Oil on sparkplug threads - valve cover gasket?

4no · Jul 20, 2009, 01:28 PM

Was changing the sparkplugs in the lancer when i noticed oil on one of the sparkplug threads. Would this be of a bad valve cover gasket? or piston rings?

Been having a bit of bad luck with the lancer lately

In the past two months I've replaced a rear wheel hub, front swaybar links, installed camber bolts cause something is bent and camber bolts are cheaper

and got an alignment.

Hopefully it's nothing more than a vc gasket! TIA for the help. The car has about 120,000 KM on it

imalancerman · Jul 20, 2009, 01:46 PM

Well wait, is it down in the sparkplug tube? Or on the lower threads of the plug itself? If its down in the tube, its the tube seals. If its on the lower part of the plug, youve got bigger problems. Word of advice on the tube seals if it ends up being those, its actually cheaper to buy a valve cover kit that comes with the valve cover gasket and tube seals than it is to buy just the tube seals. Weird. Anyways, GL and hope its the seals.

4no · Jul 20, 2009, 02:17 PM

Well, I just took my car out for a quick spin around the block and took out the plug again. There's oil on the upper threads of the sparkplug.

imalancerman · Jul 20, 2009, 02:57 PM

Ok but is there oil leaking down into the tube that the sparkplug is located in? Like where you stick your tool down in to pull the plug out? It sounds like tube seals to me but just to be sure, find a way to wipe out that tube with a paper towel or something and see if you come up with any oil.

4no · Jul 20, 2009, 03:10 PM

there's a couple of drops in the tube, but i'll wipe it clean and see. Thanks for the help

ThunderOZ · Jul 22, 2009, 08:27 AM

I'm having this same issue, except that I can also see some oil residue near the top of the spark plug boot(not sure if the vented hood has anything to do with it or not.)

Where can I find the gasket kit and how much is it?

4no · Jul 22, 2009, 10:39 AM

i called a dealer yesterday, 14 for the valve cover gasket and 11 EACH for the sparkplug tube gasket

imalancerman · Jul 22, 2009, 02:04 PM

Nope. Order online if you can. Or go to an auto parts store. Here, check this out. http://catalog.autopartsgiant.com/Sh...t+Sets&mode=PA and go check out the felpro one down the page. Remember, your looking for a valve cover gasket set, not just the tube seals. I even have extra tube seals im willing to part with. Set of four for ten bucks but I dont have a valve cover gasket.

4no · Jul 22, 2009, 02:13 PM

yep I got both cover gasket and the spark plug ones. Gonna go and install it in a bit and hopefully it'll fix it up

ThunderOZ · Jul 22, 2009, 04:34 PM

Well shouldn't you change the valve cover gasket when you change the tube seals anyway? I guess I'll do it this weekend since it's so cheap.

imalancerman · Jul 22, 2009, 05:11 PM

Ya you should but it isnt totally necessary IMO. The gasket is a rubber seal type and usually can reseal but if you havent changed it for awhile, its definitely worth it to get a new one. I know someone will come in ane try to correct me by saying that the seal will never be the same once its broken, but ive reused VC gaskets with no problems. However that wont stop me from saying that you SHOULD change it.

4no · Jul 22, 2009, 06:14 PM

yea, i changed both just cause i was in there. The gasket wasn't expensive either, I noticed that my old seals and gaskets are A LOT harder than the new ones i put in. It felt more like hard plastic than rubber. Install was very straight forward. Remember not to over tighten the valve cover!

How-to on removing valve cover:
http://features.evolutionm.net/artic...orner&id=19&s=