oil in plugs

[pradamike]

ok i took the spark plug cover off my head or whatever it is called and htere was a little oil residue in there and sitting in there. is this normal or are the seals around the plugs shot.. and also does this affect how my car may run

 

[Doug99RS]

If the oil is sitting on the valve cover itself then you may have a cracked valve cover, leaking oil cap, or other source of oil leak that is depositing on top of the valve cover. If the oil is down in the spark plug tubes then you've probably got leaking spark plug tube seals.

The downside of the first condition is minimal, it's just messy. The downside of leaking spark plug tube seals is more severe. Oil can soak in to the spark plug wires and cause the spark to short through the boot instead of jumping the gap on the plug, inside the combustion chamber.

If it's down in the plug tubes you should replace the valve cover gasket set before you ruin your wires. If the valve cover is leaking or something around it, clean it up and determine if you want to mod your way out of this with a wrinkle painted/chrome/power coated valve cover or maybe even buy a new stock cover.
Doug

 

[pradamike]

the oil is just at the top of the valve like around the top of the spark plugs under the piece that covers the plugs i didnt notice anything on the inside where the pugs are really.. how complicated would it be if u where to change eather of the cover or the seals for the plugs i think it might be the little black things that go under or around the plugs on the inside might be worn out but once again i am not to auto smart. sometimes my car will start and then quickly die like it isnt sparking or getting fuel or just to much air so i dont know if this may be the problem because it only does it after i drive alot and let it sit for awhile

 

[Doug99RS]

It's not hard at all to replace the valve cover or just the valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals. If you run a search on it I'm sure you'll find many existing threads on it regarding techniques used when replacing one or both items.
Doug