Oil on Spark Plug threads and Tips..., Have pics of problem... Options

[Princess_Sparco]

When i first bought the car 2 years ago and changed the plugs. I noticed that there was some oil on the tip of 2 of the spark plugs. It didn't bother me too much then. A year later i changed the plugs again and there was oil on 2 of the plugs. On the thread and on the ground tips. Just recently I changed the spark plugs again, but this time, the same two plugs were dripping oil. the threads and the ground tip was covered in oil.

can anyone point me into a possible direction as to why this is happening? I originally thought it was the valve cover gasket (spark plug gromets) but wouldn't it leak oil on top of the spark plugs if that was the case? There's oil on the tip of the plugs which suggests to me that oil is leaking into the combustion chambers. I did a compression test awhile ago and the numbers aren't totally off. unfortunitely i dont' have those numbers anymore (lost them). if it helps you find my problem i can do another compression test.

[Kwanza26]

Piston rings or valve seals...

[Princess_Sparco]

Piston rings or valve seals...

wouldn't a bad valve seal and/or piston ring show up on a compression test though? When i ran the test it was pretty much the same through all four cylinder.

[LewFX]

welcome to the site, another so cal member woot

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

Mine were like this last time I changed my plugs. I'd like to know what this is if it's a problem. My motor runs great. I haven't done a compression test. I thought it was normal for there to be some oil on the plugs. My motor burns no oil. Wouldn't it burn oil if it was leaking?

[trd94]

i would have to say it is your valve seal grommets, i had a problem like that,the reason your plugs have oil on the bottom of them is while you are screwing them out the oil that set on top of them leaks past when you pull them out . does your spark plug socket have oil in side it after you pull the two plugs? if it does then i would say that is your problem..........

[CelicaGirl714]

<------ Princess Sparco

i would have to say it is your valve seal grommets, i had a problem like that,the reason your plugs have oil on the bottom of them is while you are screwing them out the oil that set on top of them leaks past when you pull them out . does your spark plug socket have oil in side it after you pull the two plugs? if it does then i would say that is your problem..........

theres's is actually no oil on the top part of the plugs. the spark plug boots are totally dry. so i doubt that the oil is leaking in when i'm unscrewing them.

the really odd part is that the motor seems to run fine but when i pull the plugs it actually feels slightly wet on the gound part of the plug.

oh, and it's really hard to start in the morning. it'll crank and start but then the idle drops low and dies. it'll continue to do that until the car warms up a little. so i end up sitting in the car every morning w/ slight pressure on the gas pedal to keep the idle from dropping too low.

HELP A GIRL OUT!

ps, you still might be right though becuase i was kindda thinking the same. If the oil came from the inside it would be some sort of leak that would show up in the compression test. i think i'm gonna pull the cover later this week to take a look at it, and while i'm at it, i might paint the valve cover.

This post has been edited by CelicaGirl714: Feb 6, 2006 - 1:31 AM

[bufferdan]

This is just your valve cover gasket oil ring seals...just try tightning the 4 big nuts on top of the valve cover (if you have a GT)... If that doesnt work then you will have to replace those o-ring seals... This is no big deal and is very common.

Oil will leak down past the threads and onto the plug tips...the oil wont leak down and back UP and under the spark plug wire boot.

This post has been edited by bufferdan: Feb 6, 2006 - 9:16 AM

[Bigmeanbulldog55]

I just replaced my o-ring seals with my valve cover gasket. That's why I'm leaning away from that being a problem. I guess there's not much more of an option. I might not have tightend the valve cover down enough. I made sure not to torque them too much.

[bufferdan]

On my mr2 my valve cover gasket has been changed twice and i still get alittle oil down in the spark plugs...My G/f's GT celica leaks down into the spark plugs also... With a tilted engine sometimes its hard for it not to leak. Its no big deal.

This post has been edited by bufferdan: Feb 6, 2006 - 10:40 AM

[trd94]

<------ Princess Sparco

i would have to say it is your valve seal grommets, i had a problem like that,the reason your plugs have oil on the bottom of them is while you are screwing them out the oil that set on top of them leaks past when you pull them out . does your spark plug socket have oil in side it after you pull the two plugs? if it does then i would say that is your problem..........

theres's is actually no oil on the top part of the plugs. the spark plug boots are totally dry. so i doubt that the oil is leaking in when i'm unscrewing them.

the really odd part is that the motor seems to run fine but when i pull the plugs it actually feels slightly wet on the gound part of the plug.

oh, and it's really hard to start in the morning. it'll crank and start but then the idle drops low and dies. it'll continue to do that until the car warms up a little. so i end up sitting in the car every morning w/ slight pressure on the gas pedal to keep the idle from dropping too low.

HELP A GIRL OUT!

ps, you still might be right though becuase i was kindda thinking the same. If the oil came from the inside it would be some sort of leak that would show up in the compression test. i think i'm gonna pull the cover later this week to take a look at it, and while i'm at it, i might paint the valve cover.

the rough idle when it is cold ,could be your cold start injector system or your tps (throttle postion sensor) that would be where i would start

[Kwanza26]

wouldn't a bad valve seal and/or piston ring show up on a compression test though? When i ran the test it was pretty much the same through all four cylinder.

Not always. There are other tests you can run to see what is going on... but a compression test is not used to figure out mechanical problems unless of course it's something major. Something smaller, like oil on the plugs usually doesn't affect compression test results...

I still say it's blowby caused by bad rings or some slight leaking from the valves. It's easy to figure if it's from a gasket leak on top too... Does your car burn oil?

[purplegt4]

what the book says:


haynes repair manual

[lagos]

that looks like a simple valve cover gasket that needs to be replaced. a very easy job to do yourself and nothing major to worry about. if the problem was more serious, like a bad valve seal and/or piston ring, then you would see the motor burning lots of blue smoke out of the tail pipe. its pretty clear that from your pics, the oil is on TOP of the sparkplugs, meaning that it leaked down from where the valve cover meets the head of the motor because the gasket isint holding a seal.

oh, and it's really hard to start in the morning. it'll crank and start but then the idle drops low and dies. it'll continue to do that until the car warms up a little. so i end up sitting in the car every morning w/ slight pressure on the gas pedal to keep the idle from dropping too low.

this is an unrelated problem. if i had to guess, i would say that you cold start temp switch needs to be replaced. its a little sensor on the motor that tells you ecu how the motor should idle on a cold start, and if the cold start injector has to fire. you can get a new sensor from toyota for about 40bucks and swap it out yourself. this is all assuming that the problem goes away once the car is warmed up. if it also does it when its warm, it would sound like a Vac leak.

This post has been edited by lagos: Feb 6, 2006 - 11:54 PM

[creamed_corn]

Good old vavle cover gaskets. Mine is starting to leak oil and it'll pool out onto the exhaust manifold--smells great when I'm driving. I should probably get that replaced soon.

[Insanity-74]

I`d agree with the good old rocker cover gasket problem (valve cover), Celicas are prone to these leaking tighten the rocker cover down, if that dosnt cure it, remove the rocker cover and buy some gasket sealant...the red stuff, not the blue Gell stuff, and apply this around the spark pulg hole seals. Looking at your plugs, one and two look OK, but three and four look cracked, this will cause the spark to arc out against the engine and could well be a cause of the rough idle.....obviously they will need replacing if they are cracked.

[Princess_Sparco]

I think the oil leak was the gasket. whoever had the car before me litterally hand tightened the four nuts that hold down the valve cover. since I already had the cover off, I charged the gasket anyways. I'll wait a week and see what happens.

Does anyone know the torque spec on the four nuts that hold down the cover?

[lagos]

I think the oil leak was the gasket. whoever had the car before me litterally hand tightened the four nuts that hold down the valve cover. since I already had the cover off, I charged the gasket anyways. I'll wait a week and see what happens.

Does anyone know the torque spec on the four nuts that hold down the cover?

i dont know the exact spec, but just dont over due it. give it a light turn and thats it.

if i what the exact spec, look over the BGB section on www.celicatech.com . youll find it in there somwhere.

[Originalfuture]

I have exprerienced this problem with oil around the threads and above, not really sure if it gets past to the actual bottom of plug. I took it to the dealer they said it was my grommet and whiles I am at it it wouldn't hurt to change the pcv valve. If the valve is stuck then it will cause pressure and the oil would go down into and around the plugs. Well I can't say cause I didn't check before I started the overhaul on my engine after I did the replaceingb; but I will be looking to see if that was corrected since I am changing all seals and gaskets, grommets, ect. Again!!! I love my celica!

[Bitter]

its the valve cover gasket/spark plug tube seal. you see more oil on the 2 of them because you have a little puddle of oil down there and it gets all over the plug when you pull it, not because you have that much oil in the chamber. trust me, if there was THAT much oil in the combustion chamber you'd leave a trail of smoke like that doobie from history of the world part one.

also, the "oily stains" around the ceramic of the plug are just corona stains and are COMPLETELY NORMAL AND HARMLESS. the electric field around the plug attracts oil/dirt and the heat stains it into the ceramic like tar stains in teeth.

additionally it looks like you lost part of your spark plug wire on the right most sparkplug.

This post has been edited by Bitter: Nov 2, 2006 - 1:37 AM