Rusty spark plugs a problem?

P

pretty_amateur

Cadet
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
10
Hi,

I would think rusty spark plugs would be a problem, but I'm not sure.

Any thoughts/advice on this?

Thanks!
 
boat1010

boat1010

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
781
Re: Rusty spark plugs a problem?

You arn't giving us much to go on.. How long has it been since the motor was ran? What is it in?
 
reddogg

reddogg

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Jun 3, 2011
Messages
379
Re: Rusty spark plugs a problem?

X2 above, your not giving much to go on, but I will say rusty/corroded anything on a boat/engine is bad. Boats are high maintenance machines (esspecially if ran in salt) so keep up on them or it will bite you in the butt some day.

Red
 
C

CharlieB

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
5,617
Re: Rusty spark plugs a problem?

And it depends where on the plug is the rust.

Cheap plugs, automotive, will rust on the flats of the nut outside, mostly just a poor appearance, til the threads seize.

But rust on the combustion chamber area is a sign of water in the cylinder. If a bottommost cyl it could be the lower crank seal, any other cyl may be a leaking exhaust side gasket, allowing cooling water to spray back into the exhaust port.
 
P

pretty_amateur

Cadet
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
10
Re: Rusty spark plugs a problem?

boat1010 said:
You arn't giving us much to go on.. How long has it been since the motor was ran? What is it in?
Click to expand...



Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

Well, it's just a very basic question really. It ran 1 hour ago, it gives me problems starting from time to time, sometimes it stalls (when very low throttle), sometimes it doesn't want to start back up (after already hot) like it was completely cold, and it sometimes (but much less frequently) sputters.

It is run in fresh water.

Thanks (again) for the reply!
 
P

pretty_amateur

Cadet
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
10
Re: Rusty spark plugs a problem?

CharlieB said:
And it depends where on the plug is the rust.

Cheap plugs, automotive, will rust on the flats of the nut outside, mostly just a poor appearance, til the threads seize.

But rust on the combustion chamber area is a sign of water in the cylinder. If a bottommost cyl it could be the lower crank seal, any other cyl may be a leaking exhaust side gasket, allowing cooling water to spray back into the exhaust port.
Click to expand...


Hi,

Thanks for the reply.

The one plug is completely rusted all over and the other one is not very much - just traces. For the cost of these things I may as well replace them and see what happens.

Thanks (again) for the reply!
 
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