oiled spark plugs (97 accord)

[civic600]

so my mothers car wouldnt start this morning so i pulled the plugs and they were completely drenched in oil. Any ideas on what the problem could be would be helpful. thanks guys

[theavenger333]

probably has a ton of miles on the car, it's a F22 or 23, they have some blowby issues as they get older. ,clean them off/replace them, change the oil, both super cheap things to do. then if the issue happens again then i'd probably have some more concern

[Bobby "Big Daddy" Flay]

Get a new valve cover gasket set. Make sure it has the valve cover gasket as well as the 4 spark plug hole gaskets. Those wear out over time and let oil seep onto the plugs. Probably wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the plugs while your in there.

[civic600]

she recently had the valve cover gasket done on the car. not too sure if they replaced the plug gaskets though. the car has 170k on it. im gonna drain the oil and pull the valve cover off and see what i can find. thanks for the input fellas

[Bobby "Big Daddy" Flay]

let us know what you find

[WI_Dave]

The oil may have been sitting on the plug not actually in the motor. (until you unscrewed them) As stated above the motors with recessed plugs need the o-rings replaced with valve cover gasket or they will leak and if it pools up can arch out the plug wires.

[jbiscuit]

those o rings need to be replaced if the valve cover gasket was recently done for sure....otherwise they will leak.

But what side of the plugs were oiled?

[WI_Dave]

those o rings need to be replaced if the valve cover gasket was recently done for sure....otherwise they will leak.

But what side of the plugs were oiled?


^^ Agree if it was only the threaded side it would be diff than both sides. (top and bottom) If its both its from pulling plug up thru pooled oil (or it draining into cyl as you loosen plug)

[civic600]

for the most part it was on both sides but mainly the non threaded side. makes sense that it would leak from the top down onto the threaded side when i pulled them out. The end of the wires had oil on them also.

[WI_Dave]

O-rings and new plugs should solve your problem then.


I bought an SHO with the same problem. It will blow smoke the first time you start it now that it all drained into cylinders.

[civic600]

do they sell just the o-rings or do you have to buy the whole gasket set?

[Bobby "Big Daddy" Flay]

Some places will list them separately but most sell it a a kit.

It's actually cheaper to buy the entire set.

[jbiscuit]

pretty sure you can only get them in the full kit

[86GUTLASS]

That engine has the valve cover spark plug tube grommets and rocker arm/cage grommets.I have seen the rocker arm/cage ones leak and make it look like the valve cover tube seals are leaking.Those are alot harder to replace than just a valve cover gasket.

[86GUTLASS]

just to give an idea.The Orange dots are O-rings

http://http://brewcitymuscle.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=7355&stc=1&d=1298036683