for awhile now ive had a small leak in the head gasket (thats what i think) thats been dirting my plugs a lil faster than normal (some plugs getting so bad that they bridge the gap) but the guy at napa said dont worry about it till it just gets too bad. well ive found a new problem, i have oil around the threads and right above the threads of my spark plugs. no oil on the tip though. at first i thought oil was dripping down from the valve cover but that is not the case.. what is happening guys?
i change the plugs around 2 weeks ago #1 plug is perfect this is the #2 plug #3 plug is good except the oil the rest of the plugs are like #3 what is up with the oil?
Your #3 plug doesn't look like its firing in oil. It looks like it is firing clean, the oil looks like it is from pulling the plug. The oil isn't on the center electrode. The ceramic looks like it is a bit on the hot side but the #2 looks normal. The deposits are from gasoline additives - its called "modifier deposits". The oil on the threads and ground electrode on #3 looks like there was oil in the plug well and when you unscrewed the plug the oil coated the threads and ground electrode.
thanks for the help.. the plugs i changed before these were the first ones i found oil on and they were all loose. could that be the reason oil got out?
It doesnt look like the oil is coming from inside the motor.It looks like its from an external oil leak(VC gasket?)If the plugs are/were loose oil could find its way into the cylenders when the car is not running.My question to you is:does that engine use tapered seat plugs like the ones in the pictures or are you supposed to be useing plugs with a gasket(metal washer) on them??? this could explain your loose plugs.
well the valve cover gasket is not leaking so thats not the problem.. ive always put autolites, like the ones in the picture, in the engine. the last ones that came loose were champions.. maybe different manufacturer didnt fit right? i didnt know there were other types of plugs with a washer on em.. a little while ago i went and wiped out the plug hole of the #2 plug and will check it after i drive it to school and back on monday, to see if there is more oil on it..
If its blowing oil out the bores the plugs should be oil fouled and the car should be a smoker when its running indicating oil consumption.You mentioned a head gasket leak in your initial post? where is the leak??If its in a spot that would allow oil to travel along the engine to the plug locations(externally) you should be able to trace the path.If the head gasket is leaking internally you would have oil consumption or oil in the coolant or coolant in the oil or coolant out the tail pipe along with an engine temp problem(runs hot).Valve seals come to mind as well but,the plugs in the pics dont appear to be oil fouled which would exclude the engine burning oil theory.Good luck man looks like you have an adventure on your hands.
ya i just mentioned a headgasket cause it seemed like i remembered reading something about it but idk.. sounds like it will be a fun ride..
The oil isn't coming from the inside of your combustion chambers. If it was, the plugs would have a glossy coat of oil and carbon fouling all over the center electrode and ceramic core. Since the plugs are clean the oil has to be on the outside of the plugs and then coating the threads when you remove them. The oil is probably (from my experience) coming from the bottom side of the valve covers and running into the plug wells.
ok this is just getting weird.. i wiped out one of the plug holes and put the plug back in and after driving it awhile i checked the plug and there was no extra oil on it.. just a lil bit from what i didnt get all out.. i am confused with this one..
Maybe it is wicking across the surface of the head from a leak you can't find because it is so small... leftovers from an old leak or spill? an intermittent leak from certain conditions that aren't always present (temp/pressure?) I had my 200 rebuilt because of blowby, if the head or rings were leaking, it would be just like described above, lots of blue-white smoke, black electrodes, etc., mine put up quite a cloud on the 805 when the sludge finally gave way and a bunch of oil pumped into the combustion chambers, and the burning oil filled the block and shot out the breather, and back into the carb. You'd be sending smoke signals to the Seminoles if that was the case, so I'd search a little harder for a leak...
That is why we are saying it has to be from an external leak and not from the combustion chamber. If you had enough oil in the combustion chamber to cause oil to wet the plugs it would smoke like an old coal powered train.
