What would cause the electro on the #2 spark plug to bend?

Question

it's on a '93 Honda accord. We just bought it and my husband drove it to work last night and it was acting funny and when he looked at it the new spark plug was bent. He had just put new ones on, too.

If you need to ask me anything, I'll be coming back and adding details, so don't forget to check back and see if I answered them.. I really would like to understand what it causing this. Thanks.

See, I know nothing about cars. lol what's an electro? hahah

Answer 1

he hit the electrode against the head when installing it!

Answer 2

If only one is bent then the question becomes "what do you mean by "bent". If you look at the hook of metal at the end of the spark plug can you see if it is bent towards the center anode and therefore caused the gap between the anode and the electrode to close or is the electrode bent to the side? As you look at the hook end, is there any evidence of impact on the bottom or the side that would cause it to bend?

If the problem with the plug were that it was too long, all plugs would be damaged. So, has your husband checked the other plugs to see if they are similarly damaged? If they are all damaged, then you have the wrong plugs. If it is only one that is damaged then look for evidence that it was impacted. depending on what your see their are three possibilities. One is that there is no evidence of damage and that would indicate that it was either not gapped correctly prior to installation or it was not installed properly and bent when it was pushed into the spark plug hole. In that case, replacing the plug with a correctly gapped spark plug will solve the problem. If there is evidence of impact, the other two possibilities apply--one that the plug was accidently dropped prior to installation in which case simply replacing the plug will solve the problem, or, possibility #2 there is something in the cylinder that caused the plug to bend while the engine was running.

The last possibility is the one that should be of concern. There could be a chunk of carbon deposit that broke lose from inside the combustion chamber and caused the damage, or there could be something that was ingested into the cylinder through the intake system that caused the damage.

You can try to 'blow' out the chamber by removing the ignition coil wire from the distributor cap and then remove the spark plug from the #2 cylinder and crank the engine for about 10 seconds. Then give it a rest for a minute or so and do it again. There is a chance that you can force whatever may be in there out of the spark plug hole by doing so, but the chances are not that great.

You may also want to consider using a top engine cleaner to disolve the carbon build-up in the engine. You can purchase that type of product at an auto parts store. If it is carbon that caused the damage, the treatment may get rid of it.

if it is something else in there, the cylinder head would have to come off and then you start to run into money to repair it.

Start with blowing out the combustion chamber, replacing the spark plug and then see if it happens again. Hopefully it won't. If it does, then the cylinder head will have to come off.

hope that answers your questions

Answer 3

Spark Plug Bent

Answer 4

Most likely the wrong spark plug(s).
Make sure you use NGK brand spark plugs ONLY.Go to ngk.com to obtain the correct part number.The part that bent is called the ground electrode.

Answer 5

My guess is that it was bent when he put it in.