*Sorry, long post

Spark plugs - Oil on the threads and sparkplug cables popping out
When I got the car, the spark plugs had oil on them. I've replaced them and still they would have oil on them. AND one or more sparkplug wires would "pop up" a bit.

I thought this could be the lower spark plug seals (see here Rocker Assembly to Head O-Rings)

Last weekend I decided to get this fixed.
When I had opened my engine, I realised something was off My engine is DOHC and thus, as far as I've read, doesn't have these lower O-rings.

I had previously bought and replaced the valve cover gasket and the spark plug gaskets/o-rings in the valve cover.

I did put everything together again, cleaning the spark plugs and tightening them well. And so far I've yet to have a sparkplug wire pop out. Well, one of them had gone up a tiny bit. But nothing like before,

Could it be that I've just haven't tightened the spark plugs properly last time?
It's not like it was my first time changing plugs and why does it seem that most of the oil resides on the bottom of the sparkplugs and threads. The sparkplug shaft is not covered in oil.

So where is this oil and pressure coming from?

The car seems generally (see next section underneath) run ok. Starts fine.

Stalling / completely dying
Since the weekend I've had the motor all of the sudden "die".

The first time: it was like it died but then immidieatly ran again.
The tachometer slammed to 0 for a second and then back up again.

Second time (today): Same thing except the motor didn't continue running. I parked at the side of the road and it took two attempts to get it started and then it ran fine afterwards.

Strange thing is I can drive for a few miles (to and from work) without any issues. Seemingly running fine.

But this is strange and I'm wondering what it could be.

Ah, one thing that's changed since last week is that I gently sanded off the crud accumulated in the distributor. But I tried being careful to not sand too much so it wouldn't make contact any more.

In conclusion
What do you reccomend I test to get closer to a solution to these two problems?

 

Oil on your plugs is normaly caused by a leaky valve cover gasket. The DOHC motors only have 4 O-ring seals while the SOHC has 8 (upper and lower).

http://0.tqn.com/d/autorepair/1/0/e/E/71534606.gif

Did you replace these? If so, what model did you order for? Cause it seems like you might not know what motor you have.
The engine code is stamped next to the header, look here: http://asia.vtec.net/topics/engcode1.jpg

The plug wires poping out might be due to the oil or bad fitment if they are not OEM. OEM fit much tighter in my experience, aftermarket seem to constantly loosen up over time.

The stalling is tough to diagnose without more info. I would try to reslove the 1st issue and then see if the 2nd issue goes away as well.

But if you want to start testing things I would start with the distributor, check your grounds, check fuses.

You said you tach dropped to 0 then jumped back up, was this running the whole time? If so it could be the ignitor, when ignitors go bad the tach tends to jump around and do weird stuff. If it is, I would definately look into testing the ignitor.

Find out what motor and which OBD you are running, Then look into out how to check CEL (check engine light) codes. Then next time it stalls on you leave the ignition alone, then try to pull codes if there are any. A CEL code would help to pinpoint the problem.

 

Is oil clear or black? Make sure it's not mixing with antifreeze to appear as chocolate milk.
Grab a $30 compression tester from A-zone, maybe RINGS!!! In which case, you have a nice planter on wheels.

 

Son of a b...

I had written a lengthy reply and was logged out when I tried to post it.

Anyway..

Thank you for your reply grog. I realised later that I completely forgot to specify my model/engine.
1991 Civic ED7, D16A9

I replaced

• The four o-rings
• Valve cover gasket
• Spark plugs

I ordered for my model 1991 ED7, by VIN from a Honda authorized dealer/shop.

The spark plugs are Denso. Bought from another place so they might be just some general ones. I don't know.

The wires haven't popped up again like before. I think I should take a look this weekend and see the status of the plugs, if they have oil etc. Check grounding fuses etc as you suggested.

The car hasn't stalled again. Although it *seems* that it has "hiccups" when I'm driving home, up a hill, in 4th or 5th gear, at 50-55mph. One of the two stalls also happened when going up the hill. Just an observation.

The tach has only jumped to 0 when stalling, otherwise it behaves as normal.

Are there many different types or versions of OBD? The engine is D16A9. Good tip about reading the codes when the check engine light is on I'll remember that next time.

I have the Haynes repair manual and that's been helpful, although no reference to the DOHC engine and as far as I've read, no mention of the lower O-rings for the SOHC engine.

The Haynes repair manual has a nice troubleshooting section and service interval section. The plan is to go through those checks, one by one every time I have some time. I really want the car running as optimal as possible. At least prevent some major damage.
Ignorance is not a good policy

 

Thanks for your reply heli_ebook

The oil is kind of like any oil on any car I've owned. Not very black but not pure oil.

Fortunately there's no milky oil ala this. The oil looks pretty good both on the dipstick and in the cap.

I will post an update in the weekend. I'll check the oil and bunch of other stuff.

Thanks for your time guys, it's appreciated!
(grog: I started my original reply with a thank you to you too. But it's missing from the rewrite )

 

Well I mentioned the OBD because I assumed you had a swap, which you dont . Stock is OBD0.

Look here for more on CEL codes: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/ecu-codes-code-explanation-1558301/
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/how-pull-clear-cel-codes-your-obd0-ecu-3097979/

There's no mention of a DOHC in the manual because in North America there were none, it was only DOHC in the Euro VTI and the JDM SIR.

EDIT: I'm drawing a blank on the D16A9 is that a DOHC?

Deleted; I was wrong it is DOHC

 

just bolding those to state that you are wrong. op has a 88 teg engine. which means he has a swap.

op, you might have bought parts for the wrong engine. right car, but the engine you have is out of a 88 teg. almost looks like a dohc ZC.

you are going to have to make sure you didn't cross tread the spark plugs into your head. im not 100% sure if all the treads are the same (you put civic plugs into a integra engine), and saying that, if the spark plug is even in far enough to make a good spark.

for the stalling, there is a long shot that your o2 might be clogged, but with out a check engine light and code, can't be sure.

 

90_EX_Civic:
I don't think its a swap. Although I think I can e-mail the original owner and ask. I and the car are in/from Europe.

 

ahhh..... the a1 was the teg model.

well, only thing i can give advice would be to check your o2 to make sure it's not clogged.

 

Is there still oil on your sparkplugs post gasket replacement?

 

I checked the sparkplugs and fuses this weekend.

The sparkplugs looked ok. A little shine of fluid/oil on the bottom of one spark plug and on two spark plug wires. Might be just leftovers from before, although I tried to clean the sparkplugs and "the hole/tunnels the sparkplugs go into" (I'm drawing a complete blank on what to call them)

All the fuses were OK, although 2 of them were of the wrong amp rating.

The wires don't pop-up anymore and the engine hasn't stalled. But it gets the hiccups now and then. But then again, I think the clutch is really heavy and the gas pedal has this hard threshold where I start pressing a little bit and then, woah, over hard bit and way more gas.

I would love it if both the clutch and gas pedal were light and smooth. Sometimes the car feels like a horse carriage. Contrasting my VW Golf - *With* power steering - Oh the luxury

I don't think the motor runs perfectly, but I don't think there's anything *really* wrong with it.

The car has been sitting in a garage for 3-4 years.

I guess this thread has served its purpose as I don't currently have those problems anymore.

Many thanks for your insights and replies! Have a nice day!

 

Timing belt could have jumped teeth or defective voltage regulator.

 

Stalling issue resolved!

Well, after I last wrote here, the stalling resumed, bit-by-bit. Until it became alot and the car would stall at least once, driving between two (relatively short distance) places.

I found something online that indicated it could be a clogged fuel filter or maybe the distributor.

I had earlier sanded the contacts in the distributor cap because they had some residue. I hesitated to sand them alot, fearing loss of contact, and the surface of the contacts still a bit rough, but free of "crap".

I bought both. First I replaced the fuel filter. The car felt a bit more responsive, but it stalled after a short distance.

Then I immediately replaced the distributor cap and rotor. And that fixed the stalling. Now the car runs better than ever before (at least since I've had it).

So I just wanted to share that it was the distributor that was the main issue.

I hope that helps someone.