bent plug electrode

[The_big_dill]

Hey guys,

I am looking at an 03 P5 at the moment and I saw it on 2 occasions, first time ran and drove great, oil level was great, and no cel.

Today I came by, cel was on, vibrations, and intermittent click/knock from engine. Pretty much no oil in engine, so we added enough.

Pulled the plugs, from cylinder 1,3 and 4. #2 was getting tight as I was unscrewing it, so I left it alone. 1 and 3 were fine. 4 was fouled badly and the electrode was bent and was touching the center electrode.

What caused the electrode to bend?

Thanks,

Phil.

 

[L0w_N_sl0w]

A screw in the intake manifold that operates the butterfly fell out and into the combustion chamber. Stay away or plan on rebuilding the motor.

 

[The_big_dill]

A screw in the intake manifold that operates the butterfly fell out and into the combustion chamber. Stay away or plan on rebuilding the motor.

Thanks for the quick reply, seems highly likely.

Do you think I will only need to pull off the head to get the screw out or will I need to dig deeper because of damage? I understand this depend on the situation, but was looking what other advice you can give me because the car is going for 500.

 

[L0w_N_sl0w]

More then likely the screw is on the screen of your catalitic converter. You could have scoring on your cylinder walls, cylinders, and head.

 

[The_big_dill]

More then likely the screw is on the screen of your catalitic converter. You could have scoring on your cylinder walls, cylinders, and head.

Thought as much. Thanks a lot for your quick help, I appreciate it.

Is this a common issue?

Between my visits, the car was not driven at all.

Also, I don't think it would be on the catalytic because the intermittent clicking/clacking sound is still there.

 

[L0w_N_sl0w]

Read on the intake manifold recall. Yes it's a common issue. I just rebuilt my motor , I can share pictures of the damage if you like.

 

[The_big_dill]

Read on the intake manifold recall. Yes it's a common issue. I just rebuilt my motor , I can share pictures of the damage if you like.

That would be nice, thanks.

 

[The_big_dill]

So I pointed out the recall to the guy who was selling the car and he was surprised to hear of it. In any case, he dropped the price even further and I took the car.

After changing the bad plug, the car ran a little rough and has been driven by my dealer friend yesterday and today. He tells me the engine sounds normal now. However I will be doing a compression test to see what shape the cylinder that ate the screw is.

I would still like to see those pictures of the internal damage if you could upload them.

Thanks, and when I do get a hold of my new car, I will post a new thread with some pictures