Spark Plug Angst

[Big Vinny]

The Ibiza is coming up to 6 years old and 22k miles and I reckoned it was time for another air filter change and a first spark plug change ! The car is a 2019 1.0 tsi 110hp 6 speed.

The 3 new plugs supplied by ECP were NGK IKER7A8EGS pn 94224. Do not get them mixed up with ILKER7A8EGS which are the long nosed versions for the 1.5tsi.

The reason for posting this thread is to highlight the fact that the original plugs from the factory had corroded (the steel plug threaded noses had rusted) in place and were very difficult to remove. I have never experienced this before and had to use a torque wrench as a lever and more force than I felt comfortable with. The new plugs went in OK with a drop of engine oil on the thread and torqued to 20Nm and a little nip.

The upside is my coil pack removal tool an Asta A-P061C was really useful. Below is an image of the rusty old spark plugs, new spark plug box and coil pack removal tool :

 

[Jokke]

I belive thats normal on a turbo engine. When I changed the plugs on my Saab turbo back in the day I thought the plugs would snap when I tried loosen them

 

[Big Vinny]

Update on this situation. The brown deposit on the plug threads can be removed with a wire brush to reveal clean gold coloured threads. So the brown deposit is not rust as I originally thought. Some YT clips state that it is a charred heat resistant anti seize compound put on in the factory.

The official plug torque is 22Nm but NGK suggest an angular method hence my 20Nm plus a nip. Also the top of the plugs and seal have some silica based gel on them. I am tempted to put a bit of copper grease on the thread next time after this experience !

 

[RUM4MO]

I replace the spark plugs in my 2011 Audi S4 every 6 years as they are also Iridium ones, and haven't noticed any problem getting them out - twice.
My wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI 110PS spark plugs are also Iridium and they get replaced every 4 years, again twice replaced with no issues, on that car, I use that type of coil removal tool - but, I also "reload" the entry point or lower end of the HT contact (the name for the long rubber tube part) with a "circle" of dielectric paste/grease, doing that will help to avoid that rubber tube "glueing" itself to the ceramic section of the spark plugs.

When I replaced the Polo spark plugs the first time, I just "recovered as much of that original dielectric as possible and placed it back in position on the end of the rubber contact tubes, by the time that I needed to replace them again, I had bought a small tube of that product.

I replaced the spark plugs, again Iridium, on my younger daughter's 2019 SEAT Arona 1.0TSI 115PS in 2024, again using that version of tool and putting dielectric paste/grease over the end of the rubber contact tube. The spark plugs on that car were probably looking the same as your ones - maybe I expect a bit of resistance when removing spark plugs at the end of their service life, but just "working" them back and forth to break up the initial "rust bond" normally works for me.

This reminds me of an old neighbour, he was retired and set about replacing the spark plugs on his Hyundai - probably a Lancer - or was that maybe a Pony, as it was back in the 1980s, poor old beggar snapped a plug off - I later found out, not good!

Edit:- NGK has been my choice of spark plugs since moving to VW Group cars in 2000 - same as VW Group fit in engine plants. I use Mann for oil and air filters, again same as VW Group sell.

 

[Big Vinny]

I am also a believer in silica gel for electrical connectors. My go to is Corning DC4, I will use some of this next time!