moribundman

$99 at germanautoparts.com. Took one week to arrive.
The motor runs a lot smoother now. :-)

I'm still hoping that the plugs looked so bad because the wires weren't good anymore.

JWG

I would imagine that with new plug wires and new plugs you should have killed most of the electrical side of the problem.

I suggest a can of BG 44k, if any further roughness exists. It may take a couple of cans given the state of your old plugs.

Thereafter, I would try a BG, Bilstein, or similar fuel system cleaning machine which hooks up in place of your fuel line and runs the car on a combustible detergent.

Similarly, if you have fuel injector problems try RC Engineering. They will ultrasonically clean your injectors and balance them within 1 or 2%.

VAP

years & years ago I had some plugs look very similar and it was the octane booster doing it. Not even a lot... just recommended dosages made my plugs look almost identical.

moribundman

The new plugs and wires helped a lot. I still have a slightly rough idle with occasional dipping, but I'm almost positive the ICV needs to be replaced. Cleaning it (and the MAF) did help, but when I checked the resistence of the ICV across the terminals it was over 11 Ohm, and out of specs.

I recently used a can of Techron concentrate, and someone mentioned that may actaully have contributed to the abysmal condition of the spark plugs, so I'm not sure I'll got that route again too soon. Then I'd rather go for the professional cleaning that you suggested.

I plan on pulling the plugs after a couple thousand miles to check how they are holding up this time.

moribundman

I did use a can of Techron concentrate about 1k miles before I took the plugs out.

The previously used standard NGK plugs looked pristine compared to the Bosch +4s. Now I use again the NGKs.

AudiMick

Sometimes when people install plugs they use an anti seize compound. You are only supposed to use it at the top of the thread as it melts otherwise and runs down into the head. I had a nissan pickup that someone did that looked something like your plugs.

moribundman

I wasn't looking over the guy's shoulder, so anything is possible. You wouldn't believe how many signs of sloppy work I've found under the hood.