hi,

i changed out my spark plugs today. not sure how old the other ones were, as i just got the car recently. it's a 1990 Accord DX with about 190K miles on it.

3 of the 4 plugs had lots of oil on the tips. there was also oil on/around the hex part that the plug wrench attaches to, and on the spark plug tubes.

i changed the oil about a month ago and was careful not to overfill.

the car had been sitting for a month or so, as i have been driving my other car lately. not sure if that has anything to do with it, but thought i would mention it.

i've read that i need to replace the spark plug tube o-rings, but wanted to get some additional advice.

thanks!

 

well you are gonna need to buy a new car now! its too fucked up to fix.


haha j/k just go buy a valve cover gasket kit from the auto parts store for like $20, buy a tube of permatix high temp RTV sealant, get a 10mm socket and change it out.

 

I had the same problem recently... it's the valve cover gasket. They're cheap and easy to replace. The only hardish part is that you should do a valve adjustment since you're going to be taking the rocker arm assembly off.

There's a very nice DIY writeup somewhere... I'll try to find it and link it for you.

 

Oh yeah, I should mention this... the valve cover gasket kit includes the spark plug tube o-rings along with the valve cover gasket itself. The spark plug tubes seals are what actually need replacing but you'll want to replace all the gaskets in the set.

I think I paid around $15 for a Fel-Pro set from Kragen for a 91 Accord.

Everything you'll need to get:

- Valve cover gasket set

- 10mm socket + spark plug remover

- Silicone RTV

- Feeler guages (0.010" and 0.012" -- for valve adjustment )

- Torque wrench (ideal but not necessary, just be careful because some of the bolts have very low torque ratings)

 

thanks guys.

heep - if you can find that link to the DIY that would be awesome!

 

Warning: If it's not the valve cover gaskets that go on the sparkplug tubes it may be the o-rings under the rockerarm assembly. Maybe you can tell by looking down the tubes with a flashlight. If the oil is comming from the upper seam it's the valve cover rings, if it's the bottom seam it's the orings. The o-rings are a much more time consuming job. Let us know.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Chris in NH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hi,


3 of the 4 plugs had lots of oil on the tips. there was also oil on/around the hex part that the plug wrench attaches to, and on the spark plug tubes.!</TD></TR></TABLE>

When u say they had lots of oil on the tips , do u mean whre the electrode is?? if so replacing cover gasket and plug seals will not solve that problem,,,,, u got leaking valve seals or worn rings ,,,,

 

yes, on the electrode end. and on the coil end too, but not as much.

what's the fix for valve seals/worn rings, etc? any DIYs out there? i love working on my cars.

just for kicks, if i didn't do anything, what would happen? i'm guessing the oil would foul the plugs to the point that they would misfire and/or cease to create spark.

the plug from cylinder 1 had no oil on it at all. weird.

 

I think you have an o-ring problem, the oil on the electrodes came from the hex side when you removed them. change the valve cover o-gaskets first. If the oil is still getting in the tubes it's the o-rings under rockerarms. That's the only two ways the oil can get to the hex part of the plugs. If you look down the tubes you can see the two seams.