Is it just me or.........
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 6,172
Likes: 11
From: somers, ny
Is it just me or.........
Are they using some weird additives in the gas that causes your plugs to turn strange colors. My plugs have been day glow green, orange and now they are bright yellow. What happened to white, tan, brown, black? What is causing my plugs to be day glow colors?
Race Director
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 17,676
Likes: 201
From: Who says "Nothing is impossible" ? I've been doing nothing for years.
Where are you getting your gas ? I know out west ( in Canada ) the farmers get a discount on gas for their farm vehicles and they put a blue dye in it that you can see out the tailpipe so they can't use it in their daily driver or sell it to others. 
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 6,172
Likes: 11
From: somers, ny
Usually either Mobil or Sunoco and on occasion Gulf. What;s even weirder is that it is most pronounced on the passenger side. The drivers side plugs are perfect with maybe a hint of color. But the Passenger side plugs i just pulled out are bright yellow......and i dont work in a meth lab...LOL!!
Last edited by ralph; Jul 15, 2005 at 12:26 PM.
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 6,172
Likes: 11
From: somers, ny
No LSD and no mushrooms 
Radiator is full and has been full for over a year without adding fluid.
I have come to the conclusion that this has something to do with additives in the fuel. Sunoco seems to cause the yellow color. Gulf makes them orange. Not sure why #s 4, 6, & 8 seem to be the most colorful......although they also seem to run the richest too. The others take much longer to develop any color at all.
I dunno......weird.
Radiator is full and has been full for over a year without adding fluid.
I have come to the conclusion that this has something to do with additives in the fuel. Sunoco seems to cause the yellow color. Gulf makes them orange. Not sure why #s 4, 6, & 8 seem to be the most colorful......although they also seem to run the richest too. The others take much longer to develop any color at all.
I dunno......weird.
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Burning Brakes
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 760
Likes: 1
From: Greenwich, CT
Originally Posted by ralph
No LSD and no mushrooms......weird.
condition using the same gasoline.
Another thought to consider is that Chromium burns to a bright yellow residue.
Typical exhaust valves contain ~21% Chrome, ~4% Nickel, plus a few other things. It's a long
shot, but have you experienced any valve sealing or fuel delivery problems on that engine?
Only an idea, but you might want to look for some seriously melted valves just to rule out that
possibility. Good luck.
DrJ
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 6,172
Likes: 11
From: somers, ny
you might want to look for some seriously melted valves 
I sure hope that is not the case. The plugs used to have a rust/orange color to them prior to the change to yellow earlier this year. I have since stopped using Sunoco and the plugs are no longer yellow. After the season, i'll do more probing.
I sure hope that is not the case. The plugs used to have a rust/orange color to them prior to the change to yellow earlier this year. I have since stopped using Sunoco and the plugs are no longer yellow. After the season, i'll do more probing.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 760
Likes: 1
From: Greenwich, CT
Let me know if you find anything, I'd be curious what the answer is.
At first blush you'd expect the colors to be from metal ions or salts -
1. Anything purely organic (e.g. your stash of Hostess Twinkies) would
be burned off by the flame temperatures in the combustion chamber.
2. You wouldn't expect metal or sulfur salts to be in the gasoline, since
any appreciable levels there would raise hob with all the cat converters
in the world..
Which could leave you with chrome ions (or some other metal) showing up
in the combustion chamber, say from the valves, seats, or gasket materials.
Chrome came to mind because of your color palette - chrome oxide, chromate,
and dichromate are respectively green, yellow, and red - with chromate and
dichromate being the more likely(?) species.
Anyway, that's what I remember - I worked a couple of college summers in a
steel mill that cast stainless alloys, including valve steels. Of course that was
back in the age of dinosaurs... working with molten metal may have pre-disposed
me to think in those terms when looking for possible answers to this puzzle.
Maybe it's just Panuzzo hiding Twinkies in your fuel tank...
At first blush you'd expect the colors to be from metal ions or salts -
1. Anything purely organic (e.g. your stash of Hostess Twinkies) would
be burned off by the flame temperatures in the combustion chamber.
2. You wouldn't expect metal or sulfur salts to be in the gasoline, since
any appreciable levels there would raise hob with all the cat converters
in the world..
Which could leave you with chrome ions (or some other metal) showing up
in the combustion chamber, say from the valves, seats, or gasket materials.
Chrome came to mind because of your color palette - chrome oxide, chromate,
and dichromate are respectively green, yellow, and red - with chromate and
dichromate being the more likely(?) species.
Anyway, that's what I remember - I worked a couple of college summers in a
steel mill that cast stainless alloys, including valve steels. Of course that was
back in the age of dinosaurs... working with molten metal may have pre-disposed
me to think in those terms when looking for possible answers to this puzzle.
Maybe it's just Panuzzo hiding Twinkies in your fuel tank...
Thread Starter
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 1999
Posts: 6,172
Likes: 11
From: somers, ny
That damn Panuzzo.......i knew it!!!!
Doc it is strange.....5 of my plugs are mint. Even when using the Sunoco, they just showed a little yellowish shade. But #4,6,8 were noticably different than the others and get progressively worse from 4-8. They are much darker than the others and they show the most color, by far. I was sucking some oil into the intake and it looked like #6&8 were getting most of it. I have since improved that situation, and #6&8 are now only 1/2 dark....LOL. 1/2 the porcelin is dark brown/black, the other 1/2 clean (light tan). Must be indexed wrong or something. At this point i need a new set of plugs to tell what's going on, cause these have already been contaminated. However there is definitely something going on with #6&8. 4 is so so, but the rest are perfect.
you ever use that cam?
Doc it is strange.....5 of my plugs are mint. Even when using the Sunoco, they just showed a little yellowish shade. But #4,6,8 were noticably different than the others and get progressively worse from 4-8. They are much darker than the others and they show the most color, by far. I was sucking some oil into the intake and it looked like #6&8 were getting most of it. I have since improved that situation, and #6&8 are now only 1/2 dark....LOL. 1/2 the porcelin is dark brown/black, the other 1/2 clean (light tan). Must be indexed wrong or something. At this point i need a new set of plugs to tell what's going on, cause these have already been contaminated. However there is definitely something going on with #6&8. 4 is so so, but the rest are perfect.
you ever use that cam?
Team Owner
Joined: Nov 1999
Posts: 32,782
Likes: 11
From: Former NCM Drag Racing coordinator, National director Corvette Challenge Spring Hill, Tennessee: Whiting, New Jersey
Cruise-In VI Veteran
Cruise-In VII Veteran
Originally Posted by ralph
That damn Panuzzo.......i knew it!!!!
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 1999
Posts: 760
Likes: 1
From: Greenwich, CT
Policemen are devious characters, keep an eye on 'em.
Oil-burning is another possibility. I'm not really up on contemporary lubes, but you would
expect to find some heavy metals there (in trace amounts). Moly, sulfur, and zinc(?) come
to mind - seems to me I read somewhere the 'racing' oils have more metal content than
average plain-vanilla motor oil. The thing is, seems like it would have to suck a lot of oil
for the traces to show up as psychodelic swatches on the plugs...
That cam is still in my basement if you need it. I'm liking the custom one I had made up
last summer, but haven't really finished testing it yet. Everytime the weather gets nice
enough for driving I either wind up working on the boat, or Kathleen puts me to slaving
away in the yard, or painting the house, or some other endless endeavor.
My next car job is to add a NorthStar DIS pack to the ignition system - I think I invented
a trigger-wheel to make it run on a SBC. Probably won't change cams again before next
summer (or later if I don't finish this verdamnt painting).
Oil-burning is another possibility. I'm not really up on contemporary lubes, but you would
expect to find some heavy metals there (in trace amounts). Moly, sulfur, and zinc(?) come
to mind - seems to me I read somewhere the 'racing' oils have more metal content than
average plain-vanilla motor oil. The thing is, seems like it would have to suck a lot of oil
for the traces to show up as psychodelic swatches on the plugs...
That cam is still in my basement if you need it. I'm liking the custom one I had made up
last summer, but haven't really finished testing it yet. Everytime the weather gets nice
enough for driving I either wind up working on the boat, or Kathleen puts me to slaving
away in the yard, or painting the house, or some other endless endeavor.
My next car job is to add a NorthStar DIS pack to the ignition system - I think I invented
a trigger-wheel to make it run on a SBC. Probably won't change cams again before next
summer (or later if I don't finish this verdamnt painting).
