Spark plug replacement gone wrong?

JOEJONES44

MEMBER
2002 BUICK LESABRE
6 CYL
4WD
AUTOMATIC
120,000 MILES

I replaced my spark plugs and when I went to start the car the battery drained. I jumped it and it started for the first time. When I left it running, I noticed white smoke coming out of the front. I pulled the spark plugs out to make sure they still looked all right and found that the metal curve on the tips had not been bent. How can I fix this?

1 Reply

STEVE W.

MECHANIC
13,454 POSTS

From the description it sounds like you got a bad batch of plugs if they were not gapped from the factory. I would return them and get the correct ones. Check them before leaving the store. If they came off the internet they might have been counterfeit. As for the drained battery, did you crank it until it wouldn't turn the engine, or did it just refuse to turn the engine over when you tried it? If it just didn't start the first thing would be to check the battery cable connections at both ends for corrosion and maybe take the battery in for testing.

These might help:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/everything-goes-dead-when-engine-is-cranked
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/car-battery-load-test