Spark Plugs and Pinging...correlations?
 

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum and i apologize if what i'm about to ask has already been answered. I did a keyword search but didn't find anything that relates to my problem on this forum.

It's a nice weekend day and I decided to do a little maintenance work on the cars. My mom drives '92 Camry with a 2.2 liter 4 cylinder and 200,000+ miles. I have its Haynes manual and decided to give a look at the spark plugs to see if they needed changing. I removed them, cleaned them, and made sure they were the right kind and that the right tolerances. They all looked fine, however the 2 middle spark plugs had traces of oil on the ceramic end. I cleaned them up and put them back in and made sure not to over-tighten them. I don't have a torque-wrench, just a socket wrench:

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/5373/img0065nj.jpg

I turned the engine on and listened for any irregularities.
I'm a novice about car repairs and still learning, but I am very passionate about it.

I could hear what sounded like pinging: i'm not sure because i've never heard it before. I don't know if the car was doing it before either, since i don't drive it very often (she drives it daily but she couldn't tell). It certainly does need a tune up, but for now I want to make sure i didn't wreck anything. Can there be a correlation between the spark plugs and pinging? I did look up and read on what causes pinging and found no evidence of such, but I could be mistaken. Either way, it doesn't hurt to ask.

In terms of fuel, she uses the one that's midrange in price at the gas pumps. (89 octane, i believe?).
I don't recall having issues of over heating lately. The car did have a new radiator installed a few years back.
If i'm missing any info, please do ask.

If it isn't the spark plugs, what do you suggest i check next?


I did the same procedure on my Miata a couple of days ago and did not have any issues. I've changed plugs before on older cars as well, so i feel pretty confident i didn't over tighten them.

This is our good ol' camry and the sound it makes:
Is this an engine pinging sound? - YouTube

Relax. All of these sounds are normal so nothing to do.

If the plugs are iridium or platinum they should last 80-100K with no maintenance, re-gaping is not recommended on these types of plug electrodes.

Most owners use the cheapest fuel $$ they can find which is regular. Too low of octane can cause pinging but for this model regular almost always works fine.

The spark plugs sits at the bottom of a long tube. This tube is either screwed or pressed into the head and when the engine is running is surrounded by splashing oil. It happens the seal at the bottom of the tube can leak oil. If a little bit of oil just keep an eye it. To check pull out the spark plug connector and check it for signs of oil. If leaking too bad, oil will show up on the connector, no need to check the plug.

Most people don't use a torque wrench either, just don't over tighten them

welcome to the world of car maintenance.

you'll hear pinging only when you're under load, usually when climbing a hill.

The threat to damage a motor from pinging is fully overstated. I had an old VW and it pinged steadily for at least 60,000 miles and was OK. Know another case where a modern Dodge Grand Caravan would ping unless it had premium (seldom) and it now has over 200K on it and no engine teardown (other non-related problems, yes)

Thanks for your responses guys, they really put me at ease. I can proceed with spring cleaning the cars, then.

Funny...i thought i changed the title. :o

now curious am I, how exactly did you clean those plugs? as you CAN NOT use any brushes, etc, on them. BIG NO-NO. the only way to "clean" them is to burn electrodes white hot with torch.
btw, for what they cost now, you should have simply replaced them.
on 92, you do most likely have distributor. learn more, get timing light and check timing.

oh, and that gauge is not spark plug gauge. it's rocker arm gauge.

I didn't really clean them per se. I just just measured the gap for each one and did a soft wipe with a cloth.

I don't know when the last time these spark plugs were changed. It might have been just 2 years ago as the car was in the shop for some work, but I don't know what for and my mom doesn't remember. Assuming they are 2 years old and this car is a daily driver, would new spark plugs show notable improvement in the engine's health?

Is there any benefit to changing the spark plug wires as well?

I was actually thinking about getting a timing light to advance timing on my miata. I will read up more on timing, as you suggested.

I wasn't aware there was a specific spark plug gauge, but after your mention i googled it and found those round ones. I should be fine with this one as long as i don't bend anything though, right?

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