[font=Arial,Helvetica,Helv]Trev,
Very sorry to hear about the breakage. I too have experienced prongs breaking, but these were the BOSCH Platinum +4s. Check the archives for my postings. I got concerned when a sort of ticking/tapping noise got louder and louder over a couple of months. As it turned out, all 4 prongs in cyl. 4 broke, and two of the four prongs broke in cyl. 3. I ended up taking the car (1993 BMW 325i 4dr. 5-spd.) to Brian Jessel BMW here in Vancouver, Canada, who were kind enough to order in their bore scope kit (used to diagnose cylinder scoring on 4L Nikasil V8s). After scoping the two affected cylinders and one more for control, it was obvious that the metal pieces had been ejected. They were not on the piston surface, cylinder wall, or on the valves/valve seats. They were simply not there. Just amazing that SIX pieces of metal actually got out, huh? Well, the net damage was some very light scratching in cyl. 4 close to the head, but the cross-hatching was still visible. Plus, the car runs great, so we decided to just leave it alone. I bought six NGK BKR6EK plugs and use them now. Plus, those stupid plugs were actually about a quarter turn loose when I inspected them, and YES, they WERE properly torqued when I last changed them. This plug backing out issue and prong breakage issue seems to be quite common on Platinum +4's and I suspect on other types as well. NEVER AGAIN WILL I USE BOSCH PLUGS! I simply cannot believe that what I thought was a reputable company can make such trash, and charge such hefty prices for it. Even the most knackered, shittiest quality plugs I have seen have taken MECHANICAL damage to the prongs without breaking. And, yes, my engine was in excellent condition with around 95k. miles.
Anyway, my advice is to change the plugs to NGKs and not bother with looking in with a scope. It seems that the electrodes will find a way out themselves. BTW, I had posted earlier that the car seemed to be consuming oil, but actually, that was just a false reading. Even after the prong breakage issue, the oil consumption is almost nil, even with the light scratching. But this is another thing to keep in mind.
Also, to anyone who uses BOSCH multi-prong plugs...PLEASE REMOVE AND THROW IN BOSCH'S FACE IMMEDIATELY!!! DO YOURSELF A SERVICE...LEARN FROM OTHERS' MISTAKES, DON'T BE TAKEN IN BY MARKETING HYPE. BELIEVE ME, YOU WILL BE THANKFUL.
It is about time to take this arrogance about the much-hyped and overrated 'German quality' and shove it up theirs to show that their engineering is really some of the shittiest in the world. Frankly, they really deserve it, because they are still selling a defective product. Perhaps then they will learn the hard way that, *horror of horrors*, others such as the JAPANESE (horrors again) NGK make better quality and cheaper plugs than they do. Let me tell you, there is NOTHING worse than the moment you pull out a plug and your heart skips a couple of beats when you realize that all the prongs are missing!
Hope that helps,
SNB[/font]
