Spark plug holes have oil

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:29 am

Well one has a crap load, two have a tiny bit, and one has none...so would that rule out a cam cover gasket?

I really don’t want to believe it, it's too much of a coincidence that this would happen so soon after I got my car back from 6months of sitting around for a tranny (though for what I know, sitting around is bad for cam gaskets). I've driven about 60 miles since I've gotten it back, in the first 37 miles it sputtered once very briefly. The car pulled very well (maybe better than ever) up until near 4k rpms then it just felt like it fell on its face cuz it would just flatten out. Then after I left it idling for about 20mins I came out and it was sputtering/cutting out like crazy but not with the pedal half way down and/or mid RPMs. I thought it was a fuel issues cuz it's exactly how it felt when I had fuel pump and injector issues.

Another strange thing is, my CEL is gone. I've had it for about a year from when I ran really really rich it burned out my CAT and I've had a CEL since.
Two other questions... is it harmful to drive like this? and my spark plug holes are open cuz the spark plugs I need to run for my MSD DIS-2 don’t cover them completely, how bad is and kind of dirt being in there? The spark plug without oil has a bit of really small debris.

Cheers!

MMamdouh · Post by **MMamdouh** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:19 am

oil in spark plug hole = bad cam cover gasket

driving with holes not covered might catch dirt... it won't be a problem till you need to change your spark plugs as the dirt ill drop into the combustion chamber, use an air blower or so to dust away the debre before a spark plug change

MMamdouh

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:37 pm

MMamdouh wrote:oil in spark plug hole = bad cam cover gasket

driving with holes not covered might catch dirt... it won't be a problem till you need to change your spark plugs as the dirt ill drop into the combustion chamber, use an air blower or so to dust away the debre before a spark plug change

MMamdouh

Damn. Think that's my sputtering issue too then?

Anyone wanna do a how-to on replacing a bad cam cover gasket? How hard is it?

Hmm I really dont think an air blower would get it all out and I already looked for a vacum attachment that'll get down there. I'll figure somthing out

Edit; Is there a chance in hell a cam cover gasket will be at auto stores? I can't find it online, is there another name?

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 3:31 pm

Just go to the local Suzuki dealership.

The part can't cost more than $30, even from the dealer. And they're more than likely to have it in stock.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 3:48 pm

BosnianLanos wrote:Just go to the local Suzuki dealership.

The part can't cost more than $30, even from the dealer. And they're more than likely to have it in stock.

$32 at the dealer, that's 25 mins away

None of the four major auto stores even had it in there database.

Anyone wanna write a how to now?

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:15 pm

wow...this is far easyier than I thought it could be. I got the old one out and noticed that it had a glue or something in with it...do I just put in the new gasket or is there something else to it?

BosnianLanos · Post by **BosnianLanos** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:44 pm

Silicone Gasket Maker/RTV Sealant.

Cheap stuff, comes by the tube at your local store. Put it in the corners of valve cover to prevent leakage/shifting during installation.

Sometimes you can get by without needing it, but more often than not, its a good idea to put a light coat on it.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 8:28 pm

BosnianLanos wrote:Silicone Gasket Maker/RTV Sealant.

Cheap stuff, comes by the tube at your local store. Put it in the corners of valve cover to prevent leakage/shifting during installation.

Sometimes you can get by without needing it, but more often than not, its a good idea to put a light coat on it.

thanks! should I wait any amount of time before starting her up once its all togather?

daewoomofo · Post by **daewoomofo** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:13 pm

id let her sit over night, if its still wet it can loosen up and cause another leak.

kinkyllama · Post by **kinkyllama** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:15 pm

daewoomofo wrote:id let her sit over night, if its still wet it can loosen up and cause another leak.

....shit..seriously? It's 109F out...

I kinda needed the car tonight if I could.

Audacity Racing · Post by **Audacity Racing** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:36 pm

Make sure it's torqued down and it should be fine... the gasket is the primary sealant, not any RTV. Besides, it is the nature of the cam cover gasket on a DOHC to leak.... it's a product of the plugs being in the middle meaning you have to seal islands.

You'll be fine to take it out tonight

Andrew21 · Post by **Andrew21** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:28 am

kinkyllama wrote: Damn. Think that's my sputtering issue too then?

Can you let us know how the car drives after you change the gaskets ? My car has oil in 1 or 2 of the sparkplug holes and i get a slight sputtering issue when i tap the accelerator... I wander if that could be the cause?

Let us know if your sputtering issue is gone after the change...

Goodluck !!

Audacity Racing · Post by **Audacity Racing** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:34 am

Check the plugs themselves. Oil is small enough to seep into the threads of the plug. If you pull it out and it's covered in oil... you've found the source of your mis-fire. When the coil fires through an oil-covered plug it builds heat... eventually the heat will spark off the oil, so it doesn't totally loose power in that cylinder... just every now and again, causing roughness.

Check your plugs... they are a cheap way to see how healthy the engine is... if they look bad, replace them. It'll be a good 5-10 bucks spent...

Andrew21 · Post by **Andrew21** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 12:47 am

Thanks for the info.Will do, i'll check the plugs out tomorrow morning... I noticed there was oil in holes last time i did the service and changed the plugs to put fresh ones in... Its due for another service very soon so i'll change them then aswell...

mezomaster · Post by **mezomaster** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:44 am

but u also have to change the gasket also to avoid having any more oil on the new plugs also, this may cause the new plugs to mis-fire again