Ok for starters, my motor started sputtering in low rpm (0-2500) about 2 weeks ago. i figured it was a plug misfiring due to their age so i decided to change them. when i pulled the plug out of cylinder #1 it was COVERED in oil and so was my socket. the other 3 plugs didnt have a drop of oil on them so i was quite confused...after replacing all 4 plugs, the motor was fine for a couple hours and slowly started to sputter again more and more. i havent pulled the plugs again yet do to time but the car has the EXACT same symptoms as it did b4 i changed the plugs. so i obviously have some sort of oil leak in cylinder #1 but i have no idea where the oil could be coming from. a couple people have said that i have a bad valve cover gasket and another guy said i have bad wires. but since the motor worked great for a few hours on fresh plugs, i pretty much ruled out having bad wires.

if anyone think they might have an idea of whats wrong, i would appreciate it.

ps - my car has 62,xxx miles on it

your valve cover has 4 o-rings. each one is around each sparkplug. sounds like 1 shot shit. get a valve cover gasket (20-30 bucks?) and that should fix your problems.

your plug wires have nothing to do with the oil on one of the plugs. as stated above replace the o-rings and then valvecover gasket.

^^^^like they said, it's simple 20min job. if that doesn't solve your misfire, then change out the wires/etc...

Ok, this afternoon i took out the plug in cylinder #1 and found that there wasnt near as much oil on it as before. the prongs or whatever (the things you would gap on certain plugs) had very little if any oil on them whatsoever but the threads had more than either of the other 3 plugs combined but still not a very noticeable amount until i wiped it with a cloth. and since i originally changed the plugs the first time, the sputtering has gotten substantionally worse. im not sure if that will change the prognosis or not but thanks for all the help so far and i would greatly appreciate any other input on the matter.

If he has oil on the thread side of the plug that would mean blow-by wouldn't it.

Originally posted by LeJeune123
If he has oil on the thread side of the plug that would mean blow-by wouldn't it.

no it means exactly as stated above.

so has the update changed the diagnosis and strategy on how to fix this problem?

If it had oil on the electrodes (the things you gap) then yes, blow by. I'm suspicious if the oil got on the threads as you were taking them out. It had probably collected in the spark plug hole and as you were unscrewing them, adhered to the threads.

You need to change the spark plug gasket(s). The oil is coming from a leaky gasket. I think it's outlined quite well in the Haynes manual, or I'm sure someone has posted on how exactly to do it, but it's pretty self explanitory once you get the valve cover off. I also suspect that with enough oil, it might be affecting the connection that the wire has with the plug and causing that cylinder to misfire, making the car not run right. It's an easy fix. Good luck and let us know if that fixes it.

Brian

You can't tell until you fix the spark plug well gasket, because you are pulling the plug up through a puddle of oil.

First change the valve cover gasket with spark plug well gaskets.

Then see how she drives, and if the problem goes away. If there is then oil on the tip of the plug you'll need to dig deeper. Bad case is a head gasket, worse is blown rings.



Exile Racing Technologies: http://www.exileracing.com
Assasin of Joy

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33625&item=7949065690&rd=1

I was wondering what you guys think of this valve cover gasket set?

Originally posted by bokchoi
cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33625&item=7949065690&rd=1 I was wondering what you guys think of this valve cover gasket set?

Interesting find... I live in Phoenix and have never heard of that place. But I will be going to check it out one of these days. I like some of the things he says. Very interesting.

So to the original poster, just forget all your other questions and do www.2gnt.com/www/corbin/vc.html You can thank Corbin later. Just like the rest of us. :P

I have ordered parts from that guy before. He has good prices, good parts and he ships the stuff fast.

dont they make the gaskets in a metal of some sort too?