Oil on plugs 1 and 4, but none on 2 or 3?

[TheWanderer]

Ok, I searched the forums, but didnt find an answer to my specific problem, so here goes...

I know I need a valve cover gasket... My question though is why are my plugs from cyl. 1 and 4 dripping with oil when I pull them out, but 2 or 3 are clean as a whistle? When I changed the plugs, I did notice a bit better performance from the car, but now after 100 miles, i get what sounds like a misfire when going uphill once in awhile... Not so much of a misfire, more like the car is struggling... Its hard for me to explain...

And it wasnt just on the plugs, the 2 that were covered were dripping oil from the electrode...would this be piston ring or valve related? I do have a slight tap that gets faster when the RPM's get higher...My mechanic said that it sounds more like injector knock than anything, but these injectors are new....

Would this problem also cause the car to rev up to 1500-2000 RPM and idle when I first start it? My oil pressure is fine, sits around 3/4 up on the stock gauge....

Lastly, when I change the gasket, do I need to use RTV compound? I have heard yes and I have heard no...whats the best thing for our cars?

 

[architechnik]

If there is oil dripping from the bottom of the plug after you remove it, you need to find if this is from teh inside of the combustion chamber or if is from the well. There are some ring-gaskets that seal up the valve cover and if this is leaking, it's no real problem when you replace the gasket.

If the oil is from the inside of the chamber (bottom of plug, but not in well) then you've got some real problems on your hand. You will need to have a compression test and a leak-down test to figure out where the oil is entering the chamber. It may be a blown head gasket or ring-seals or even from a warped head. The fact that it is in 1 and 4, lends to a warped head, as the ends of the head are coming away from the block and the gasket.

The idle surge is most likely your ISC motor, which allows varying amounts of air through your throttle body during idle. Surge is really difficult to figure out without extensive testing and with your other problems, you probably shouldn't worry about it at this point.

Some valve cover gaskets do not need a great deal of RTV sealant. The Haynes manual says to put sealant on both sides, but this makes it VERY difficult to remove later. I put sealant only on the bottom half, not inside the groove and have had no problems. I wouldn't suggest skipping on the sealant altogether, especially at the half-moon and each corner, as these are notorious trouble spots.

 

[Alienwrkshp6866]

I cant find anything about how to change to plug gaskets. I have oil in the plug valley and on the threads on plugs 1 and 3. I figure I would change the plug gaskets and see if that helps before i go anywhere else. I had compression checked and I am not quiet sure what the test shown but i know it was almost perfect. The test was about a year ago. But I have not drove more than 100 miles in the car in the last year.

 

[TheWanderer]

If there is oil dripping from the bottom of the plug after you remove it, you need to find if this is from teh inside of the combustion chamber or if is from the well. There are some ring-gaskets that seal up the valve cover and if this is leaking, it's no real problem when you replace the gasket.

If the oil is from the inside of the chamber (bottom of plug, but not in well) then you've got some real problems on your hand. You will need to have a compression test and a leak-down test to figure out where the oil is entering the chamber. It may be a blown head gasket or ring-seals or even from a warped head. The fact that it is in 1 and 4, lends to a warped head, as the ends of the head are coming away from the block and the gasket.

The idle surge is most likely your ISC motor, which allows varying amounts of air through your throttle body during idle. Surge is really difficult to figure out without extensive testing and with your other problems, you probably shouldn't worry about it at this point.

Some valve cover gaskets do not need a great deal of RTV sealant. The Haynes manual says to put sealant on both sides, but this makes it VERY difficult to remove later. I put sealant only on the bottom half, not inside the groove and have had no problems. I wouldn't suggest skipping on the sealant altogether, especially at the half-moon and each corner, as these are notorious trouble spots.

I forgot to mention that the top of the valve cover is soaked in oil also...along with the left front corner on top of the head, and also under the injectors...

I've had a sneaking suspicion that the head gasket is bad for the past few weeks, but it could just be the cold weather....I've been blowing out a relatively thick white cloud of smoke while idling...but it doesnt do it inside of a garage that is heated...so thats why i am thinking its the cold weather...

My question for you though is this: If the rings were blown, wouldnt I be pushing out blue smoke from the exhaust from burning oil? The car doesnt burn oil at all...

looks like I will have to do a compression test and leak down test before I change the gasket, to see whats really going on...kind of sucks though, cause I just bought the car about a month ago...

 

[architechnik]

It sounds like it's just the valve cover gasket, which is not all too imperative to the basic operation. As your cams sling oil, it's leaking out the sides.

Also, check your oil dipstick and see if it is spewing oil, as it often does. The plug well gaskets are part of the same gasket kit as the valve cover and are only associated with keeping oil in the top part, not related to compression.

 

[Icarus]

Plug well gaskets would be my first guess. Resonably inexpensive fix and prety common. Once the the oil seeps down through the threads and onto the electrode, it can prevent spark resulting in studdering under power.

I knew there was a thread about it. Give this a read:

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/problem-diagnosis/26153-oil-spark-plugs-merged-11-7-oily-wire-wires-cover-valley-well-wells.html