oil on spark plugs [Merged 11-7] oily wire wires cover valley well wells

[Drifte]

I want to know a way for sure to know my problem is rings. I realy wish it was the turbo, cause its cheaper and easier. But I found oil on my number 1 cyl, spark plug. Not a good sign. If i run a compression test will it tell what my problem is. And a really crappy speed shop installed a new head on my car before I bought it, do ya think they may have done something wrong?

 

[LandoAWD]

It may be as simple as the VC or plug well gaskets leaking. I has oil in 3 wells from a cracked VC and smooshed gaskets.

 

[Drifte]

which is better for testing, a leak down test or compression test? thanks

 

[HondaHunter2002]

or you may not have to buy ne thing and just have to be more careful next time ur toppin off ur oil
i once spilled oil on top of my valve cover and leaked thru spark plug cover and got down into the spark plugs.. for the first 3300 rpm's my car sounded like it was sik as heck and choking went into spark plugs look all oil in there,, bought new plugs cleaned wires cleand seals put back together haven't had problem since

 

[Burrito06]

Oil has gotten into my spark plug wells numerous times. The way that I finally got it to stop was to replace the valve cover gasket. Make sure that it is not defective because I bought the gasket and reinstalled it a week later the problem reoccured. The gasket was faulty. ever since then i have had no problems.

 

[MitzEclipse]

sometimes it has nothing to do with that

believe me i had that problem.....

the problem oculd be that your piston rings are done...

oil is gettin to the top piston ring... mixin with air and fuel...

gettin near ur sparkplugz

 

[Initial DSM]

Had the same probelm just recently. Replaced the Valve cover gasket, spark plugs, and wires. There was oil in the spark plugs and I was misfiring like crazy. Once I changed the valve cover gasket, everything was fine.

 

[92BaSeBoMBeR]

Check the o2 sensor on the block... when i did my air filter mods i knocked it off and didnt know, the car would stall out and not idle. eventually the computer compensated but the second i pluged that damn o2 sensor back in; the car ran good as new. silly me for not noticing it, but live 'n learn. gL with it man

 

[ericismyname]

had same problem in my 1g turbo, it was on well #1 tho. car never died, but i was gonna take out the spark plug and then clean out the well, but when i did all the oil went down in the engine. idk what happend but i ran the motor and only white smoke down by the turbo. no more worries tho cause i no longer have the car.

 

[Colossus]

I pulled my #4 spark plug out today to replace it with and the wires with NGK plugs, and Access wires. I think it's the #4 piston anyways, it's the one closest to the cam gears on a 420A engine. Anyways, when I pulled out the wire, it had oil running down the side from about the half way point of the wire tube, down to where the spark plug is located. When I removed the plug, the plug was coated in oil, and all the threads for screwing it in were covered in oil. What would cause this? Obviously oil's being thrown into my 4th piston, or at least my seals around the spark plugs within the valve cover are bad. Which do you think it is? How badly would this of crippled my performance? If it is the piston, by removing the valve cover I should be able to see the tops of the pistons, correct? Or should I have to remove to head to tell if oil's on top of my piston?

 

[turboholic]

-Remove the spark plug, shine a light into the hole, have some one hand crank the piston until you can see it, you should be able to see if the top of the piston is wet or not, but most likely it's your valve cover gasket that's leaking.

 

[Desibabu345]

I think i noticed a similiar problem to a smaller degree - but mine is the second closest to the timing belt (on the 420a) Its just the walls of the spark plug well that have oil in em. The rest are all dry (spark plug wells) What do you think mine is since the spark plug is in the middle? (not trying to steal your thread, just curious bc it appears its the same as you) though my spark plug isnt coated in oil or anything, just the bottom area has some sitting oil (right where it screws in) Inside the piston seems all crummy and dirty (as it should) like the other 3.

 

[Defiant]

Originally posted by Colossus
I think it's the #4 piston anyways, it's the one closest to the cam gears on a 420A engine.

That's #1. Cam drive, water pump, oil pump on the front, clutch on the rear. Like any normal car... other than a SAAB.

 

[Colossus]

So, just the valve cover gasket? I was told there were gaskets around the spark plug area's since it goes down through my head...what about those, if there are any? I havent taken my head apart yet.

 

[turboholic]

Originally posted by Colossus
So, just the valve cover gasket? I was told there were gaskets around the spark plug area's since it goes down through my head...what about those, if there are any?

-They come as a set, at least on the 4G63, the rectangular valve cover gasket and 4 round seals for the spark plug wells.

 

[Desibabu345]

is the valve cover gasket the same as the head gasket?

 

[LandoAWD]

No, hence the different names

 

[Desibabu345]

Figured... what's the difference? I always thought that the head gasket went under the valve cover. Anyone willing to explain?

 

[wkulestat]

I don't think i've posted this question yet... if i have,.. i'm sorry, but i was needing some help. when i was changing my spark plugs,.. in one of the plug wells there must have been some oil, cause there was oil on the spark plug. i was wondering which would be the more likely problem. Would it be the head gasket, or the valve gaskets?

 

[Defiant]

Inside the cylinder, or topside? Most likely a bad plug well gasket, or a leaking oil filler cap that's leaking in just the wrong direction.

 

[Erics_silver2g]

ok well if its on the top side and NOT in the cylinder then its probably your well gaskets. I just fixed this same problem on my car last week. First go pick up new valve cover gasket along with 4 spark plug chamber/well gaskets and a tube of rvt gasket maker. take off your vavle cover and get all of the old seal scraped off. then make sure it is dry, make sure u take out the old well gaskets and clean/ dry the groove for those. then on the underside of the valve cover u will see grooves for the well gaskets to fit in, once those are clean and dry put some rvt in it as directed and place the gasket in there, do that for all 4. on the edge of the valve cover all the way around u will see a groove for the valve cover seal, rvt it as directed and place your seal in there, wipe off any extra rvt. then i would put a small bead of rvt all the way around on the bottom side of the valve cover seal and well gaskets. once this is done place the valve cover back on and start bolting it back down so everything is lined up right and fully tightened. let it sit for atleast an hour like i said atleast for the rvt to dry before you try to start the car, i let mine sit for almost 3 hours just to make sure it was dried pretty well. after that it should be fine. tools u will need: 10mm(might be a 12), 8mm (will help if u get a deep socket one), pliers (undo some clamps on hoses), flat head screw driver (get all the old seals off) i think thats just about it, if u have an tions just ask.

Eric

 

[jake98gst]

I've had this problem where my car stutters like hell around 3000 to 4000 rpm, when at wot or close. I checked the plugs and wires and the cyl 4 wire never seals, and I can pull the damn thing off very easy. It hasnt done it in a while; I thought I finally got it to seal. But recently, it started stuttering again, and I'm throwing cyl 4 misfire CELs all over the place again when under load (boosting at wot or close). Today, I pulled the wires again, and the cyl 4 came off easy once again, but there was oil all over the top of it, the plug well had some oil in it, and there was oil all over in the spark plug area on my valve cover. WTF! Please help.

Thanks,
Jake
98 GS-T A/T

 

[pr0_re]

you probley have a blown piston ring or valve seal. other than that the only way oil could get into the there would be a cracked valve cover.

 

[LightningGSX]

Oil in your plug wells can come from a leaky valve cover gasket too, there are four small rubber seals, one in each plug well.And what do you mean you "checked" the plugs and plug wires?

 

[jake98gst]

Last time I took my car to the dealer, they mentioned that I had leaky valve seals, but I thought they had fixed them. Obviously they didn't. Were they then leaky but not completely blown? Is this a costly or difficult thing to fix...I'll just sell the damn thing if it is.

Thanks for your help,
Jake