Spark Plug Wire

I had my ring replaced per the service agreement. Since then I have had 4 out of 8 spark plug wire replaced and tonight the engine light came on and the missing and lack of power once again became a part of life. I know they will replace a spark plug wire or two again. Has anyone had the piston rings replaced for oil consumption and experienced really bad missing problem. I am going back to the dealership a 3rd time for this problem. Any insight or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[c4c5specialist]

HI there,
That is an unusual one.
I have not ever heard of that. Maybe someone was not careful removing them and they were damaged?????
Just a thought, and how is your oil consumption now???
Allthebest, c4c5

I was going through 1 quart every 1,000 miles for the first 2,000 miles as opposed to 1 quart every 1500 miles.. I haven't had the oil checked yet on the next 1000 miles. They told me this was to be expected until the new rings were broken in and they also told me that using a quart every 1000 miles is acceptable to chevrolet. I'm not a happy camper.

A quart every 1000 miles seems excessive to me.
rich95

[danl72]

Good luck and let us know what happens.

[c4c5specialist]

Hi there,
Per GM service bulletin, 01-06-01-011, this states that the GM position is 1 quart in 2,000 miles.
Someone is lying to you.
I would not be happy either.
It sounds like I would seriously consider finding another dealer.
Please keep us posted on your issue, as I find this very disturbing.
c4c5

Well, I picked my car up today from the dealership and they replaced 3 more spark plug wires. I asked them what may be causing this and they said they didn't know but maybe it was a bad batch of spark plug wires. I said "then why don't you replace all 8 and get it over with? Their response was, warranty only covers the bad parts. I told them I would see them in 3 weeks since I know that's when the next spark plug wires will go bad. It saddens me to know that I have a beautiful 2001 black corvette that I can't even trust to drive up the coast and it only has 13,000 miles on it. Should I really buy American again? It makes me cry. Well if anyone knows of a great corvette mechanic in southern california, please write and let me know how I can get a hold of them. Have a great weekend!

[les]

Sadly it is the position to replace only bad parts insted of taking care of the customers that spend their hard erned money on their products. My Daughters 2001 had a screaming fuel pump and we heard the same crap. "as long as it is working". I have very good relations with another dealer and got it replaced. My wife was going to buy a c-5 but has decided to buy a Honda because of that kind of service. I love my car ,don't get me wrong, but G.M. should be ashamed of the way they treat their customers. I will keep my Vette,but I will never buy another one.

[silversport]

I remember reading an article a while back as to why Buick had a MUCH better customer satisfaction rating than similar Oldsmobile.
The answer was...Oldsmobile would fix what they found wrong...Buick would find out what's wrong and what made the parts go bad...no time limit when Olds was very time constrained...different approach from the same GM...food 4 thought!

a set of OE-type replacement plug wires from the auto parts store is less than $40. Your time and aggravation factor is worth more than that. Just go buy a set, install them yourself or hire someone to do it, and be done with it. The "one plug wire at a time" philosophy at GM has screwed many a customer, it's screwed GM under warranty too but where the unscruplous dealership (and there are plenty of them) makes it up is by pulling the same stunt on out of warranty vehicles, charging the sap customers several hundred dollars a pop with every service trip. If they ever tell you there's a bad wire you tell them to replace the whole set and you'll pay the difference. Don't let them bend you over.

Getting to and removing the spark plug boots takes care, finess, and the proper tools and even then you stand a chance at damaging one, particularly if they are the original wires from the factory that always seem to be permanently bonded to the sparkplug. It would seem that GM is not lubing the boots with dielectric grease on the production line wires. Even on pre-lubed wire sets I recommend taking a cue-tip and making sure the lube is swabbed around the entire boot surface; they often just smear a dab on in one spot. My philosophy is that since the only time I'm likely to remove the plug wires is to replace the plugs or do major mechanical work it's cheap insurance just to install a new wire set too. This allows you just to yank the old set quickly off without concern for their condition.

Further, the OE type wire set is more than adequate for all but the most hardcore racing applications. I've seen more problems with aftermarket wires than OE; they cost more so people are less likely to consider replacing them. Don't waste your money, there is no real performance to be had with aftermarket wires, just get the OE type and if there is any suspicion of damage then shell out the $40 and replace them all in one shot. Your situation is just one of many examples on why this is a good practice.

[Smoke-N-Shot]

There is absolutely no correlation between having your rings replaced and having bad plug wires… They probably yanked on them incorrectly causing them to have the failure so the dealer should give you a whole new set IMHO…

Nick

I have decided to try a new dealership and most likely will tell them next time that I will pay to have them all replaced.

I also heard back from GM today and will discuss the service posting on the oil consumption.

I want to thank all of you for your replies. They are very helpful and appreciated.... have a good week.

[vettepilot]

If you have bad plug wires then maybe there is incomplete combustion going on here, that means that fuel could be washing the cylinder walls of the misfiring plug. That could also lead to increased oil consumption.
Maybe C4C5specialist would comment on my speculation to see if this could be part of the oil consumption problem or not.
I agree with others, I think you should have replaced the complete set, even if you had to purchase the set yourself. Maybe a different service departmenrt will solve not only the car problem, but give you better customer satisfaction as well.
vettepilot

[c4c5specialist]

Hi there, Vettepilot,
Your theory is very close, however, there is a little difference in the issues of todays, OBD2 systems.
Per EPA, if raw fuel were to be dumped into the engine, and not burned, it would melt down the converter, from all the heat generated by the fire in the converter, instead of the cylinders.
So, any misfire must turn on the check engine light, AND the corresponding fuel injector disabled.
There is not alot of people whom discuss this, and is an extremely valuable question posed by Vettepilot.
Allthebest, c4c5

[vettepilot]

I forgot all about the OBDII watching over the system so closely.
... Well back to the drawing board, and thanks for your professional insight and quick lesson on the system. Now people know why the real Techs get paid what they do... knowledge is power. Have a great day!
vettepilot