Hesitation, then massive Engine Vibration and Noise. Help!

[ffffanman]

SPARK PLUG #5 BLOWN OUT AND STRIPPED!
This is a sad day for me, the car is at Acura waiting its turn to be looked at.
I had a slight hesitation upon acceleration for the last week. I though maybe bad gas or fuel filter change time. I thought i would top her up and if still there run by Acura and see if they had some ideas.
Out on the highway last nite, nothing fancy, just usual highway driving, then turned off onto secondary road and suddenly there was vibration and noise from the engine. I was on the cell phone and was just getting off so there was confusion in the car. I of course slowed the car and tried to figure out what was happening. Oil fine, no check engine light on, just vibration. I believe I looked in the mirror for a sec to see a little smoke but the sun was from behind and i had my sunglasses on. Won't be able to tell if it was white or blue or even was smoke or my imagination.
I stopped the car and it Idled like one cylinder was firing wrong and kicking against the others. Turned it off and called a flat bed.
Nothing leaking underneath from what I can see and nothing visible in the engine bay. Restarted the car and it starts right away but with that vibration and kicking feel. No smoke out the back but not the greatest exhaust smell. Kind of like a rich mixture if i can remember right.
Any Ideas you experts!!!
I hoping ignition coils firing wrong, I'm not hope'n for blown gasket, hole in piston, broken crank......................... and on and on.
Thanks so much
Trev

 

[DRIFTER]

Buy some new spark plugs the ones the factory recommends. I think there NGK but look them up in the FAQ. Mine was doing this but not all the time. It was loading up on fuel and backfiring when I came to a stop, and had a mis right around v-tec range new plugs corrected this.If this dose not fix the problem check the coils.My local auto parts store had every thing I needed.
Its easy to do I did my own Service and saved my self some $$$ by not bringing it to the Acura.The plugs come pre-gaped so its just a matter of removing the coil&cover removing the old plug and installing the new one.Good Luck

 

[ffffanman]

Thanks for that info.
If i had the car, i would do that tonite.
Since Acura has it, I'll let them take a looks see.
But it sounds maybe like a head gasket now that I think about it more.
Kind of like the sould when you have an exhaust leak at the joint near the engine on a northamerican car.
I guess I can guess all day. Time will tell shortly.
Thanks once again for your input.
Did you change coils as well on yours? Just wondering.
Trev

 

[DRIFTER]

No I just replaced the spark plugs.

 

[TURBO2GO]

I don't think it is electrical, because electrical gets worse as RPM's rise and is usually constant. You are saying there is a hesitation then its fine, right?

That makes me suspect a fuel problem. I don't think its a headgasket, you'd have all sorts of other symptoms. Lots of smoke, milky oil, overheating, etc.

Its hard to tell by the little info we have. Need to know more how often if happens, how long it lasts, whether it stays on acceleration or not, what makes it go away, hot or cold, etc.

 

[ffffanman]

Just found out what it is.
They say I blew out spark plug number 5 which is on the front bank.
The threads are stripped.
Meaning, droop'n the engine, romove head, fix hole, if possible?, put back together and change the oil!!!
$3,054.00 canadian.
Can a spark plug hole be fixed on an nsx head?
Trev

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Can a spark plug hole be fixed on an nsx head?

Yes it can.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[drew]

Should cost you a lot less if they don't have to drop the engine.

If you do it right you won't have to take off the head.

http://www.timesert.com/html/sparkplug.html

Heli coil makes one too. There will be no effective difference if you repair your head with these products. If there are other screwed up threads, you may want to do them all.

 

[ffffanman]

Just got back from looking at the Damage.
Some photos attached.
Acura assures me that the hole can be fixed as mentioned by you's guys.
So what causes this problem?
Did an Acura mechanic use too much torque or forgot to tighten the plug?
Is Acura responsible?
I need a gasket fast.
Their Price is like 1300.00 cdn and maybe two weeks out.
Thanks for all the interest and help.
I tried to take photos down the hole without any luck.
Trev

 

[Daedalus]

An inspection of either the plug or hole threads would indicate whether the plug was cross-threaded, which isn't uncommon on aluminum heads.

 

[ffffanman]

Just ordered all gaskets from Chris @ SOS.
Just for the one side plus other gaskets needed for intake and exhaust mans.
Also got a T-belt, waterpump and number 5 ignition coil coming.
Should be ready to race in a week or so.
Lets see what I can break next?
My neck, oh, thats tonite on the yellow banana.
P.S. One good thing about the day, Sue is coming to town next month,thats the chick on the bike in my avitar. Bad news, she used my mastercard to book her flight. I am a loser.
Just got headers order today as well, should be fun.

 

[RON98]

wow nice spark plugs.

if you had SC i would blame detonation. not sure how the spark plug can brake apart. I had ones that blew out on me before but they came out as one piece......

well my nsx is from canada. toronto i think. it likes it much better in cali:biggrin:

 

[heathbar0]

P.S. One good thing about the day, Sue is coming to town next month,thats the chick on the bike in my avitar. Bad news, she used my mastercard to book her flight. I am a loser.

Thats funny

We all make sacrifices for our (men's) #1 goal in life.:biggrin:

 

[amo]

had 1 plug melt iridum 1 as well in my skyline was racein a scooby
and was runnin too lean not mapped correctly

another day another $

thx amo

 

[RON98]

looks like detonation.

The ground electrode is completely gone..... not sure how you got it but you had it :biggrin:

 

[Thom]

Just blew my #5 spark plug and melted coil pack, just like in the picts above...


Is it possible to tap the threads and place insert without removing the head?

 

[goldNSX]

Sorry to see this. One question: Was this an OEM or NON-OEM spark plug?

 

[sparky]

Is it possible to tap the threads and place insert without removing the head?

read through this thread for your answer Thom

 

[ftuhy]

There are all sorts of ways to damage the threads on a spark plug hole.

Some common ways to prevent thread damage:
1. Always use anti-sieze compound on the plug threads. Otherwise, the aluminum head can bond to the plug threads.
2. Only remove plugs after the engine has cooled down. I know people will say this is not necessary, but I've seen it in shop manuals and in non-auto industry commercial practices when mixing steel and aluminum. When hot, the tendency of AL and steel to bond is greater.
3. Always use a torque wrench on the plugs. And, use a torque wrench for which the torque is 50% or more of the full scale reading. Error is usually a % of full scale, so 10 lb-ft on a 300 lb-ft capacity, 1% accuracy, torque wrench can have a 9 lb-ft error. Use something like a 20 lb-ft maximum capacity torque wrench.
4. As far as cross threading goes, you should be able to tighten the plug all the way in simply using a socket and extension -- no wrench handle. If not, something is messed up. You should only need the torque wrench to turn the plug less than one final turn to the correct torque.

 

[pgilliam1]

^ +1

Always torque the plugs. These aluminum heads honda uses are soft. Even their small gas engines use them and they are real easy to strip. The costs of not torquing are great. I've wrenched a lot of nuts (ouch!) and these are the easiest to screw up I've ever worked with. Happy Motoring!

 

[Thom]

Sorry to see this. One question: Was this an OEM or NON-OEM spark plug?

Autolite Platinum

 

[davidf]

Ok this is way off in left field but here goes. We have some later model Ford trucks with the "Triton" motors which when removing the spark plugs sometimes can destroy the cylinder threads. This is a common thing for the Triton motors. Anyway Dorman does make cylinder head repair kit for these that does not require head removal. It's actually a self tapping adapter that is installed and the plug is screwed into the adapter and presto. "fixed". You may google or contact Dorman products. Best of luck.

 

[Thom]

Ok this is way off in left field but here goes. We have some later model Ford trucks with the "Triton" motors which when removing the spark plugs sometimes can destroy the cylinder threads. This is a common thing for the Triton motors. Anyway Dorman does make cylinder head repair kit for these that does not require head removal. It's actually a self tapping adapter that is installed and the plug is screwed into the adapter and presto. "fixed". You may google or contact Dorman products. Best of luck.

The TimeSert web site actually shows the Triton repair using there product while head is still on the motor. Great video to watch!

On another note, thank you all for your comments. I PMed Larry B. and got the gest. I've done quite a bit of tapping and understand the ramifications of not doing it right.

The Time Sert is shown to be the real deal. I'm going to make a mock up my head on my end-mill and try the process out on a piece of raw aluminum stock before I do the real deal on the head. You know, get some talent established before I perform surgery on the X; measure (practice) 2, 3, 4 times then cut once.