I have a Civic 2003 with 141,000 miles. Long commutes of 160 miles each day. I have noticed lately an increase of oil consumption and also had to change spark plugs due to hesitation during acceleration. After pulling the plugs I noticed that the plug from Cylinder #3 had ash deposits and some oil fouling (see picture NKG plug picture). I changed plugs and today I pulled them again to perform a compression test. I found again oil fouling on the plug of cylinder #3 (see pictures Bosch). I include a picture of typical plug of the other cylinders.

I noticed that the old and new plug on cylinder #3 show more accumulation and fouling on one side of the plug. One side looks cleaner.

The compression test results were (Cylinder #1,#2, #3, #4): 190, 185,190, 190. The pressure raised on all of them and reached max on 4 strokes typically: 110, 130, 150, 180.

During the compression I noticed that once in a while I heard a pop sound that sounded like when you open a Snapple (tin metalic pop).

I would have expected Cylinder #3 to show lower pressure, but it didn't, expecting bad valves or rings. Could it be that due to bad rings or valves the cylinder already has enough oil residue that I do not see low pressure?

Do I need a valve job, ring job or a new engine? Timing belt, water pump and belt replacements are needed way overdue so I am already going through the expense. I am planning to keep this car for another 100K miles. Is it worthwhile repairing or does it make sense to replace with a new long block when the motor dies?

All comments are welcomed.

 

try running some fuel cleaner through the tank, seems like some plugs are getting more fuel than others. also replace your fuel filter and see if that helps

 

All the plugs are trashed. Buy and install new NGK plugs and stock Honda plug wires and then go from there. The first set of compression pressures seems fine, but i don't understand the second set. How are the two sets different?

 

Except for pictures DSC02225 (which is a plug from a different cylinder which shows the typical current state of the 3 other plugs) and DSC02228 (which is the old plug I took out from Cylinder #3) the other 3 pictures are from the same new plug I put in 200 miles ago showing it from different angles.

I do find oil residue on the plug from Cylinder #3, do you think it could be a fuel issue?

 

Except for pictures DSC02225 (which is a plug from a different cylinder which shows the typical current state of the 3 other plugs) and DSC02228 (which is the old plug I took out from Cylinder #3) the other 3 pictures are from the same new plug I put in 200 miles ago showing it from different angles.

The first set of compression readings are the readings I got from the test on all cylinders. The second numbers just show how the pressure built up typically on all cylinders during the compression test, it is basically showing that it took 4 to 5 strokes to reach the maximum pressure readings. I was not sure if it was important how fast the cylinder reached its max compression value.

 

Again, I recommend that you replace not only the plugs but also the plug wires. Also check the distributor cap and rotor for corrosion (replace if necessary) and whether the ignition timing is out of spec.

I can't tell from the photos, but you should check whether the oil on the plugs is from coming from leaky seals around the plug tubes.

Is the CEL ON?

 

The CL is not ON. Other than the fauling, the engine is running very smoothly. I will replace the plugs and wires. I will also check all of what you mentioned.