Hi there,

Hoping you can help with this problem on my Eclipse!

I was driving at highway speeds when I felt my car shudder and the "Service Engine" light lit up. The car continued to shake, becoming worse while stopped at stoplights.

I had it towed to the mechanic, where they determined that the ground electrode (L-shaped bracket) at the bottom of a spark plug had corroded/fallen off, and also the round tip had fallen in the engine. A compression test expelled nothing, so they had to open up the engine and find the broken-off parts.

This was an expensive repair, and I would like to know who to blame (if anyone)

Two notes:

1. I had taken the car in about a month ago to have the timing belt replaced at 76,000 miles. Could a this have contributed to the problem? (i.e. overheating/bad timing because of a poor installation)

2. My last tune-up (replaced plugs) was in Sept 2003 at 45,000 miles. No problems until this.

Thanks!

 

Plugs can last 100Kmi.

They don't "corrode" (like rust) or fall apart.

Timing would have to be off enough to cause excessive pinging to destroy a plug.

Do you hear pinging ?

Your plug is burning up .

Too hot a spark ?

Too much boost over a long period of time ?

Try pulling the plug out after 10Kmi. and look at it. Is it degrading ?

Did the mechanic inspect the condition of your rings ?

A good vaccuum hose should suck metal pieces out of a cylinder.

Just some thoughts.



DT