Could it be the spark plugs?

[RussianH2O]

Hey guys, my car is has has this very faint rough idle for the past few months and I'm wondering if it could be my spark plugs or what. I would have no problem changing them out it's just that my motor only has 62k miles on it. Now everything else in my car is clean so in case your thinking it might be a sensor I highly doubt it as I keep everything clean. I also had the car checked at an exhaust shop for leaks and none were found by two different mechanics.
Ideas? Should I just go for it and replace them?

[Mitchell]

Originally Posted by RussianH2O

Hey guys, my car is has has this very faint rough idle for the past few months and I'm wondering if it could be my spark plugs or what. I would have no problem changing them out it's just that my motor only has 62k miles on it. Now everything else in my car is clean so in case your thinking it might be a sensor I highly doubt it as I keep everything clean. I also had the car checked at an exhaust shop for leaks and none were found by two different mechanics.
Ideas? Should I just go for it and replace them?

My car had a slighly smoother idle when I changed the plugs to NGK laser iridium. At 62K miles arnt you right in the area for new spark plugs? If you know how to change them yourself its worth it to give it a shot. Word of advise, if you are going to buy NGK Laser iridium plugs, get them on amazon.com, I think mine were 10 bucks each, where the dealer wanted something like 20 per plug.

[ezshift5]

Originally Posted by Mitchell

........ At 62K miles arnt you right in the area for new spark plugs?

if you are going to buy NGK Laser iridium plugs, get them on amazon.com, I think mine were 10 bucks each, where the dealer wanted something like 20 per plug.

IIRC, Honda owner's manual recommends 100,000+ miles plug replacement. I'm pushing the envelope (V-6/I-4 use same factory Iridium plug IIRC) at 125k with no MPG drop, hard starting, bad idle, codes (onramp acceleration same as ever: it goes like hell).

Dealer price for new Iridiums is actually OVER $20/per plug. AZ was under $10 last time I checked.

best, ez....

[Joeggernaut]

Originally Posted by ezshift5

IIRC, Honda owner's manual recommends 100,000+ miles plug replacement. I'm pushing the envelope (V-6/I-4 use same factory Iridium plug IIRC) at 125k with no MPG drop, hard starting, bad idle, codes (onramp acceleration same as ever: it goes like hell).

Dealer price for new Iridiums is actually OVER $20/per plug. AZ was under $10 last time I checked.

best, ez....

I checked mine the other day just for the sake of checking since I bought the car used. Has 145k and it had the factory plugs in it (manual says change every 100k)! I didn't have any rough idle or poor gas mileage but I didn't want to take a chance that they would fail soon. I immediately ordered 4 new ngks for less than 40 including shipping. Don't pay dealer prices. It only takes about 10 minutes to swap them out. Hopefully I pick up a few mpg also.

[t-rd]

Make sure the front middle plug has not popped out of the head. This is a common problem on the V6.

[RussianH2O]

Update;

Got the plugs replaced, heres what I got: Autolite XP Iridium spark plugs (hope thats okay?)
They were about 7 bucks each from auto zone.

Heres what the old OEM NGK spark plugs looked like after only 62k miles;



Bad?
Oh and after switching I dont have that silent rough idle at stops anymore.

[sodaks2k]

The one second from the right looks funky. After everyone recommended ngk's, why would you get something else?

[RTexasF]

I do NOT think plug replacement is in order. I strongly suggest you buy a bottle of Chevron Techron of the size suitable for a 20 gallon tank. Get your tank down to 1/2 or less, pour it in, and go fill up. If your rough idle does not clear up within 100 miles then something else is causing it. Unless you have a faulty plug or coil there's no way they would be a problem at your mileage. This has worked for me over the past five cars I've owned and I can recommend it from first hand use and experience. If it does not work you're out very little. I now do it twice a year as preventive maintenance in both our cars even with a perfect idle.

[RussianH2O]

Originally Posted by sodaks2k

The one second from the right looks funky. After everyone recommended ngk's, why would you get something else?

Half of your recommended one over the other. Sorry I cant please everyone.
I didn't have my phone or internet to look up the thread so I got what they said was OEM at AZ.

[BLCKFLSH]

I don't like the looks of the #3 plug either. Looks like oil is getting in that cylinder. You probably could have cleaned the #3, and fixed the rough idle just as well. AZ is wrong, if they said Autolite is OEM. NGK or Denso. You can get NGK from Advance auto parts for $10 each.

[JOCKs]

I wouldn't have cheaped out on Autolites, NGK would have been a few dollars more. Anyway your 3rd spark plug looks worn. Could be a number of reasons (im no spark plug expert). And looks like all of them were running hot. Check the gapping on your old ones to see if they fall into OE spec. And check your new ones also.

As to why you should use recommended OE spark plugs ? You can google for that answer. But each to their own

[Chris333]

Oh and after switching I dont have that silent rough idle at stops anymore.

Are you trying to say that new plugs fixed vibrations while stopped at lights?

[RussianH2O]

Originally Posted by Chris333

Are you trying to say that new plugs fixed vibrations while stopped at lights?

Yeah, rough idle is gone and car is smoothe as the first day I got it.
Feels like I got a little more power back in it and mpg seems
To have gone up. I'm not extremely mechanically inclined when it comes to motors and spark plugs so if I did cheap out on autolites then curses! I preferred myself the 9.99 other brand they had available which I'm assuming where ngk or some other brand but my friend whose a mechanic said these would be fine. So I took his word for it considering he drives a Honda also.

[Chris333]

I just changed my plugs today. I only have 72000 miles. I had one plug that looked like your bad one, the tip was twisted a bit.

I got the NGK's.

I'm going to wait till it is cooler out tonight, but my vibrations are way better today than they were yesterday. Maybe now I will plug my AC fuse back in...

[RussianH2O]

I changed my plugs while the car was still hot, I let it cool down about 20 minutes then changed them. Do I need to worry about them coming loose? We tightened them pretty good.