Need help fast, spark plugs drenched in oil.

Sean,

Sorry, but it sounds like rings to me. I'd do a compression test. How many miles are on the engine? Has it been using oil? Any bluish smoke out the tail pipe?

Nah, it was perfectly fine, I was driving on the highway going about 60 and then it just died and coasted to a stop. So I had it towed to my place. I was wondering if it would be possible for the valve cover gaskets to leak down the plugs into the cylinder and thats how the oil got there. Cause usually the rings will all go out at the same time. I am sure there are a lot of miles on the motor. If it is the rings, how challenging will it be to pull the cylinder head off? Another guy that posted here said he had the same problem and someone said it was the valve cover gaskets, just trying to see what everyone else thought. Thanks for the replies. Also, what PSI should each cylinder be at? What will indicate it being rings or valve seals? Do i just screw the compression tester into the spark plug socket and have someone kick it over? Thanks.

~Sean

I had something like that happen with a leaky gasket which eventually left the plug almost submerged in oil. When removing the plug, of course it got drenched - as there was a small well of engine oil on all sides of the plug.

What stopped your engine from running - I suspect might not have anything to do with the condition of those plugs or maybe it does...

Not sure what the cylinder pressure is supposed to read, but each cylinder should be within 5 psi at most.

I think that if the pressure builds up over a series of cranks, theres a hint of leakage. If a little motor oil down the plug hole doesnt alter this, the leaking might be through the valve seats.

There is far more definative and expert material relating to this science than I can come close to relating half as well.

-WaV

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

I would definitely check the head cover gasket first, replace it, then check out the rings.

marx404

Are you saying 'covered in oil' on the cylendar side, or was the ceramic post covered?

I had a 1996 SL2 that filled up the sparkplug hole(the ceramic part, with the boot). It caused the engine to misfire, and I found it after I decided to check the wires.

I first retorqued the cam cover gasket. Removed the oil as best as could be. Temp fix till I got a new cam cover gasket. I later replaced the cam cover gasket, and when that proved to work, I replaced all the spark plugs and wires.

Nww this worked for me, and cost minimial time and money. Your results might not be the same, especially if you oil problem wasn't the same as mine.

later,

tom @

I see. well, I am going to have to do a compression test. The oil is hitting the electrode side of the plugs. Any way to get the oil out of the cylinders, cause the pistons are throwing oil up onto the electrodes causing them to stop working and the car to die after a half of a second. Thanks.

~Sean

If you haven't already done so, I'd try to soak up most of that excess oil in the plug wells prior to removing the plugs. I used torn up strips of old t-shirts and worked that down into the wells with the plug still in place to soak up that oil. It worked well for me. Then I cleaned everything up and put on a new gasket and the plugs are staying dry ever since. Think this is a common problem.

Sean, How many miles are on it? Lin

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote:

If the engine's cylinder is flooding with oil, maybe having your engine quit is a good thing. You don't want some type of hydraulic lock occuring.

Sounds like time to visit the dealer. If it was the boot side, then you might have had the same problem I had, a bad cam cover gasket. But you are describing the oil being a problem on the inside of the engine cylinder.

Good luck on you fixes, and feel free to repost what you did to fix it.

later,

tom @

Yeah, I havent done the compression test on it yet, but I am sure it is probably the rings or valve seals, since down below the plugs its got a puddle of oil. I will post my compression readings and let you all know what I find out from the test.

~Sean

First, no.. there is no way a leaking valve cover gasket can get oil inside the cylinder. Think about it logically, on the compression stroke you have 150psi+ in the cylinder. If you have 150psi pushing out and it can't get loose how in the heck is gravity going to get oil to drip in there? As others have said the valve cover gasket can leak and cause the outside part of the plug to get oily, but not the inside.

Second, I wouldn't expect rings or valve seals to be your problem. Both of these items are failures that build and build... If either were the problem you would have been burning oil for thousands of miles before it got bad enough to kill the engine. A ring could break or a seal could fail and cause a sudden problem in one cylinder but three rings or three seals failing at exactly the same moment in time? Nah....

I would be looking for some way that oil is getting in to the intake. I'm not familiar enough with your engine to have any clue how that might happen but it would seem to me that your engine is still fine, it is just sucking in massive amounts of oil in three cylinders from some common source.

Steve B.

Do you think it could be a head gasket? The leakage into the cylinders is mainly in the number 1 and 2 cylinders (closest to the passenger side). Like I said, the number 4 cylinder looked brand spanking new.

~Sean

Unless the owner pulls the plugs out to see if there is oil inside the cylinders, and in doing so, dumps a load of oil in there that was sitting in the plug wells from a leaking valve cover gasket...

I've replaced the valve cover gasket a number of times on my '94 in the 145k that I've owned it. I'd be EXTREMELY surprised if it is not the gasket.

Nobody asked this, so please consider and answer this question first. When you notice the problems starting to occur, pull the spark plug boots off of the plugs but do not remove the plugs. Shine a flashlight down into the plug wells. If you see any oil in them at all, your valve cover gasket is leaking and you should replace that first before continuing any speculation or starting any costly repairs. Then drive and observe.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

I wish I could just get it started. Ever since it died on the highway, I havent been able to get it to start. I need to get that oil out of the cylinders somehow, any ideas? Every time I try to start it, it starts for half a second and dies, cause the piston throws oil up onto the plugs making them not spark. I was wondering, maybe if I can get the oil out of the cylinders, it will start. and run long enough for me to figure out if I let the oil fall into the cylinder or if the rings are bad, I am going to do a compression check tomorrow.

~Sean

The only thing I can think of would be to crank the engine with the plugs out. The compression may be enough to blow the oil out of there although it will be a bit messy if it works.

Steve B.

That has worked for me in the past. Lay a rag ontop of the plug holes to catch the splatter. One should also disconnect the "coil pack" otherwise there will be no place for them to ground to which can ruin them. Also to keep from throwing fuel all over the place turn the ignition key on, press the gas pedal ALL the way to the floor for WOT, then crank the engine. This is the clear flood mode and will keep the fuel injectors from pulsing.

Hell yeah, thanks man, I will do that. Never knew the computers in these cars were that smart. I am doing it tomorrow night. Getting it towed to my work tomorrow morn at 10.

Sean