electric cars
And soapbox derby cars
...I want to know where these wireless spark plugs are.
@Chris Parker You must work for the epa
Yeah. Fvck that EPA. Clean air is for pvssies. Stick your mouth over the tail pipe and roll coal. A little NOX and CO and unburned hydrocarbons never hurt nobody.
I'm assembling an Eclipse 4G63T engine and I was already going crazy trying to figuring out why all of my 4 spark plugs were black and dry. I wrongly thought that I had a problem with oil leaking from the pistons, but it's my fuel mixture that is rich. Thank you very much for your help, sir.
Hey, Igor i was going through this +comments. i am having the same problem dry sooty spark plugs. what was your eventual remedy to this issue? is your car running ok now? my car is 2004 toyota Duet/ Daihatsu Storia/Sirion
This little 3:26 video has given me immense useful knowledge. Much thanks!
Straight to the point
Nice to see a segment like this again. I miss Pat Goss already. He really was a legend.
What happened to him?
He passed away.
@@SibRevs I know that. He will certainly be missed. There will never be another like him.
@@johnnymason2460 He'll live on forever with his videos.
And he is still teaching, thank god. Rest In Peace
My inline 4 cylinder engine just snapped a conrod, when I checked the plugs the one from the same cylinder had rust and white residue above the threads on the hex, all other plugs were fine, does that part of the plug tell you anything going on with the engine on a long term basis?
But where is the lean running plug ;-)
3 from left side
Fuck mechanics
He was fun to watch, Explained everything in a simple way. May he R.I.P.
He’s dead 😳 what year he died
Yay! I win the burning oil contest woooo
+Ian Rodriguez my ram sst has low compression on the #6 cylinder and burns a lot of oil with the plug so I opted to use a hot 2 stroke spark plug and now i haven’t replaced a plug in that cylinder in 25k miles. Before that I had to put a new one in every 700 miles.
Love this guy. Miss him a lot.
2022 and goss is still teaching me, absoloute legend
Nice, simple and straight to the point. Will send this my young nephew who’s just started tinkering with his own cars. Thanks
Im just here to say : "take that shit off the top of that GT40 man come on"
How about showing a lean, rich or detonation on a spark plug. Specifically which applies to carb engines
Yea definitely missing a lean plug
@@dr.trichome6419 lean plug would be like the white one just the deposit is not so thick.
Because unfortunately people don't bother with carbureted engines because they're "obsolete", but usually if you drive a carbureted car you probably know this already.
Uh, detonation can happen on a newer car. Detonation occurs when you have a fuel that isn't resilliant enough for the compression you're exerting on it in the compression stroke. Like my 10.5:1 429 would destroy itself in a heartbeat if I ran regular 85/87 through it. The same would happen if you void the factory's recommendation of fuel on the 2018 Challenger "Demon"! But detonation can occur at high speeds if the car leans out too much in higher rpms. EFI or Carb, this is why spot on tuning is essential. Like running E85, even if the pump is trusted for the best mix, you should still test it just incase it's dropped or your E85/90 tune is going to destroy your engine.
Computers can't solve all your problems. Plug readings can if you know what to look for.
How to tell the condition of an engine without taking the spark plugs out. Back in my day when buying used cars (we had leaded fuels then) all you had to do is look inside the exhaust pipe(s) to see if the color is; grey, light grey, to white. Any one of those and you're good to go. This was mostly OK if the engine was in line with a single exhaust. If the engine was a V8 with dual exhaust you'd then look for color difference (black & sooty as opposed to light grey) between the two which may indicate a blown cylinder bank. With leaded fuels it's a bit different because there are no obvious colors any more. There's also a lot more anti-pollution gear fitted so it's even harder to tell if the car is burning any oil. Still, look for (unleaded cars) a clean lightly rusty exhaust(s) and steer away from those; black, sooty, oily ones... And of course no dealer was ever going to let you take (or anything of the car) the spark plugs out just so you can read them.
Most cars have black inside of the exhaust system over years of driving idk anyone with a exhaust that doesn’t have black inside of it mine does aswell and it burns no oil at all I just changed my oil a few months ago and it’s still where I left it
This is the way we used to tune our cars back in the days. Carb adjusts and timing all depended on how the spark plug looked and smelled.
This guys the best been watching him all my life . Thank you sir.
7 77 77 t 66 76 6 78 the only 8
How old are you??
He's actually far from the best, but he is pretty knowledgeable
That's very helpful! Thanks Gus! Wish you where my mechanic!😎👍
I think mechanics would be great preachers and storytellers. I like how they always use apocalyptic tone on their voices when describing a problem.
This man was born to teach. Fantastic video motorweek
Very brief but informative video. Thank you very much for sharing it sir when some foreman chooses to keep this themselves for their own benefits. 😁
Had an 09 impreza with 98k miles blow a head gasket and flood cyl 3. Plug for that cylinder was wet and dark with no major deposits and the other 3 plugs we spotless except for a carbon ring around the flat section at the very end of the thread. Still not 100% sure what the total problem was. But I don't have a car I hate anymore and I will probably never get another Subaru again. My family has owned 4 and not a single one didn't/ doesn't leak oil.
Finally, a great video. Consise and full of useful information. *Subscribed*
Thanks foe that outstanding presentation!
RIP Goss ❤
Thanks for this upload! Thumbs up and a sub from me... Stay safe... Rico
Plug number 3 may also be caused by a lean condition because if you look at the centre electrode its been eroded (worn in a slanted way through running hot) and the porcelain is very white. This could indicate a failing or dirty injector in that cylinder.
I would love to have seen the engine running that the last plug came from !
That's like my friend's V6 mustang. She inherited it from her dad when he passed away. Three of the six plugs look like the last one in the video. It causes a cylinder misfire and car runs like crap. I replaced all the plugs and its running good again...until they gunked up and she will get another cylinder misfire. Needs new piston rings and new valve seals or just replace the engine with a used one.
@@ChavezDIY I just pulled a plug like that from my 1998 5.9 Dodge Ram, smokes like a son of a gun when revved up, but mine was a lot worse that what was shown, the tip of mine was almost rusted (looks like it) off
@@TheCrazyR1 LOL! It's amazing how bad an engine can be internally and yet still runs.
I tuned Racing snowmobiles. That was the proper way to tune an engine was to " read" the plugs. I could push an engine to the edge without blowing it up by fine tuning the carburetors. Today, that's the biggest problem with cars. They are computer controlled. " Reading" spark plugs will not answer all your problems because other than oil issues, the computer controls timing and fuel management. Gone are the days of dialing in an engine by adjusting points or changing distributor degree angle to optimize the correct engine performance. Also resetting is not possible. I had to take into account ambient outside air temperatures, engine temperatures and reset the carbs to compensate for eather warm outside or colder outside air. If you were good, it determined wether you came in first, or detonated an engine running it too lean. There is a fine line in tuning a racing engine in high performance machines.
ECMs can do all that carbs could and more, timing is controlled with the click of a button and so is every other little thing.
@@poptartmcjelly7054 Except the computers in all modern cars are a read only system, not programmable. Unless you know how to write code and hack a modern car computer, your are dreaming. Even those cars having a performance chip are limited as to what you can do.
@@scottfirman that is completely wrong. Some car manufacturers release the source code for the ecm, some dont. GM for example has released the source code which means it is possible to adjust the tune. All you need to tune a gm ecu is a obd-2 to usb cable and the software. Ecus havent been read only since the 90s
WHAT IF MY 2012 JETTA HAS THE 4 SPARK PLUG THAT HAS BULT UP EXTRA DIRTY BURNT OIL DEPOSITS ALL OVER THE PLUG . WELL CAN I FIX THIS MYSELF .JETTA 2.5 engine . 2011.
That was a great video I’m going to tag that because I just made a video about replacing your spark plugs on your Ford escape and I think that’s a very descriptive way much better than I could do on my channel thank you very much Goss
The last time I changed my plugs 1 of 4 had oil on it, I didn't know what it could've been at the time so I just left it alone. I'll be inspecting my spark plugs again to see if the oil has come back. Hope not but I'll see
Bradford Amison you need to replace the valve cover gaskets
Quick and simple....lovely video appreciate it! Now to know how to take out my spark plugs lol
Don't think I ever watched Goss before but this was an excellent video.
How the hell do you use that sandblast cab behind him!? Get on your knees? Lmao
Right to the point with lots of good information. Thank you!
that's really informative 👌.
thanks 👍
#1 is my plug. Just got a car with 180k miles. Runs fine. It’s a Toyota.
So happy I found this video I’d say I know a decent bit about cars but I’ve never known how to read a spark plug and well I just changed mine today and the plug and only the plug in cylinder number one was had black suet on it and the good news about that is I’ve been wanting to put new injectors in my truck anyway cause I’ve did research and found some that flow a little more fuel and atomize the fuel better and I’ve been wanting to get them to help get a little bit more power to help with towing but I keep putting off and telling myself I’ll get em next month or somethin because my truck is still pulling the tractor or camper fine but looks like now it actually gives me a reason to get them
Then 1 and 4 are good... I will check it out, thanks !
Very informative content, thanks for bringing us this
The 164 dislikes are from people WHO FIND FAULT AND NEGATIVITY IN EVERYTHING, and hate their own lives.. Miserable peeps, just miserable....
164 diesel engine owners?....
Beautiful explanation now I know what to look for than just blindly changing the spark plugs
Always loved watching Motor Week, great, informative tv show, very educational.
Good info. I don’t think I’d be laying spark plugs on the roof of my $250k Ford gt though.
real talk
2:16 - My two exhaust valves looked like the sparkplug. All white and full of "sandy" hard stuff I had to remove.
The engine ate oil like crazy and I have now replaced all valve stem seals. Hopefully it stops using oil now.
Hey Reaper, did it fix anything? Was it expensive to fix? I have those white-ish sparkplugs
@@spolo123 I removed the valves, cleaned them, replaced the vavlestem seals and put it all back together.
It seems to not burn oil anymore, but now it ticks loud.
@@RSx94 Sorry to hear that.
Took care of a 2005 Dodge Caravan that burned oil and had plugs like that. After sitting and idling for a few minutes then taking off, it would blow smoke then clear up. Replaced the stem seals and problem was solved. This was around 400,000 miles and I know it made it another 100,000 after we got rid of it with the fleet.
BTW, the seals were all soft and pliable not cracked and brittle. They were just worn.
@@timothyball3144 Good to hear. That wouldn't have been cheap, had you not replaced them by yourself, right?
Blessings, John 3:16. Jesus loves you.
I had the "Sandy" , gunked up ones on all of mine when I changed mine. Now I know what to look at.
What was the problem, I have them on all six cylinders. Hard to believe all my valves are bad?
Tesla doesn't use spark plugs🤔
spark plug wires don't exist any more? My trucks only a 2008 and it has them. How do newer cars supply power to their spark plugs? And I missing something?
Except diesel and electric cars hmmmm
I was taught this in high school, there were so many different conditions that can come up , I had an engine which misfired here and there was down on power, I changed the plugs a month ago they were clearly just worn out from high mileage the electrode was eroded the gaps had wandered, now it running smooth as ass cheeks.
What if there is gas on the Spark plug's thread when I removed it? It was wet and was smelling gas. The other spark plug's thread was dry. (1996 Yamaha Virago XV1100)
Excellent and the most concise explanation. Thank you for preparing this clip.
What if there’s a tad bit of oil on the spark plug threads?
that is exactly why im here !!!! no one commented :(
This is good stuff .
Clear + wet plugs & EFI + new big camshaft... injector timing is off.
Fix it before your cylinder walls and oil suffer.
I’ll miss this guy so much.
"No matter" bla bla bla "all cars have spark plugs".
I hate to break it to you, but my Diesel Volvo V50 doesn't have spark plugs.
Hi Goss - I need some help regarding sparkplug removal on a Morgan Plus 8 (4.0 l) engine - it appaers that I have to use an inch size socket wich I don't have. These are NGK Sparkplugs with hexagon size between 13mm and 12 mm . I bought the Morgan in England - it is year 2001
Can anyone tell me why my dirt bike spark plug is getting blacky and what should i do? I ride a 150cc dirt bike. It looks like the 2nd one at the start
Great explanation! Love the tone, posture and cool, confident attitude. I happen to have run across black dry plugs. My question is could this cause a P0421 dtc?
Man best spark plug video ever
I have 2015 Honda CR-V 2.4 Earth Dream Engine.
It's got 62k miles on it.
I did maintenance on it I found there is a rust color on all spark plugs tips.
I changed all of them and drove it for 2 weeks and I checked the new spark plugs and same thing the rust on the tips too???
The oil looks pure even the coolant and all at the same level and no smoke from the tail pipe NO CODEs.
The car some time shake when I stop at traffic lights with AC on.
No mechanic know the reason.
The las5 plug you talk about looks like one i pulled out of my chev 5.3 , is there a chance that could be a collapsed lifter ? I have i tick that comes and goes and i changed my plugs and all looks nice but 1 was real bad , any addvive would be greatly appreciated . And please dont use my dream car as a work bench anymore , when i was in hischool we got the chance to work on a gt 40 and it was and still is my all time dream car .......
Please i bought this spark plug 16r-u11 90119 01164 which is recommended by toyota for 2nz-fe engine but when i checked the gap between the electrodes it was 0.37 inches instead of 0.43 Please is it going to have a negative effects on the engine? Also i want to know what it means when water comes from the tip of your exhaust pipe.
My spark plug is brown on the coil pack(outside engine)side what would cause this? Too high temp maybe? Been fixing fuel rich issues with replacing sensors and valves on my 2014 Hyundai veloster Re: Flex. Please help I love this car bought brand new and hope to keep for the longgggg haul.
I ran to much octane booster that had MMT in it and all of my plugs turned orange! Can I just run premium unleaded here in CA and will that crap burn off?? I'm assuming it will be on the top of all pistons too?
0:20 "no matter how exotic, or how mundane, ALL CARS still use spark plugs". Haha. Except for Diesel engines and electric cars. How can a mechanic make such a statement??
My spark plug was the second one #2 he brought up.. black spark plug in which means Rich fuel mixture.. oh well I'll just have to replace with new ones can't afford to fix that problem right now
I was hoping for a lean plug,but still some good info.....
If it's a Chevy especially, every 6 months replace the plugs! Trust me a small block Chevy is garbage. If it's a big block Dodge your good to 30k miles.
Great video! Thanks for sharing... And Rest in peace Mr. Patrick....
pulled a plug from a 2 stroke weed eater engine (these are used to run full tilt) but the plug is black, dry, NOT "suddy" looking with a little discoloration (copper brown tinted) on one half of the plug.
what does this indicate? is it running great? bad?
Ahh they don't wear out anymore.. I drive a vehicle I got brand new; the plugs lasted more than a decade. One you get a mechanic to take out plugs, you're going to be ripped off ... plain and simple. & there is a good chance they will introduce a real problem.
How to read a sparkplug?? When it missfires!
The plug will tell you. Can be a number of things, but most notably if it's wet and smells like gas, it's obviously not burning. That would be your "miss". Given if everything else related to ignition and the head gaskets or in top shape. Otherwise a blown gasket will make white (for coolant) smoke come out of the exhaust and sometimes a coil can be bad on a newer car. On rare occasions the spark plug wire could be damaged internally and the break in it can cause a "miss".
Now you could have a unique situation like I do where I have an intermittent miss and yet all my plugs look perfect. This problem is most likely a pitted check ball in the hydraulic lifter or something is keeping it from doing it's cycle 100% of the time.
"All cars have spark plugs..." nope... only gasoline engines... :/ diesel people, yall have glow plugs
Yes that's a fact. Nothing beats a 7.3litre naturally aspirated ford diesel.
fuck diesel
I know some serious racers that will change their plugs for every situation just for diagnostics and tuning, letting engine idle for 30 minutes, then change plugs. push car up to the track turned off then floor it, change plugs. They swear that they can tell you everything since there right there in the cylinder. Theyll keep their plugs for years just to analyze how the engine is running over the years.
Got a dodge 5.7 hemi started running rough last week changed plugs drivers four where normal passenger side where black soot looking been blowing black out exhaust pipe for two days was good then back running weird what can it be
Category 4 is normal. However new spark plugs are automatically category 3
My plugs are being uniformly covered in black soot overnight over and over again, take em out spray em off with carb cleaner brush em off put em back in, fires right up, how do I tell if its gas or oil?
I got a sbc 406 engine its only fouling number 2 plug. All other plugs look good. What could be going on. I compression tested engine all cylinders are 150
What about if it’s black but wet but not caked like that.
2 stroke engine? My cyl 6 misfires and I can’t figure out why
I removed a plug from my car that had the ground electrode melted away at the curve.
Suspect very lean condition if it melted. Think about an Oxy acetylene torch... The more oxygen the hotter the flame it goes from yellow to blue to white and the nozzle melts. Same deal with spark plugs in an engine.... They melt when temps get very hot. Check the injector on that plug
What if my spark plugs are perfectly half tan and half white? Every plug the same.
What to do if 20,000km driven spark plugs are wet with gasoline even after replacing valve cover gasket for nissan vq35hr engine?
Thanks for your excellent information😎👍but I have different issue with the same plug symptom. my car airfule mixture is right but still all the plugs have dry carbon deposit.what's wrong?
2:45 or you just own a ford
I had two Fords and two GM’s. The Fords were vastly superior. Both GM’s spent a lot of time being repaired.
Starts explaining for the 3rd one and my butt is starting to pucker until he said it’s an oil leak into the engine. Whew... mark of the dorito. Zoom zoom