Plug electrodes drenched in oil!!! Wtf happened

S

STARLET N/A

Member +
it started with the car not wanted to start, it would crank fine but not start.

so i check the spark plugs,

Piston 1: plug dripping with oil
Piston 2: bit wet, black smell of fuel
Piston 3: dripping will oil
Piston 4: smell of fuel

the engine never smoked, and the rockercover breather is bone dry. i had cambelt done and drove car home, no smoke, drove fine, temps all good.

parked up for 1 week and tried to start it, but would not start. then i decided to check the plugs and found piston 1 and 3 drenched in oil, unbelivable amount!!:mad:

i put another plug in piston number 1, cranked engine (wont start), and new plug was covered in oil (electrode side)

what could have happened!! if it was rings it would have smoked right? if it was piston it would have again smoked or made some noise. 4EFTE dont just fail on cranking do they???

i am so confused. :confused:
 
A

AdamB

Member +
Chances are it sounds like valve stem seals mate. Do a compression test just to rule out the pistons and rings.
 
G

GP82

Member +
There are seals for the spark plug housing underneath the rocker cover, check and hope that they have perished, good luck!
 
A

AdamB

Member +
GP82 said:
There are seals for the spark plug housing underneath the rocker cover, check and hope that they have perished, good luck!
Click to expand...

The electrode is inside the cylinder, unless the plugs aren't tight the rubber seals in the cam cover won't be the problem.
 
Texx

Texx

Super Moderator
The last couple of cylinder heads I've rebuilt had worn exhaust valve guides. Had to replace all 8 guides on the most recent one.
 
S

STARLET N/A

Member +
i have done the compression test.

piston 1: 180psi (oil inside)
piston 2: 150psi
piston 3: 180psi (oil inside)
piston 4: 150psi

looking at the results dry ones are good. The piston ones with oil inside look good as well.

So can i rule out pistons? maybe rings as well?

thanks for the replies guys
 
A

AdamB

Member +
Looks fine mate, obviously the cylinders with oil in create a seal around the bore and will increase the compression.
It sounds like something in the head that's causing your problem buddy.
 
dark_knight

dark_knight

Member +
@ STARLET N/A: let me get something straight.. the oil-drenched plugs, where was the oil exactly..? on the sparking end or on the HT connector end..?
 
S

STARLET N/A

Member +
^^ yeah, but happy that its not rings or pistons.

the good thing is I bought valve stem seals in the Zisco group buy.

i think im gonna need the head rebuilt with brass valve guides or something??
 
A

AdamB

Member +
If it was me personally i'd for with a set of bronze valve guides (depending on your spec) and the zisco valve stem seals.
 
weeJohn

weeJohn

Lifer
Before you consider that you have leaking valve seals there are a few simple checks you can make to diagnose it. Remove the inlet and exhaust manis and you will be able to see where the valves exit the guides, this is where the oil leaks will be visible. You can remove the king lead and EFI fuse and turn the engine over with the exhaust mani off and then you will see if there is any oil coming out.

If there is then it needs seals, but I would guess its the head gasket or rings/ringlands. The reason cylinders 1 and 3 are higher is because the oil is helping seal the bores and rings, its called a wet test.
 
S

STARLET N/A

Member +
^^ thanks for the advice, will have a look asap.

I spoke to my local mechanic and he said its most likely to be headgasket or rings. either way its not going to be good news.
 
S

STARLET N/A

Member +
well i sent the car to the mechanic and it turned out that it had a bad earth!! Now its starts and runs fine! no smoke or anything.

he said after checking the dipstick the oil level is on the full mark so extra oil might have got through to the spark plugs somehow.

so its a happy ending to this saga.
 
S

STARLET N/A

Member +
^^to be honest i have no idea. mechanic said it could have been because the oil level was on full and a little bit got through somehow and stopped the plugs sparking.

i did cranked it over a lot, so that coupled with a lot of fuel going in it just wouldnt start because of the bad earth apparntly stopping plugs sparking.

but im so releived ,its running all good again.
 
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