hello all. my mom asked me to look at here car because it would not start. pull the plugs and there's oil (thick *** oil) on the OUTSIDE of the plug. between the plug shaft and the valvecover. Its been below freezing the last few days and im thinking the oil was so thick that the oil pressure reached astronimcal heights. I can clean the oil and replace the plugs but I am very concerned about the life of the oil pump. should i be worried?

just to give you an idea of oil thickness....Valvoline 10w40 (non synth) 3400 miles, took 8 seconds to drip from a drenched plug.

 

I would first do an oil change and go from there. The oil on the spark plugs is mainly in part of bad seals in the valve cover and near the seat of the plug. If you get a valve cover gasket set there will be plug seals, sounds like they need to be replaced.

 

what type of vehicle is your mother driving? 10w40 is a bit thick for winter wouldn't you think?

also i'd like to attempt to change my oil every 2500 miles during the winter even though honda recommends 7500.

 

Was the oil below the nut part, or above it (the ceramic part)? If the oil was on the top part you have a leak. sparkplug tube seals under valve cover, or o-rings under the rockerarms. Let us know.

 

You need not worry, the oil that you found around the spark plugs is the product of a leak at the spark plug well seals (parts of the valve cover series of gaskets and seals).
The thickness (Viscosity) of the oil is NOT representative of whats' in the engine. It got that thick from the heat in that area baking it. Making it thick as it kept getting cooked.

P

 

upon closer inspection the seals are a bit worn (105,xxx miles), calling honda tommarrow. turns out the problem was the ignitor module, car starts and runs fine now. I just got really nervous when i saw alot of oil on the plugs due to the bad seal.

(note to self: open garage door when letting car idle to burn off the oil that dripped in during plug change. )

 

if you reside in a winter cold climate near zero ,,, i would use 5w-20 weight oil ,,any brand is fine as long as you change oil every 3k..than in summer you can use 10w-30

 

Keep checking your sparkplug tubes, you may still have a leak. (orings under rockerarms). If you engine starts running very rough, I know what it is. Oil on the top side of the plugs shorting the wires. Just remember this, just in case.