What do these spark plugs look like to you?

Car is now running like crap. I think I may have a blown head gasket, but not seeing any signs of it yet, but it is running like that.

The reason I think it may be head gasket is I threw the fan belt and got hot to around 250 for about 3 minutes over the weekend before I could pull over and put the belt back on. It ran all the way home, about 90 miles highway and some city, then I passed a guy by downshifting to 2nd and nailing it, and got around him doing around 85, then it started to run rough the last 5 miles home.

Pulling plugs to see if they all look similar, and some are discolored on the straps, almost a grayish-greenish tint to them with a nearly powdered look to them. The rest are fairly clean but a little darker than these.

I have never checked the plugs since running the MSD 6A box, so is this normal for the extra gap and amperage?

 

OK, all the plugs look very similar to the ones above except for #4, which is very dark and sooty.

If blown head gasket, I would expect 3 AND 4 to look like this, or at least look different than all the others.

What do you guys think?

I am going to go and just make sure I am even firing on that cylinder.

 

I'm no guru, but they look good to me. The "stripe" on the ground strap, where the color starts to change, doesn't indicate to me that the heat range is wrong. The base ring is kinda dark like you might have been running a bit rich, but that tan color should be about what you want. It's powdery white or black that you don't want.

I could be wrong though, I'm far from being an expert on this.


EDIT: I posted this before the second set of pics showed up. I have no idea what's up with the other two.

Also another observation - I've noticed plugs get "steam cleaned" sometimes when a head gasket is bad, and I'm not seeing that here... But maybe that takes a while?

 

Are you loosing any water? Water looking bad? Are you running any lead additives? I remember once when we still ran leaded gas and I was on a trip from Austin back to NC. Once I got home My pipes and rear bumper was covered with a yellowish/green powered. My pop said it was from a long trip under load using leaded gas.
I've never had a Ford run well long on anything but an Autolite or Motorcraft plug myself.
Clint

 

I thought a tan color is a good thing . . . doesn't dark mean something wrong with your rings?

 

I lost about half a gallon of water when I overheated, but filled it back up and drove 90 miles home and don't appear to have lost anymore.

Also, oil is VERY clean. So most likely NOT a head gasket. Will check the water when it cools down.

#4 is sparking really nice and bright. Engine will not run with that plug out, so it is firing and contributing to my engine's overall run cycle.

I need to pull the plugs one at a time and see if any of them are not contributing to the power. It is loping a bit, like it has a dead cylinder, but not sure which one at this time.

Getting late and will have to mess with it this weekend.

Engine does run a little rich, but not excessively so. Right around 14 A/F, at least according to the dyno printout from a couple weeks ago.

 

Don't put that plug back in, change it for a newer one. It may be that you had a problem with it at some point and nwo that problem is fixed. If it turned black sometime in the past you won't be able to get a normal read on it because I'm sure that black will stay on for quite some time.

 

With an MSD box on, the spark will be stronger, so how do I pull the plugs while the engine is running without frying my rearend?

 

they look like spark plugs to me!!!

 

to pull the plug wires with out lighting up your self up there are special plyers avaible from the tool trucks (snap on etc.). they have really long all plastic handles. a trick ive used is to bend up some paper clips to fit into the spark plug boots on the distrubtor ends so they touch the posts and protrude pointing up. now take a wire and ground one end of it. start the motor and when you touch the wire to one of the spark plugs. that will kill that cylinder and you shouldnt get shocked.

 

Um, I'm no help here. Every time I THINK I found a way, I get tased. MSD+HEI hurls lightning like a Greek god.

 

They make a tool to remove spark plug wires

 

Pansy.

 

http://www.dansmc.com/spark_plugs/spark_plugs_catalog.html

http://www.angelfire.com/fl4/pontiacdude428/Readplugs.html

http://www.dragstuff.com/techarticles/reading-spark-plugs.html

 

Mine look mostly like the "kinda hot, but OK" pics in the first chart.