8 got flooded badly this summer and it ran like a dog for a while after restarting it, then ran good for a while although we seemed to get intermittent CEL's after that with a "system too lean" code. Had it tuned up a couple of months ago because it was running bad again and was overdue.

Got flooded bad again last night and I just spent about an hour and a half getting it restarted. White smoke was everywhere and was even blowing some pretty awesome smoke rings out of the pipes. The smoke has cleared and it's running a bit smoother but still on the rough side. The CEL is on again but I'm not surprised after all of that. Is it pretty much a given that you should change the plugs after a bad flood and hard restart like that even though they were just changed a couple of months ago? Or just see if and how much it smooths out after driving it a bit?

 

I would change your plugs. Flooding is no good for you catalytic converter. How many miles are on the car? Ever replace your ignition coils? The catalytic converter is covered under federal warranty for 8yr/80k

 

Pulling the plugs and checking them out is really the only way to know for sure. Some floods tend to foul the plugs more permanently than others. No real idea why in my brain.

 

I can't see how flooding would damage plugs myself . Sure - replace your plugs before they get old to PREVENT flooding . But replacing new plugs just because you flooded it ..... what a waste of $


IMO

 

After flooding your car there is a really good chance that the spark plugs are now fouled. How many miles are on these spark plugs?

Fuel, oil and carbon fouling can all be the result of different causes but, once a spark plug is fouled, it will not provide adequate voltage to the firing tip and that cylinder will not fire properly. In many cases, the spark plug cannot be cleaned sufficiently to restore normal operation. Therefore, it is recommended that a plug be replaced once it is fouled.

http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/techinf...200&country=US

 

/\ "one flood does not a fouled sparkplug make "

 

Plugs, wires, and coils were all replaced by dealer within the last couple of months. Don't know exactly how many miles are on them but I know it's not many. We've only put 9000 miles on the car since we bought it in May of '09. Summer has gone by so fast, I don't remember what was done exactly when but, since July, anyway, it has gotten new plugs, new wires, new coils, and a new battery. That CAT was checked out when the dealer did the tuneup as it was the suspected culprit for the issues it was having at the time. The CAT and engine are still under warranty which was why it was at a dealer to start with. The car has 52,000 miles on it at this point.

We flooded the car once right after buying it but it restarted on the first try using the recommended flood restart procedure. Then, while we were away this summer, a relative moved the car out of the garage to get to something and put it right back in and it got flooded and it took me and a couple of friends trying different things, several hours to get it started back up. Tonight, it took me over an hour to get it to fire back up. The starter would turn but not even try to fire for a long time. Then it would start to show signs of firing for several tries, then it would start and show oil pressure for maybe a half second and shut down and then finally it started and fogged the immediate area with white smoke. As the smoke cleared, the engine smoothed out but even after driving it home about 10 miles, it's still running rougher than normal.