1998 V70 Spark plugs look dirty, but are they normal?

[RussB]

Hey guys, very informative thread. I was going to start a new thread then I stumbled upon this!

I have a 2000 V70 XC. I was wondering, I have an ARD TCV in my car. Should I go with iridium plugs since the TCV will be adjusting the timing faster? Or are the stock 3 prongs good enough to handle the horsepower gains?

Your car has a turbo of course, and should NOT be running 3-prong spark plugs. The iridium plugs cn90 recommends would work well and love you long time in your car.

[abscate]

Even though Iridiums last 100k, should I periodically rinse them with Seaphone?
Will my engine be dialed in?
Are they better for long distance or local trips?
I hear the engine runs better around rotaries, too.

( thanks for letting me purge the voices in my head in a particularly useful thread)

[brunocerous]

How old are the spark plug wires, cap & rotor? Bougicord & Bosch?

Is the ignition coil strong?

Does the car burn any oil?

Those are the proper plugs. It's not a spark plug issue...heck, the plugs aren't THAT bad

Great question! I had ordered the tune-up kit from FCP Euro, which includes Volvo spark plugs, Bougicord wires and Bosch distributor cap/rotor: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... tuneupkit1

They were installed less than two months ago.

The car burns a tiny bit of oil, maybe 1/4 liter per year, which doesn't seem too bad. The ignition coil seems strong enough. I've never had any issues with it in the three years I've owned it.

[RussB]

How old are the spark plug wires, cap & rotor? Bougicord & Bosch?

Is the ignition coil strong?

Does the car burn any oil?

Those are the proper plugs. It's not a spark plug issue...heck, the plugs aren't THAT bad

Great question! I had ordered the tune-up kit from FCP Euro, which includes Volvo spark plugs, Bougicord wires and Bosch distributor cap/rotor: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... tuneupkit1

They were installed less than two months ago.

The car burns a tiny bit of oil, maybe 1/4 liter per year, which doesn't seem too bad. The ignition coil seems strong enough. I've never had any issues with it in the three years I've owned it.

1/4" quart in even 3000 miles isn't bad at all. It's nothing, really. Perhaps we can rule out oil as the culprit, which leaves up with a rich condition, low compression or a weak coil. As was mentioned earlier, a compression test is in order to tell us the general condition of each cylinder, especially #4 which is throwing the misfire code

[dosbricks]

How old are the spark plug wires, cap & rotor? Bougicord & Bosch?

Is the ignition coil strong?

Does the car burn any oil?

Those are the proper plugs. It's not a spark plug issue...heck, the plugs aren't THAT bad

Great question! I had ordered the tune-up kit from FCP Euro, which includes Volvo spark plugs, Bougicord wires and Bosch distributor cap/rotor: https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/volvo- ... tuneupkit1

They were installed less than two months ago.

The car burns a tiny bit of oil, maybe 1/4 liter per year, which doesn't seem too bad. The ignition coil seems strong enough. I've never had any issues with it in the three years I've owned it.

Bruno, thanks for posting back and perhaps restoring a modicum of sanity to this thread. As mentioned previously by Russ and others, with 17 years and 174k there is likely a bit of oil leaking past the valve stem seals if any of the plugs have an oily look to them. Black sooty deposits are from rich mixture and having the injectors cleaned might help that. But....

You had a misfire on cylinder 4. I'm looking again at the first photo of #4 plug. It looks odd. The three prongs are visible, but what is that alongside the center insulator next to one of the prongs??? Next to the ground prong shown at 4 o'clock position in the photo. Is there something wedged in there like a piece of carbon that is shorting across the gap and throwing the misfire code? Can you clear that up by further inspection? Your problem has now become more intriguing than the hi jinks of this thread.

Take a look, Russ. What do you think?

dos

[RussB]

You had a misfire on cylinder 4. I'm looking again at the first photo of #4 plug. It looks odd. The three prongs are visible, but what is that alongside the center insulator next to one of the prongs??? Next to the ground prong shown at 4 o'clock position in the photo. Is there something wedged in there like a piece of carbon that is shorting across the gap and throwing the misfire code? Can you clear that up by further inspection? Your problem has now become more intriguing than the hi jinks of this thread.

Take a look, Russ. What do you think?

dos

Yeah, I see it now too. Good catch! Almost looks like a broken electrode from a plug stuck in between the insulator and the body

[scot850]

Here is a different question, how do you drive the car? Do you do a lot of short trips? Does the car ever get a good blow out on a highway?

If you do a lot of short trips, your engine (with age) may not be getting properly hot and running constantly on start up enrichment, causing the carbon build up.

In the old days (shortly after the dinosaurs) Volvo used to have 2 spark plugs for the cars for this reason. I guess with modern technology this is not required, but I'm not convinced the tech on these older cars is smart enough to allow the engine to run hotter to burn the extra carbon off.

I see what the guys were talking about on the picture of plug #4. Not sure if it is just carbon build up or if it actually has some height to it. Either way, it is a strange burn pattern on that one electrode. Maybe a bad plug?

Had a good chuckle at the nonsense though! Back to business.....

Neil.

[mecheng]

@Erik: love the woah.gif

If it makes anyone feel better, when I purchased my car, it had Volvo plugs and the electrodes were practically fully worn and the car ran perfect. After I changed the plugs, I didn't notice any difference.
My point, you may not notice any difference yourself, pick what you feel comfortable and when in doubt follow the manual.

Turbo cars recommend actually a Champion plug. I like changing plugs after 50,000km, because it forces me to remove them and lubricate the threads. I dont want to have the anti-seize burn off after 160,000km sitting in the engine, but I do see some merit in Irridium plugs, especially for non DIY types.

[brunocerous]

Here is a different question, how do you drive the car? Do you do a lot of short trips? Does the car ever get a good blow out on a highway?

Another great question! I probably drive the car three or four days a week, with one of those days an hour-long drive (each way) on the highway. Even the short trips on those other days are at least 20-30 minutes each way, so I would think the engine would get a proper warm-up and reach normal operating temperature.

[dosbricks]

abscate,
Can somebody in your office at the *** do a forensic photo enhancement of the picture of plug #4 to identify the object which appears next to the center insulator?