Subarian Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 While I was tuning up my wife's van yesterday (a 5 hour job) I decided to take a look at my Subaru's plugs. They were all covered in white ash, with only about five or six thousand miles on them. So now I know where the oil's been going. On the bright side, I have another excuse to build and install that turbo motor that's just sitting there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85Sub4WD Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I thought ash (white) is generally additives in the fuel - which this time of year is expected, given ambient temps - I thought it also indicated incorrect heat range??? oil is usually black crap - see it a lot on old american cars (1960's-1970's) My expierence is that Soobs foul plugs quickly, especially if they are anything other than Nippondenso or NGK - I've used all the american brands and bosch, with none lasting more than 5k - I have some densos in there now with more than 10k on them, and they look good (I had to do a little cleaning, but not much) check timing as well BTW - what brand/model is your wife's van? - 96-later Dodge Caravans are a PIA to do the plugs on (or anything else), especially the 3.8L engine - Aerostars aren't much better - vans aren't fun to work on period.... I'd still do the turbo upgrade tho good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 15 Passenger Ford 5.4 Triton. Coil on Plugs. 8 plugs, 8 boots, 1 bad coil, $120 in parts, about 5 hours in labor. It's not too bad once you realize you're going to need to pull the intake up to the throttle body and the fuel rails. Once you get there, it's a pretty straight shot, unlike our previous van with the 5.7 (plugs on the side of the head rather than the top). In contrast, it took about 5 minutes to pull all 4 of my Subaru's plugs. Also, ash on plugs can indicate excessive fuel additives, but it can also show oil consumption. The oil will burn until the plugs are fouled; that's when they start to get oily. I've actually been studying out the turbo conversion for a while. I think I'll massage the turbo block with new bearings and rings, do a good valve job, maybe put 9.5 pistons in for more bottom end, add a BOV and an intercooler, and put a manual boost controller on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyB0y Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 I'm with 85sub4wd ... it would indicate to me running lean, the ash is due to things getting too hot, or just too hot a plug. I just checked my plugs, I have OEM NGK's and after a good 10k miles they still have a nice choclate brown color. I know there are "hotter" plugs out there like the bosch plats, but I prefer NGK's .. they have never let me down in the past, why should they in the future? :cool: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 A little more background - I go through about a quart of oil per 500 miles. It's definitely getting close to engine time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85Sub4WD Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 A little more background - I go through about a quart of oil per 500 miles. It's definitely getting close to engine time. not necessarily I had a similar problem (actually worse), and it turned out to be the shaft seal for my oil pump was shot - replaced seals on oil pump, and now it is news if I use more than a quart every 3k miles - if you browse threads, you will see that seals are generally the reason for oil consumption on these engines; the bottom end is rock-solid - unless you are REALLY smoking, the oil isn't going out the tailpipe, but onto the ground - realize this is a 1.8 Liter engine - if you were really burning that much oil, you would see it on the plugs if you do replace seals, use OEM - the aftermarket seals are generally sub-par on quality, and I have had issues in the past with them - the trouble is not worth the savings another thing that will foul plugs is worn valve seals - usually denoted by a puff of blue smoke when you first start up, then it goes away after the engine is warmed up - worst case scenario to correct that problem is a valve job, but I would just live with it - given the scenario you describe - if it IS oil fouling the plugs, this is your most likely candidate, because failed rings will cover them in oil - I have seen it on a soob with over 300k on its original engine is this a city or a highway car? if the car does not get up to full operating temperature before the engine is shut off, that can cause numerous problems, including fouling the oil quickly, fouling spark plugs, and buildup of carbon in the exhaust. BMW had massive problems with this in the 80's - they actually would pull the heads and blast them with walnut shells to break the carbon if you continue to drive in the city without fully warming the car up, and letting the turbo cool properly (if you do the conversion), you will multiply your current problem many times over, even with a fresh engine - namely the turbo will die fairly quickly from oil "coking" when the turbo is hot, and the engine is shut off with the turbine spinning BTW - what oil are you running? any less than 10w30 will cause problems (unless you are in the arctic circle) - I would recommend a gas engine version of 15w40 or 15w50 - 10w40 has some stability/gelling issues (all brands) so I avoid it - and 20w50 is a bit heavy for anywhere but a tropical environment - actually, I generally find 10w30 to be a bit light, except when it is really cold outside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoahDL88 Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 15 Passenger Ford 5.4 Triton. Coil on Plugs. 8 plugs, 8 boots, 1 bad coil, $120 in parts, about 5 hours in labor. It's not too bad once you realize you're going to need to pull the intake up to the throttle body and the fuel rails. Once you get there, it's a pretty straight shot, unlike our previous van with the 5.7 (plugs on the side of the head rather than the top). In contrast, it took about 5 minutes to pull all 4 of my Subaru's plugs. At the dealership, we didn't bother pulling the intake, they just got the newest guy (me) to climb into the engine bay (just of the highway in august, customer waiting) and replace #8, as this one is usually skipped because its so hard to get to. I had heat rash for 2 weeks. Yeah, you could say i rather prefer subies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted January 11, 2006 Author Share Posted January 11, 2006 I don't think I could fit a ferret in the engine bay of this 15 passenger van. They always pick on the new guy, though. Anyway, the oil pump is recently sealed, the motor has 255000 on it, it drives 24 miles one way to work, mostly freeway, and I'm pretty sure the oil seals are shot. It started in one cylinder and (while my son was driving it while I was in Iraq) it progressed to all four. It's not a big deal, since it doesn't put out clouds of smoke and I check the oil weekly. The turbo conversion is definitely in the works, and I'm looking forward to it, since the only complaint I've ever had about my Subaru is its blinding acceleration. Also, no oil drips on the ground, but I appreciate the input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85Sub4WD Posted January 11, 2006 Share Posted January 11, 2006 Anyway, the oil pump is recently sealed, the motor has 255000 on it, it drives 24 miles one way to work, mostly freeway, and I'm pretty sure the oil seals are shot. It started in one cylinder and (while my son was driving it while I was in Iraq) it progressed to all four. It's not a big deal, since it doesn't put out clouds of smoke and I check the oil weekly. The turbo conversion is definitely in the works, and I'm looking forward to it, since the only complaint I've ever had about my Subaru is its blinding acceleration. Also, no oil drips on the ground, but I appreciate the input. yeah - I thought you had fewer miles on it - 255k is pretty heafty, even for a soob to do without a rebuild - I was trying to save you some sweat glad you made it back safely from Iraq , and good luck on your turbo conversion :cool: I know all too well about the Soob's "blinding acceleration" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonyk Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I don't think I could fit a ferret in the engine bay of this 15 passenger van. Haven't owned a ferret lately, have you? They fit anywhere they want. -=Russ=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subarian Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Cool. Can they learn to change plugs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syonyk Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I haven't tried. I don't have anything with difficult-to-change plugs... the Subaru is trivial, the RX-7 isn't much harder, and the motorcycle is again trivial. Getting the torque on the socket would be a trick, though. There's not a lot of mass to throw at it. -=Russ=- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phizinza Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 not necessarily c'mon! we all know his engine is fried Give the man an excuse to build that turbo motor! You know you want to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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