Read my spark plug fortune

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nedfunnell

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Nov 14, 2009
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I just pulled these out of my 85 BMW 325e. They were not the right plugs for the application: they're Bosch R6, I replaced them with OEM Bosch WR9LS. Obviously they've seen better days, especially cylinder four. Tell me, though, garage- what say you about my plugs? Do they tell you anything interesting about my engine? The deposits I see indicate some oil leakage, maybe?

m20-old-plugs.jpg
 

satyajitmenon

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Apr 3, 2008
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:eek: your engine actually ran with those plugs? On all cylinders?

P.S. nice job with the high quality pics :p
 

MagickMan

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Aug 11, 2008
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4, 5, and 6 are running lean, check the rings on the pistons in those cylinders.


Your fortune? I see a rebuild in your future, and a new throttle body.
 
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phucheneh

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Jun 30, 2012
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Without having tried to study them yet, I wanna win the 'you need valve cover gaskets' contest. Ahem:

You need valve cover gaskets. Though it affects your ignition very little. Very, very gradual seepage into cylinders and rotting of the plug boots, basically.

Is the exhaust on that side of the engine?
 

phucheneh

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Okay, actual performance thoughts: First, is the engine stock? If so...run stock plugs. While I may ignore stock rec's on, say, a TBI SBC (with HEI! mmm acronyms) or other more primitive engines of the same vintage (including non-stock gapping), I generally leave ze Germans alone.

There may be some widespread agreement that something else works better for your Bimmer- but I am not a BMW enthusiast and as such would try stock replacements by default. Though I do avoid Bosch plugs, which are the OEM brand on some (most?) German cars.

You really can't read those plugs. They're just too destroyed to look for proper heat range or fuel mixture. I guess you can read general combustion efficiency (...poor), but that's obviously skewed by the poor operation of the plugs. I would have a strong suspicion that they are too hot (need a lower heat range plug), but wouldn't exactly be betting money on it. You're getting detonation/preignition, though. That can be attributed to heat range, but I doubt it's the only cause here.

I have rarely if ever used the ubiquitous 'spark plug condition' chart, as 99% of the plugs I remove either look fine, or have pretty typical problems like worn electrodes or oil fouling...for yours, I took a glance at it to remember what it called that crusty crap on cylinder 5.

Ash deposits, apparently. I'll let someone else who's maybe seen that more weigh in on the cause of that, 'cause I'm frankly not sure. I would guess maybe the valve seals are dry and hard and one on that cylinder has just cracked apart and ceased to be.

Cylinder 2 is the closest to looking like a normal (albeit in need of replacement) plug.
 
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leper84

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Dec 29, 2011
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I'm gonna agree OP you need to look at your valve cover gasket. Like yesterday.
 

nedfunnell

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Thanks for the input, all.

Valve cover got replaced a month ago, all the oil you see there should be from the old one.

Phucheneh: The engine is stock. The BMW chatter I read states that OEM WR9LS plugs are best. Yes, the exhaust on that side.

How soon can I pull the replacement plugs out for another crystal ball reading?
 

Modular

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Jul 1, 2005
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When's the last time the timing belt was replaced on that m20? If that goes, it doesn't matter what we have to say about your plugs...
 

Zenmervolt

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Oct 22, 2000
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Thanks for the input, all.

Valve cover got replaced a month ago, all the oil you see there should be from the old one.

Phucheneh: The engine is stock. The BMW chatter I read states that OEM WR9LS plugs are best. Yes, the exhaust on that side.

How soon can I pull the replacement plugs out for another crystal ball reading?

Usually I'll wait at least 500 miles, generally 1,500-2,000.

The R6 plugs that used to be in there are technically for small engines like ATVs and motorcycles if I'm remembering correctly. No surprise that the R6 plugs looked like crap. IIRC the 325e ("e" for the Greek letter eta used in engineering to signify efficiency) was built to be a low-RPM vehicle that spent a lot of time operating in low-RPM-high-load scenarios. This is very different from the engines the R6 plugs were designed for (high-RPM operation) and makes the condition of the old R6 plugs seem pretty natural to me, though not really useful for saying much about the engine since such extremely mis-matched plugs should look that bad even if the engine's OK.

ZV
 

nedfunnell

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Usually I'll wait at least 500 miles, generally 1,500-2,000.

The R6 plugs that used to be in there are technically for small engines like ATVs and motorcycles if I'm remembering correctly. No surprise that the R6 plugs looked like crap. IIRC the 325e ("e" for the Greek letter eta used in engineering to signify efficiency) was built to be a low-RPM vehicle that spent a lot of time operating in low-RPM-high-load scenarios. This is very different from the engines the R6 plugs were designed for (high-RPM operation) and makes the condition of the old R6 plugs seem pretty natural to me, though not really useful for saying much about the engine since such extremely mis-matched plugs should look that bad even if the engine's OK.

ZV

Huh- I tried googling the R6 plugs for info but found nothing. Where did you find out about them? Another note is that they were marked differently- I thought it maybe just a stock number or something since google yielded nothing. The first one was marked R6 655. Another was R6 652. Maybe that is why some of them look so different.
 

phucheneh

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Erm...that's a part number. They're different plugs. Looking the same externally does not mean they will function the same.

That's good that he knew that off the top of his head, because I had no idea and assumed they were just a variant of the stock plug.

Googling 'Bosch R6' works for me...all the results that mention an application are talking about bikes and scooters and other small engine stuff.

...on the upside, it sounds like your engine and/or engine controls are not all kinds of fucked up. I kinda figured you probably had various issues going on there. But the condition of your plugs and the variation between cylinders basically just got explained.

Put the stockers in it. Copper or platinum should both work fine (...don't go half and half). I like NGK or Denso plugs. Bosch is honestly on my 'generally avoid' list along with Autolite, Champion, and AC Delco. I've had reliability problems with all of them. In the case of some (AC Delco), the big problem is simply their packaging. They're not properly protected, and tend to come with the ground strap all bent to shit (not just the gap- sometimes it's not even vaguely close to being centered over the electrode).
 

Zenmervolt

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Oct 22, 2000
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Huh- I tried googling the R6 plugs for info but found nothing. Where did you find out about them? Another note is that they were marked differently- I thought it maybe just a stock number or something since google yielded nothing. The first one was marked R6 655. Another was R6 652. Maybe that is why some of them look so different.

Potentially tricky memory from when I used to use Bosch plugs in a bunch of my small engines and from a quick "sanity check" google that showed a decent number of links with the R6 plugs referenced with things like motorcycles (Honda Unicorn, BMW K1200).

Though now I'm trying to remember whether Bosch marks their plugs on the ceramic (like NGK) or on the metal...

Actually, now that I think about it, I think the actual plug marking may be on the metal, which I can't see in most of the plugs cases due to the oil. The only one I can sort of see (3rd from the left) seems to end in "...R9LS." So maybe those were right to begin with and the reason I'm vaguely remembering Bosch R6 plugs is just because that's the old marking that is now replaced with the "Super Plus" designation...

ZV
 

phucheneh

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Jun 30, 2012
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So what's the extra three digits for?

edit: You're right on the P/N, though. Rockauto lists Bosch WR9LS. Or WR9LP for platinums.
 
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