I took out my spark plugs today to see what they look like. The check engine code 9 is still on in my car (#1 cylinder position). When I took out the first one it smelled like oil and looked fairly black. Not nearly as black as the ones I replaced a month ago though. I'm guessing that's normal. When I took out the second one, the part of the plug after the coils looked rusted. I'm guessing thats really bad. Any ideas?

 

A tannish/brown color = normal combustion
black = rich
white = lean

I'm not sure if your plugs are brown, and you're associating it with rust, but slightly brown is what you're looking for...

 

no, i know what the brown is. i saw the brown, but i'm talking about the metal part of the plug that looks like it fits onto the socket. its pentagon shaped. that's actually rusted. i talked to some people, they said i may just need some head work since it's old.

 

Oh, I know what you're talking about now. Do you know if your plug wires are sealing properly with the top of the plug tube?

 

when i checked them, the fourth one had come off a little. what's up with that? i know the plugs are the right size...

but the fourth one isn't the one that had rust. hmm. i know its happened before, so maybe the second boot came off and i just plugged it back in and don't remember doing it.

so now the question is, how come they're coming off? am i not sealing them on there correctly?

 

Are they stock wires? I'm not sure if you're boosted, but a lot of people have problems with aftermarket wires like Magnecores popping off under boost. The only other thing I can think of is that the plugs aren't seated all the way, which is keeping the wires from sealing all the way.

 

i have blue thunder wires.

i'm not boosted though. i'll mess with them tomorrow and see what happens. thanks for the help.