what happened to one of my spark plugs?

[GeorgeG.]

So my teenager's car developed a misfire on #4. After I verified the coil pack is working, I removed the plug and saw this... The other 3 plugs have normal wear. I replaced the plugs, started the car drove around the block and rechecked the plug and didn't find any signs of impact. I can't think of what could cause this. You can see on the top of the ground electrode some wear marks like it was beating on something.

Also, to add a little history.... I was told that the misfire started out very faint. The SES light was on but it wasn't until yesterday that it got to its worst point. I'm wondering if maybe it was only partially bent at first. Could a piece of carbon broke loose and got between the electrode and the piston? I have no idea how much clearance is in there though.

Anyone have a bore scope I can borrow?

This is on a 2003 Altima 2.5l 4cyl.

[Fastlane]

Detonation will close a plug gap like that.

[BP]

If it's burning oil you need new cats and probably a new engine. Call the dealer and check for open recalls. Specifically NTB03-070.

[GeorgeG.]

If it's burning oil you need new cats and probably a new engine. Call the dealer and check for open recalls. Specifically NTB03-070.

I'll see where it's at for the next oil change and will check it. I know it's been getting a code P0420 for a while now which causes the SES light to come and go. Per Autozone, that code could be a failed O2 sensor or failed cats.

I just googled that code and found the following post on the interwebs... Post #8 has me a little concerned!

http://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/altima/316-2002-nissan-altima-2-5l-obdii-code-p0420.html

[GeorgeG.]

Anyone have a hookup on a manifold/pre-cat for this car? I'm hoping to find it a little cheaper than O'Reilly's.

and/or a local source where I can pick one up?

[Baron Von Crowder]

FWIW, I sold my 06 altima to a friend for his son to drive, and he took it to the dealer for a CEL and ended up with a new engine on Nissan's dime.

[GeorgeG.]

thanks for the tip... I'll double check but I think the emissions warranty expired long time ago. This car has 194k miles

[BP]

I'll see where it's at for the next oil change and will check it. I know it's been getting a code P0420 for a while now which causes the SES light to come and go. Per Autozone, that code could be a failed O2 sensor or failed cats.

I just googled that code and found the following post on the interwebs... Post #8 has me a little concerned!

http://x.nissanhelp.com/forums/altim...ode-p0420.html

It's a way more common problem than Nissan will ever admit to. Actually they aren't admitting anything publicly, only that you need to check the oil level when getting VVT codes. The recall is for bunk PCM tuning, that left unchecked will burn up the precat, which will in turn send debris back into the cylinders.

Here is the dealer letter from 10 years ago:

DATE: JULY 29, 2003
0FROM : PARTS AND SERVICE OPERATIONS
0SUBJECT: 2002-03 ALTIMA/2002-04 SENTRA 2.5 LITER ENG. EXHAUST CAMPAIGN
0
ATTENTION - DEALER PRINCIPALS, SALES, PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGERS

THIS IS AN UPDATE TO PREVIOUS COMMUNICATIONS RELATED TO THIS CAMPAIGN. ADDITIONAL VEHICLES HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE CAMPAIGN AND THERE ARE NOW 5 PNC CODES RELATED TO THIS CAMPAIGN BASED ON MODEL, MODEL YEAR AND THE SPECIFIC REPAIR REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE CAMPAIGN.

***** CONDITION/NISSAN ACTION *****

ON SOME 2002-2003 ALTIMA VEHICLES EQUIPPED WITH THE 2.5 LITER ENGINE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THE EXHAUST PIPE HANGER PIN MAY CATCH DEBRIS FROM THE ROAD THAT COULD BE IGNITED BY CONTACT WITH THE CATALYTIC CONVERTER AND CAUSE A FIRE. IN ADDITION, ON BOTH THE 2002-2003 ALTIMA AND THE 2002-2004 SENTRA EQUIPPED WITH THE 2.5 LITER ENGINE, THERE IS A POSSIBILITY THAT CERTAIN ENGINE OPERATING CONDITIONS MAY CAUSE DAMAGE TO THE PRE-CATALYST. MATERIAL FROM INSIDE A DAMAGED PRE-CATALYST COULD ENTER THE ENGINE AND RESULT IN INCREASED OIL CONSUMPTION. IF THE ENGINE OIL LEVEL IS NOT CHECKED ON A PERIODIC BASIS AND DROPS BELOW THE LOW LEVEL, AND THE DRIVER CONTINUES TO OPERATE THE VEHICLE IGNORING
NOTICEABLE ENGINE NOISE, ENGINE DAMAGE MAY OCCUR WHICH COULD RESULT IN A FIRE.

IN ORDER TO PREVENT THESE INCIDENTS FROM OCCURRING, NISSAN HAS INITIATED A VOLUNTARY SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN TO SHORTEN THE EXHAUST PIPE HANGER PIN, ON VEHICLES SO EQUIPPED. ON AFFECTED VEHICLES, NISSAN WILL REPROGRAM THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE TO PREVENT ANY FUTURE DAMAGE TO THE PRE-CATALYST AND INSTALL HEAT SHIELDS ON CERTAIN COMPONENTS OF THE EXHAUST SYSTEM ON VEHICLES THAT DO NOT ALREADY HAVE THEM. THESE REPAIRS WILL BE COMPLETED AT NO CHARGE TO THE CUSTOMER FOR PARTS OR LABOR. THIS CAMPAIGN AFFECTS APPROXIMATELY 360,500 NISSAN ALTIMA AND SENTRA VEHICLES IN THE UNITED STATES EQUIPPED WITH THE 2.5 LITER ENGINE.

***** OWNER NOTIFICATION *****

NISSAN WILL START TO NOTIFY AFFECTED ALTIMA AND SENTRA OWNERS ON JULY 31, 2003. UPON RECEIPT OF THE CUSTOMER NOTIFICATION LETTER, CUSTOMERS WILL BE REQUESTED TO SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT WITH THEIR SERVICING NISSAN
DEALER AND HAVE THE CAMPAIGN REPAIR COMPLETED.

***** TECHNICAL PROCEDURES *****

TEN (10) COPIES OF RECALL CAMPAIGN BULLETIN NTB03-070 ALTIMA AND SENTRA QR25DE ENGINE EXHAUST PIPE HANGER PIN AND PRE-CATALYST VOLUNTARY SAFETY RECALL CAMPAIGN ARE BEING SENT TO YOUR SERVICE MANAGER. THE BULLETIN
ADDRESSES THE SPECIFIC INSPECTION AND REPAIR PROCEDURES, PARTS REQUIREMENTS, SPECIAL TOOL REQUIREMENTS AND RELATED CAMPAIGN CLAIM INFORMATION. THE BULLETIN ALSO INCLUDES SPECIAL CUSTOMER HANDLING
PROCEDURES AND INFORMATION REGARDING VEHICLES HAVING ENGINE AND/OR EXHAUST SYSTEM MODIFICATIONS

***** OVERVIEW OF INSPECTION/REPAIR PROCESS *****

THE FOLLOWING PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF THE CAMPAIGN INSPECTION/REPAIR PROCESS:

EXHAUST PIPE HANGER PIN:

- THE EXHAUST PIPE HANGER PIN IS SHORTENED ON 2002-03 ALTIMAS, EXCEPT THOSE THAT WERE ALREADY REPAIRED. THIS REPAIR IS NOT NECESSARY ON SENTRA VEHICLES.

ECM REPROGRAMMING / PRE-CATALYST / EXHAUST HEAT SHIELDS:

- ECM REPROGRAMMING IS REQUIRED TO PREVENT FUTURE DAMAGE TO THE PRE-CATALYST. A SPECIAL REPROGRAMMING CARD IS AVAILABLE THAT CONTAINS ECM REPROGRAMMING DATA FOR ALL MODELS/ENGINE/TRANSMISSION CONFIGURATIONS
AFFECTED BY THIS CAMPAIGN.

- THE EXHAUST PRE-CATALYST WILL BE TESTED TO DETERMINE IF THE PRE-CATALYST NEEDS TO BE REPLACED.

- THE EXHAUST PRE-CATALYST WILL BE INSPECTED TO DETERMINE IF MORE EXTENSIVE REPAIRS ARE NEEDED THAT, FOR A LIMITED NUMBER OF VEHICLES, MAY INCLUDE ENGINE REPLACEMENT.

- INSTALLATION OF HEAT SHIELDS ON THE EXHAUST SYSTEM IS REQUIRED.

A MORE DETAILED "REPAIR FLOW CHART" DEPICTING THE SEQUENCE OF THE INSPECTION/REPAIR PROCEDURES IS INCLUDED IN THE SERVICE PROCEDURE SECTION OF THE RECALL CAMPAIGN BULLETIN.

***** ECM REPROGRAMMING CARD *****

A SPECIAL ECM REPROGRAMMING CARD IS BEING SUPPLIED TO FACILITATE THIS CAMPAIGN REPAIR. THE CARD CONTAINS THE 18 DIFFERENT ECM PROGRAMS THAT ARE REQUIRED BASED ON SPECIFIC MODEL/MODEL YEAR/EQUIPMENT OPTIONS FOR THE VEHICLES AFFECTED BY THIS CAMPAIGN.
INITIAL SUPPLIES OF HEAT SHIELD KITS (P/N A6590-8J025 FOR 2002 ALTIMA, P/N A6590-8J026 FOR 2003 ALTIMA, P/N A6590-8J027 FOR 2002 SENTRA AND P/N A6590-8J028 FOR 2003 SENTRA) AND EXHAUST GASKETS (P/N 20695-8J010) ARE BEING SHIPPED TO YOUR DEALERSHIP. YOU CAN EXPECT TO RECEIVE 5 TO 20 OF EACH ALTIMA HEAT SHIELD KITS BASED ON THE SIZE OF YOUR DEALERSHIP AND 2 SENTRA HEAT SHIELD KITS, ONE FOR EACH MODEL YEAR. FOR EACH HEAT SHIELD KIT, YOU WILL RECEIVE AN EQUIVALENT NUMBER OF EXHAUST GASKETS.

DUE TO LIMITED SUPPLIES, THE SENTRA HEAT SHIELD KITS ARE TEMPORARILY ON PARTS SALES RESTRICTION AND ADDITIONAL SENTRA KITS MUST BE ORDERED THROUGH YOUR IN-HOUSE PARTS REPRESENTATIVE (IHPR).

ALL OTHER PARTS MAY BE ORDERED THROUGH THE NORMAL PARTS ORDERING PROCESS. PLEASE REFER TO THE PARTS INFORMATION SECTION OF THE RECALL CAMPAIGN BULLETIN FOR A COMPLETE LIST OF PARTS THAT MAY BE REQUIRED FOR THIS CAMPAIGN REPAIR.

***** SPECIAL TOOLS *****

A THREAD REPAIR KIT DESIGNED TO ASSIST WITH THE REMOVAL OF BROKEN SCREWS, IF ANY, ON THE EXHAUST MANIFOLD IS BEING SHIPPED TO YOUR DEALERSHIP.

***** ENGINE/EXHAUST MODIFICATIONS *****

CUSTOMERS ARE BEING INFORMED VIA THE OWNER LETTER THAT, IF A VEHICLE HAS A MODIFIED ENGINE OR EXHAUST SYSTEM, THEY MAY BE RESPONSIBLE FOR SOME COSTS THAT WILL ALLOW THE CAMPAIGN REPAIRS TO BE PERFORMED. PLEASE REFER TO THE NOTE IN THE ATTACHED OWNER LETTER AND ALSO THE INFORMATION
REGARDING ENGINE & EXHAUST SYSTEM MODIFICATION(S) SECTION OF THE RECALL CAMPAIGN BULLETIN FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.

YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE SAFETY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF NISSAN ALTIMA AND SENTRA OWNERS IS APPRECIATED. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR NEED ANY ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT YOUR NISSAN DEALER PARTS AND SERVICE MANAGER (DPSM).

NISSAN PARTS AND SERVICE OPERATIONS
07/29/2003
-CC: NATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
SOUTHWEST REGION
ALL NISSANNET DEALERS

[BP]

The recall is legally enforced for 8 years after the selling date, manufacturers can extend them if they want though. Call and ask, it won't hurt. Assuming this is the problem at least.

[jyro]

Is it possible a piece of carbon came loose and got between the piston and the plug tip.
sometimes it happens with teens, lol

[blackedv]

also another thing is the screws that hold on the secondary butterflies in the intake might have come off and passed through. ive seen it three times now so its another things to check. i usually look down into the cylinder with a borescope to see if there are any little divets on the carbon on top of the piston. if there is pull the upper intake manifold to see if any screws are missing and how many are loose lol theyre always loose seems like

[GeorgeG.]

awe great!! Thanks for the tip...