I pulled a spark plug out last night to find the insulator and center electrode were gone!!! Nothing there to a depth of about 3/8" inside the plug. This is (was) a Bosch Platinum plug. Now that the plug has been replaced, it runs great, BUT what about that piece of insulator/electode that must be in the cylinder??? I tried to fish around with a small magnet until I thought about it. Platinum is not ferrous (non magnetic). I've been thinking about it today and wondered it I could set up a piece of tubing to a vacuum pump to try and pull any remnants out.

I'm thinking that the ceramic will get pulzerized and will go out with the exhaust. The electrode is another issue. Maybe it's soft enough not to cause any damage as it gets smashed by the exhaust valve??

What are your thoughts???

 

I had one do this on my dad's 89 5.0 in his truck. The electrode went in between the piston and the cylinder wall and ruined a perfectly good engine. Massive blow-by due to the large groove in the cylinderwall.
If you have run it this way for a bit after the plug change, you may have gotten lucky and it puked it out the exhaust.
I will never use Bosch Platinum plugs again.
Motorcraft or Autolite for me. Double platinum. Never had a problem with them.

Jimmy

 

I think that maybe I was lucky. I pulled the new plug last night and put a tiny light bulb I solder to a couple of wires, into the cylinder. I couldn't see everything, but from what I could see there was no damage and no broken spark plug pieces. Then I ran the engine with that spark plug out and didn't hear any rattling. So I'm going to consider it gone. Thanks for the reply!

 

doubt center electrode pure platinum, give a magnetic extension pickup a try through the spark plug hole. Your stories about Bosch Platinum Plugs is interesting. I had my car towed to dealer for no start. After 2.5 hours of diagnostic work? They replaced my ignition module and removed my brand new Bosch Plat Plugs and told me to never use them. They installed standard plugs for more dollars of course. Maybe something to it. I was ticked and e-mailed Bosch about the issue; they never answered me.

 

I took my vechicle to a mechanic today for a completly unrelated issue. I happened to have the broken spark plug with me. When I bet he had never seen one of these before, he said that he had and it had happened recently and it too was a Bosch Platinum.

I believe the electrodes on these ARE pure platinum. The first thing I tried was a maginet until I thought about it.

I drove it again today, and it's pinging or that piece is rattling around in there.

This weekend I am going to try to vacuum it out.

 

I'm trying to remember what dealer said about Platinum Plugs; but it was like don't use in vehicles older than 1995?.....
All plug manufacturers have platimun types; not just Bosch. AC Delco, Autolite, etc. I'll stick to standard plugs from now on; but the marketing hype about platinum and energy and mileage and performance is seemingly falling apart.

 

Vacuum sounds good; also try a cotton applicator dipped in bearing grease to snag it. The big long cotton applicators the doctor's use. Know any ER nurses.