Spark plugs with very thin brownish liquid

[Telltell]

Hey guys. First of all let me say thanks for your help in advance.

Mine is a 96 Talon non-turbo. I checked my spark plugs and here is what I found:

All but one spark plug had this going on: The metal case and a part of the white porcelain insulator (right were it meats the metal case) are slightly covered with a very thin brownish substance, that almost doesn’t seam like oil, because its very thin. You can rub this between your fingers and it almost disappears. The spark plugs are not dripping wet at all.

The other spark plug was dry.

The dipstick is the same, with this very thin, brownish liquid, that again doesn’t look like normal oil. Also, the dipstick doesn’t have any evidence of droplets of water on it.

The thin brownish substance doesn’t particularly smell like gasoline.

My question here is about the spark plugs and this very thin brownish stuff. What could be going on?

The car also has other symptoms, but I’ll be doing a compression test soon here to try to diagnose those problems.

((Just in case it relates, I’ll say the other symptoms: white smoke after I turn it on and idle for a couple of minutes, sometimes blue smoke while driving city (especially noticeable at red lights), consumes lots of oil when driving highway))

I have no trouble starting the car, and runs fine.

Thanks guys, I really appreciate your input.

 

[BogusSVO]

with the blue smoke at stop lights, and the oil consumption with the hwy driving, I would be looking at your valve stem seals.

How many miles on the head/engine?
Have you used any oil additives? or engine flushes?
Are you loosing coolant?

 

[Telltell]

Hey BogusSVO, thanks for your reply.

I got a remanufactured long block included cylinder head in 2002. Since then I've only driven it 30k miles.

No oil aditives or engine flushes.

And not loosing coolant.


Do you think the symptoms are related? I mean like the vavle stem seals could also be causing the spark plug problems?

Thanks guys!

 

[BogusSVO]

did you get a long block from a parts store? like Advanced or auto zone?
Mass produced reman engines do not always use the best parts, IMHO use some "hokey" machining pratices.

yes they can be related, if the valve stem seals are shot,you will suck some extra oil into the combustion chamber, due to the valve stem seal being loose on the valve, your symptom of having blue smoke at stoplights is a classic example of this, and remember your engine is under vacuume them, so that will help suck oil down the guide, now under boost you will be blowing boost pressure back up the guide, the seal is not design to work that way.

I would bet you feel a tad low on power too.
The mixture on your plugs I would bet is a combo of half burt gas and oil.

 

[Telltell]

Hey BogusSVO, I appreciate your help.

Your right, I am low on power. Its kinda slow.

I took it to a shop and they did it for me. Im not sure where they got it from to tell you the long block from to tell you the truth.

By the way, I just did the compression test right now. It looks like the results are good.

Here are the results: 185 , 170, 180, 180.

Does this new compression information help support the valve stem seal diagnosis?

With your experience, do you feel this is a good enough to go ahead and fix the valve stem seal problem? Or should I do further tests to diagnose?

Thanks a million BogusSVO... and everyone else also.

 

[BogusSVO]

I doubt bad valve stem seals or worn guides in the head will change the compression test reading, that is a test for the valve to seat seal and the ring seal.

I do hope that your engine came from one of the better rebuilders.
I have seen where some of the rebuilders use K-liners in the guides, there are quick, cheap, and IMO junk, and finsish the guide .003 or .005 smaller than OE spec, then they "polish" the valve stem down .003 or .005 to remove any wear from the valve stem.(this also removes most all the crome harding plating on the stem) Then as a result of them doing that, the valve stem seal can not seal as well to the stem of the vale, this will also allow for faster wear on the valve itself.

I do Hope this is not the issue with your head.
IF it is, you will end up having to replace all the guides and valves in the head.

I would try just changing the valve stem seals, with a top quality vition "blue" seal
The rubber part of the seal is a bright blue color, not a reddish-brown or black.
here is a write up for you to read thu.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...1-head-block-valve-stem-seal-replacement.html
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...ock-valve-stem-seal-replacement-part-2-a.html

this will let you know what you are getting involved in.

 

[Telltell]

Right, I guess the compression test only eliminated other possibilities.

Yes, lets hope its not the issue with the head

I think I'll try the valve stem seals. Noted: 'top quality viton "blue" seal'.

Wow, thanks for those links, got lots of good stuff. Definitely tells you what your getting into.

After I do this, Ill put the results up on this thread.

BogusSVO, you've been very helpful and generous. I really appreciate your time and help. Thank you very much!!

 

[BogusSVO]

no prob TellTell.... Glad I could help.

the tech fourms are very helpfull on this site. Make good use of them.

 

[Telltell]

will do. thanks

 

[DSM1G90]

If you're losing oil on highways, I bet that the oil rings didn't get seated correctly if that's a reman motor..

..and the stuff you're seeing on that one plug is the results of that one cylinder with the weak oil rings.

OR, what about your PVC valve - is it working or plugged? If plugged, that will cause oil consumption to increase since it's not allowing blowby gasses to return back into the intake manifold.

Low power sounds like a timing issue..

Some other areas to chek into ..

Good luck-DSM

 

[Telltell]

thanks for the input DSM!