What's the problem with this cylinder head?

[JaiMaai]

The arrow is saying that the spark plug is gone but apparently there is also a problem with the cylinder head itself.  My untrained eye can't see anything.  Hopefully someone else will spot it quite easily.

 

TIA

[transam]

Can you see the light colour on that plug..It is burning different to the rest.

 

I could be wrong, but the plugs look the wrong reach to me, to long..

[JaiMaai]

Thanks for the reply. Can you see any issues with the actual cylinder head? Does it appear to be damaged or defective in any way?

[transam]

1 minute ago, JaiMaai said:

Thanks for the reply. Can you see any issues with the actual cylinder head? Does it appear to be damaged or defective in any way?

Second chamber from the left, that brown on the face, is it oil or a stain in the alloy....?

[JaiMaai]

2 minutes ago, transam said:

Second chamber from the left, that brown on the face, is it oil or a stain in the alloy....?

Not sure.

 

I don't have the head in front of me just now. Only the photo. The car is in for repair and my wife took the pic.

 

[transam]

1 minute ago, JaiMaai said:

Not sure.

 

I don't have the head in front of me just now. Only the photo. The car is in for repair and my wife took the pic.

 

What was wrong with the engine, were you losing water...?

[canthai55]

Had to tell from the pic.

I may be wrong

But seems that the end of the threaded portion of the plug, just up and to the left of the red arrow - is missing

It may have dropped off ... or was struck by the piston

That might be what they mean that the head needs work

Struck that hard may have cracked the aluminum

 

[JaiMaai]

19 minutes ago, transam said:

What was wrong with the engine, were you losing water...?

It started running rough with a rattling noise, followed by the engine warning light coming on.  No obvious coolant or oil leaks.

[ktm jeff]

InThe spark plug is of the wrong type. The others are iridium type. Reach is ok , no contact. I think it's a shadow making it look like part of the thread is missing. Burn colour could be because that plug is the wrong heat rating , or it's just been fitted.

 

 

[Kwasaki]

2 plugs not same looks to me, there's 2 copper core that look Ok but still don't sit correctly, the 2 others don't look right at all.

 

As for cylinder head that's the main thing to sort, it maybe warped.

 

Get the head sorted and put new copper core plugs which are specified for your motor, as Trans said they look too long.

 

[taichiplanet]

not sure what you mean by the spark plug is gone, as there is one in the photo. Unless you mean it wasn't working, then that would be an ignition problem. 

 

Maybe the thread for the plug was stripped but that wouldn't usually need a head removal, just a helicoil. All the water jacket holes look in great condition, as does the head. As Kawasaki said above, it may have warped due to bad tensioning of the head bolts but usually you have to machine the face of an alloy head any time it is removed. Also as he also said 2 of those plugs do look weird but could just be the photo. If a plug was too long it would be hitting the piston, so not really a head problem then.

 

What i don't understand is why they have taken the valves out, you'd usually only do that if there is a problem with a valve, valve seat or valve guide.

[Don Mega]

plugs not indexed and whats happening with the one on the far right ?

[kickstart]

Has it been  run it low on water, engine  overheated and has warped the head ,the plugs look a bit of a light colour, if though it has got a bit hot.  

 

 

[Lacessit]

What happens when the plug is changed? May be as simple as a shorting insulator on the plug itself.

[UncleMhee]

Zoom in on the port to the left of the arrow....is that a hole? About 5-8 mm

 

Do the same on the corresponding port of the cylinder to the left. Is that a gaping hole?

[JaiMaai]

The head has now been fixed and I'll make sure that they replace the full set of plugs.

 

Time will tell how good the repair actually was.  Here's hoping.....

[johng]

12 minutes ago, JaiMaai said:

The head has now been fixed

So what was the problem ???

[Dumbastheycome]

Maybe the lighting makes it  look so but to my eye  some of the  valve seats  looks a bit suspect which might be the  reason " head has a problem"? A dead plug would/should have been detected  well before taking the head  off anyway.

[thaibeachlovers]

That plug looks different to the others.

Slight browning  between cylinders could be something.

Get the head planed anyway and use the correct plug, but I'd hate to diagnose any problem from a photo.

Are the mechanics so useless that you have to ask us what the problem is?

 

I magnified the photo and the slightly brown area between cylinders looks really bad. I hope they machined the head before putting it back on.

Either that plug is different from others or it has been overheated/ something as insulation is black while the others are white.

Looks like part of a thread inside head, while others are OK. I'm guessing someone changed that plug for wrong sort.

Edited November 15, 2019 by thaibeachlovers

[JaiMaai]

14 minutes ago, johng said:

So what was the problem ???

Unfortunately, I still don't really know. A combination of mechanics that don't speak English and my wife not being able to translate well because she doesn't understand it anyway, was the reason I posted here.

 

I'll just have to monitor it for a while and see what happens.

[Vacuum]

15 hours ago, taichiplanet said:

What i don't understand is why they have taken the valves out, you'd usually only do that if there is a problem with a valve, valve seat or valve guide.

If I'd gone through the trouble removing the cylinder head, I'd do the the same just for checking and perhaps lapping the valves.

Edited November 15, 2019 by Vacuum

[DaRoadrunner]

I cannot see anything wrong.

 

Standard procedure before removing head:- Do a compression test, as this will show up where the problem is.

 

Warped head? Run the edge of a long steel rule across the head to see if it is true.

 

Look for signs of head gasket leaks.

 

(Little head:- Have it cleaned and blown at the soapy.)

Edited November 15, 2019 by DaRoadrunner