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iridium plugs, and are they all what they say they are???

986 views 3 replies 4 participants last post by  Nato740 
#1 ·
quick survey ladies and gents- if ur runnin iridium plugs in your volvos, which are the best, as in, cost vs. performance, and, is there a section somewhere on this board that may be able to answer what to do to put a bandaid on one bad cylinder, which, fouled out a cheapy plug today, after 4 days of use, whle i try and find a used short block, or long block("93 960, 2.9 ltr 24 vlv, 280000miles). i threw in some restore the other day, which slowed the consumption of oil way down, and even a little of the smokin this thing does upon take-off, in other words, it doesn't look quite like a mosquito truck,@ the moment!
We are katrina survivors, and i need to make this car last,(i'm lucky i was able to get this car in the first place!) and keep it running as best i can, as i'm due for some serious surgeries, and my daughter issss goin to have to be my chauffeur for quite a while, so that's why i'm tryin to iron out all of these problems now, while i still can.
today, it fouled out the # 3 plug, which i installed last thursday, some cheapy Autolites, but, they work great in almost anything you stick'em in.
now, i've got a check engine light, which, also is a new development. i'm waitin on a friend to send me a real manual on this car, but i'd like to know if anyone knows how to reset the ecm, so's i can look at the dash w/o lookin at that damned light. i know there is a way, as there is a reset button on the left inside fender, but i'm not foolin around with it w/o some serious instructions, like i said, i don't want to make it worse!

anyway, any suggestions, or thoughts on how to keep this thing from foulin plugs whenever it wants for now, would be greatly apprecated, as well as any help someone might be able to impart to me on resetting the ecm, i've already tried pullin the terminal on the battery, but to no avail, like i said, i know there is a way w/ the button on the left inside fender, i've seen it done, just don't want to make things worse...thanks in advance, louis
 
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#2 ·
Re: iridium plugs, and are they all what they say they are??? (oakley)

I don't think any plug will help you as you obviously have a cylinder going down,
sorry.
I would post this in another forum and I would ask IPD on their page,
(not much traffic here)
 
#3 ·
Re: iridium plugs, and are they all what they say they are??? (oakley)

I'd get a leakdown/compression test done to see what's leaking, your rings or valve stem seals. Some stem seals may be able to be replaced without removing the head. Maybe try running heavier weight oil to minimize oil infiltration. The manual(factory service) should show have a way of finding what the check engine light means (ie. # of flashes upon startup). It may be related to your problem.
 
#4 ·
Re: iridium plugs, and are they all what they say they are??? (autoduel)

I agree for most part with have a compression test done to find the main cause. But running thicker oil will also help for the short term. As will NOT the restore you used, but DURALUBE will much better. If you care to go that route as a short term (maybe long term if it really works well) fix. If it is the seals, you might also try para-synth oil or full synth oil as that might swell them and restore the seals to a better state for you thous stopping the fouling as bad. Also try not just starting the car and driving a few blocks and shutting it off as much. That will really foul the plugs out faster and more so in a 2.9 then anything else. Try to let the car run for a bit and burn off the stuff that starts to foul them out before you shut it off maybe. Short trips have NEVER been a good thing in a good running 2.9. And a bad running one is just the worse case for it ever. Also if you find that one cyl is the only one that is doing this. You must buy 6 plugs anyway, and they are sold in boxes most times of four. SOOOO buy one of the other two to make six that is a hotter heat range and that might cut done on the fouling as well. They got to break open a box anyway to get the other two to make SIX. So one will not be that big a deal to get. http://********************/smile/emthup.gif

Modified by Nato740 at 3:14 PM 6-17-2006

Modified by Nato740 at 4:34 PM 6-22-2006
 
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