So after failing emissions testing by coming in way too high with the hydrocarbons, I figured I had a misfire. I pulled the plugs, and this plug seemed particularly disturbing (see picture).

I replaced all the plugs (minus one I couldn't reach by the passenger side firewall) with original AC Delco copper plugs, and the car runs 1000x better. Tons of power, etc. When I first started the car with the new plugs, it was burning a lot of oil (maybe all the oil in that dead cylinder). However, it doesn't seem like its burning oil anymore. My question is, is this just a temporary fix? Will the new plugs become fouled again? What are people's experiences with how long the new plugs will last. And lastly, how do you reach that plug on the passenger side, closest to the firewall? It seems nearly impossible to reach it.

thanks a lot

 

looks like poor oil control by either worn out guides or bad seals. and lastly you can reach that plug by jacking up the car and replacing it from underneath, I actually prefer to do a lot of the plugs from underneath because it's that much easier. Hope this helps.

 

Last time I pulled a plug that looked like that, I had a cracked piston. Might wanna do a compression test.

The new plug/s will acquire ash deposits just like the one in the pic. Hard to say how long it will take. Depends on how bad the oil control problem is.

It's a good idea to remove the batt cable when replacing the pass side plugs. If you drop a tool on the starter solenoid and it contacts the pos battery cable, things can get ugly.

 

a vizard trick, kinda shadetree IMHO, is to use a hotter plug to burn off deposits, or to use a "tube" on the plug, (hard to describe), so it'll run hotter.
Definately a bandaid fix though.

Try a compression test, then valve seals if you're led in that direction, or rings

 

Yeah, the plugs next to the firewall are definitely easier to reach from under the car. In fact, once you're under there, you'll find that a lot of them are easier to reach from below.