water in the spark plug well - Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum

Rainh2o · 12-10-2009, 10:45 PM

After work this afternoon my Ford was running REAL rough. The check engine light came on and started flashing like crazy. I just happen to have my code reader in the glove box and stopped and read the code, Cyld #1 misfire. Ok, I thought, used car, dont know the shape of the plugs so I pulled the #1 cyld boot off the plug to check it and there was about 2 inches of water inside the well!!...Pulled the other 3 and they all had about the same amount of water in them. All together about 1 cup of water I wicked out with some paper towels because I was not at home where the compressor is. It was water and not coolant. Feared it was coolant at first but it was clear and had no sweet taste when I put it to my tongue, just water and maybe a slight bit of rust.

Anyhow any fix for this? The plu wire is nice and soft and seems to seal well but guess it is not.

Some searching on the net found lots of people with the problem but no solution. Anyone else seen this? I'll try to attach a pic of the plug well after I finished cleaning it at home but by then it had gotten hot enough to dry out. Took the pic with my cell phone and a flashlight because I ran out of daylight so excuse the quality. More of a pic to show how deep the well is.

Rainh2o · 12-10-2009, 10:48 PM

On a side note, i did think about drilling a 1/4 inch hole to the side of each plug well, since they are all connected together by a hollow channel , to allow the water to migrate out when it gets hot...anyone ever tried this? Any thoughts on curing it this way?

dcb · 12-11-2009, 12:33 AM

if it keeps up, I would dry it out good, get platinum plugs and new wires, clean up the ring at the top and put a small bead of silicone on the ring to ensure a watertight seal, then don't touch it unless you absolutely have to.

Rainh2o · 12-11-2009, 01:18 PM

Getting it dried out I found out is going to be fun...this morning after clearing 4 inchs of snow, ugh, I decided to take a better look at it in the sunlight. There was ice inside, just a thin layer and small "ice drops" when I put my finger in and under the hole. Going to have to get it up to operating temp and then pull the plugs and let it sit in the garage for awhile I think.

I heard Platinum plugs where not as good for ignition as plain old copper? Something about how they are a compromise on quality of spark vs longivity because people normally don't change them as often as they should?

Daox · 12-11-2009, 01:22 PM

Use some compressed air to blow the water out of the hole if you can't find some way to vacuum it out. That sounds like a pain in the butt, good luck.

Platinum plugs are fine, they just last longer than copper. If you want really long lasting plugs go to irridium tips. Spark quality is debatable, but I can pretty much guarantee that you won't see any mileage difference between anything.

thatguitarguy · 12-11-2009, 01:33 PM

Sounds like a good reason to build a belly pan!

Soon after I got my first Subaru Legacy, I was driving through about a foot and a half of fresh snow. A lot was coming up over the top and I was swimming all over the road, but I didn't dare stop, because I knew I would be stuck in the middle of nowhere, possibly for hours waiting for a snowplow to come by. When the CEL came on I was really freaking out, but I kept going until I finally got to where the road was plowed and I could stop and check. The engine compartment was packed with snow that had come up from underneath. When I got to work and the snow had a chance to melt out, everything was OK and the light was off.

I'd check further before drilling drain holes, and definitely make sure they don't drain into the valve chamber.

TomO · 12-11-2009, 04:59 PM

Are those the EOM Ford plug wires? They look aftermarket. I'd be curious to see if all these other owners that report water problems have aftermarket or OEM plug wires. Maybe try switching to OEM and see how it goes after you get the wells dry.

EDIT: After looking more closely, I see those indeed are aftermarket plug wires. I also see that there is no vent hole in them. My Honda shares a similar spark tube design and has one way vent holes in the plug wire boot to keep condensation from building up in the tubes.

Definitely try out the OEM plug wires from the dealer and see how that goes.

Frank Lee · 12-11-2009, 05:15 PM

If it was me I'd just dry em out good and monitor to see if it's a chronic condition that must be dealt with, or an infrequent thing, before I start drilling holes and gooping things up.

Rainh2o · 12-12-2009, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomO

Are those the EOM Ford plug wires? They look aftermarket. I'd be curious to see if all these other owners that report water problems have aftermarket or OEM plug wires. Maybe try switching to OEM and see how it goes after you get the wells dry.

EDIT: After looking more closely, I see those indeed are aftermarket plug wires. I also see that there is no vent hole in them. My Honda shares a similar spark tube design and has one way vent holes in the plug wire boot to keep condensation from building up in the tubes.

Definitely try out the OEM plug wires from the dealer and see how that goes.

AHHH...didn't think about aftermarket vs OEM. I bought it used so I have no clue as to what is what as far as original. I will have to look at that. After driving it home last night, I imediately pulled the wires off and closed the hood. This morning I checked and their was a very slight oily residue on the plug boots that I will dry off but as far as inside the wells, they seemed dry. Going to put them back on with a slight bit of electrolytic grease and monitor the situation. As far as drilling, I took a closer look at that whole valve cover and it looks like it would be no problem doing it with no side effects, BUT I think I will first monitor the situation and then if it comes back, I will replace the wires with some OEM and see then. If it then comes back again, I will drill. Who knows, maybe it was driven a lot of short drives before I got it and the water has been in there a long time. It did belong to an old guy. I need to see if the plugs will come out and maybe put some anitseize on them as well.

Milwaukee · 12-12-2009, 02:29 PM

What last time you drive on highway?

You need to do to get all condensation burned out by drive long enough. I would say 30 miles on Highway should be enough.

For aftermarket spark plugs wires. I better go with motorcraft spark plugs wires with motorcraft spark plug copper.

Don't use platinum they don't last long enough. my 3 vehicles I try it run awful after 5,000-10,000 miles on platinum. They last longer with copper.