58
votes
How do cars drive through deep water as shown on many videos online?
One of your questions as stated and not answered is:
What is the recommended thing to do if you need to pass through an area that's been flooded?
The answer to this has nothing to do with ...
- 147k
44
votes
Spark plug broke off in engine - can I drive the car?
That sounds very risky to me. The portions of the plugs that reside in the combustion chamber are designed to tolerate the heat and pressure there. I don't think they will melt.
So what will happen ...
- 14.4k
39
votes
Accepted
How do cars drive through deep water as shown on many videos online?
The term you're looking for is Wading Depth which is specified by the manufacturer. They may surprise you, and its info you should know about your vehicle. Its in your manual, or search it online.
...
- 2,683
33
votes
Spark plug broke off in engine - can I drive the car?
Do NOT drive a car with a piece of sparkplug inside the engine. It can (and likely will) lead to serious damage (up to a catastrophic engine failure). Get your car towed to a service and have the ...
- 581
26
votes
How do cars drive through deep water as shown on many videos online?
Generally the car shouldn't be driven through water! On your Yaris, where you had high revs, what would happen if your air intake was submerged would be that your engine would fill some cylinder(s) ...
- 1,136
24
votes
Spark plug broke off in engine - can I drive the car?
That's a nice car - don't be a consumer and break it because you're too lazy to fix it properly.
Sadly the "proper" fix is to tow it to your mechanic, who will take the head off and fish out the ...
- 2,683
24
votes
Accepted
Why one should not leave fingerprints on bulbs and plugs?
Why is this a thing?
For bulbs it is - spark plugs don't care. The problem with getting fingerprints on bulbs (specifically halogen-type bulbs) is actually the grease that gets left behind - the bulb ...
- 9,866
20
votes
Accepted
Impact wrench on spark plugs?
In a word: NO!
Please do not use an impact wrench on these. You run the distinct chance of stripping out all of the threads in the head, which will cause a huge nightmare for you having to have ...
- 147k
18
votes
Spark plug broke off in engine - can I drive the car?
If this happened during a plug change
If you have roadside assistance/towing, I would highly recommend getting it towed home, then purchase a cheap USB inspection camera or a inspection unit like this ...
- 291
12
votes
Where do spark plugs get their electricity?
From a device called a coil. The coil is basically a transformer which takes in the 12vdc voltage from the battery and upconverts it to around 40k vdc (depending on the ignition system). Here is a ...
- 147k
12
votes
Accepted
Help with spark plug stuck upside down in well
I have a telescopic magnet which is invaluable for this very scenario. It even has a light built into the end of the magnet. I bought it because I saw it in the tool shop and it's gotten me out of a ...
- 23.4k
12
votes
How do cars drive through deep water as shown on many videos online?
There are a lot of variables here, but key risks are:
water shorting electrical systems
water being sucked into air intake (or potentially into exhaust)
cold water coming into contact with hot metal ...
- 18.6k
11
votes
Do I really have to pull the engine to remove broken spark plugs?
Sounds to me like the plug is still in the head as normal, just with the porcelain and electrode snapped on the top end (where the ignition line attaches). If that's the case, it should be really easy ...
- 3,284
10
votes
Accepted
What can I do with an Inline Spark Tester?
First, think of the possible failure modes:
Spark plug is clogged with carbon or has an isolation error - it conducts current, but doesn't generate sparks, because the current flows through the ...
- 7,037
10
votes
Accepted
What Could Cause Flash Over / Arcing to Reappear on New Plugs?
I think your problem is your plug wires. I think they are leaking along the boot and down to ground (earth). With this loss of energy, you'll also see the large carbon buildup on the business end, due ...
- 147k
10
votes
Accepted
Can I use a 15lbs torque wrench for 13lbs spark plug job
While it most likely will be OK, it is not worth the risk. If you do over torque the spark plugs and strip the threads you will regret it because it will be a big job to get it fixed.
Most mechanics ...
- 22.7k
10
votes
Can I use a 15lbs torque wrench for 13lbs spark plug job
The lower and upper ranges of the torque wrenches are generally unreliable.
With a bit of bad luck the deviation of the torque wrench is too large for the threads.
I'd consider getting a smaller ...
- 8,018
10
votes
Do I change all four coils when I change one spark plug that is faulty
You shouldn't need to change the spark plug coils unless they are faulty, so the answer to your question is no, you don't need to replace the coils again.
There probably wasn't a need to replace all ...
- 22.7k
9
votes
Two-stroke dirt bike piston running into spark plug
My best bet is that the spark plug is too long in the first place. I don't know what the stock spark plug should be for your bike, but the NGK you are showing may/may not be completely within spec and ...
- 147k
9
votes
Accepted
How much does spark plug gap affect fuel efficiency?
The generalized statements about the gaps being too small causing insufficient burn and too wide having a weak spark are spot on. As you widen the gap, you need to increase voltage to cover the gap. ...
- 147k
9
votes
Accepted
What is spark plug heat range
The spark plug heat range refers to how well the center electrode conducts heat to the head.
A hot plug can't conduct the heat very well that is what makes them hot, they can't cool themselves. A ...
- 16k
9
votes
Accepted
Why are the spark plugs from the same 2 cylinders corroding faster than the others?
What you see could very well be burned coolant as well as oil. As the glycerin burns in the combustion process it can take on corrosive properties that degrade the electrodes.
Typically with oil in ...
- 32.9k
9
votes
Spark plug broke off in engine - can I drive the car?
No question - running the engine will break it.
If you're "unlucky", there's enough clearance between the piston and the valves to fit the spark plug. In that case you'll have the spark plug ...
- 1,509
9
votes
Spark plug working fine in free air, but hard miss in engine
The current follows the least resistance. On a spark plug the current jumps between the gap in the electrodes. When the plug is out of the cylinder the easiest path is between the electrodes. But when ...
- 2,737
8
votes
Accepted
Firing a Coil on Plug
You would follow these simple steps.
Remove plug from engine
Place plug into coil wire
Make sure threads of the sparkplug are grounded to a metal surface.
Validate metal surface goes to ground by ...
- 32.9k
8
votes
Accepted
Can a altered curve of spark plug finger break the engine?
I am yet to see an engine this tight that the piston can hit the spark plug ground electrode even if it is bent straight.
Even if they somehow meet, the damage will be minor and not worth the worries -...
- 1,997
7
votes
Accepted
High revs after changing spark plugs
You mention two issues:
fast idle
hard brakes
Both of these point to a vacuum leak.
Inspect the brake booster vacuum line; it might have been compromised during the spark plug swap.
- 39k
7
votes
Accepted
Do I Need to Ground the Spark Plug When Testing
Yes you should ground the spark plug. In your case the spark plug was close enough to the block to still jump the gap. If the plug was far enough away from metal nothing would have happened.
On a ...
- 16k
7
votes
Accepted
How to check if spark plugs are firing? Coil-on plugs
You should have 2 coil packs on the back side of the engine near the throttle body. Wires run to individual cylinders.
I don't know how easy it would be to find locally but you can use an inductance ...
- 10.7k
7
votes
What causes pink spark plugs?
I assume you already checked the heat range.
The pink color has a similarity to the "ferrocen" symptom.
Ferrocen is an iron-containing anti-knock fuel additive. It causes red, electrical conductive, ...
- 8,018
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