Oil, spark plugs, and a misfire...

[Treibenschnell]

I was changing the oil and plugs in the '93 Accord today only to find the plugs for cylinders 1 and 4 smothered in oil. The car has 180k miles on it and has already had the valve cover gasket done. Any ideas as to what else may be the problem?

[POS Racing]

I was changing the oil and plugs in the '93 Accord today only to find the plugs for cylinders 1 and 4 smothered in oil. The car has 180k miles on it and has already had the valve cover gasket done. Any ideas as to what else may be the problem?

The valve cover gasket was done incorrectly would be my first guess. When did ya have it done??

Did you take it to "Accord Solutions"???

[MiataMike]

Oily coating caused by poor oil control. Oil is leaking past worn valve guides, piston rings, or on some race engines a possible intake gasket leak and then entering the combustion chamber.
Check for worn valve guides (NEVER knurl valve guides), intake gasket sealing alignment, as well as worn cylinder walls and piston rings. A leak down test is a good place to start for what is causing this.

http://www.centuryperformance.com/spark2.asp

[Treibenschnell]

The valve cover gasket was done incorrectly would be my first guess. When did ya have it done??

It's been at least a couple of years... I hope this doesn't end expensively...

Did you take it to "Accord Solutions"???

How'd you know?

[POS Racing]

It's been at least a couple of years... I hope this doesn't end expensively...

First thing I'd do is change that gasket.

[tailchaser]

It's pretty easy to #$($( up the gasket on those sewing machine motors... Since the whole kaboodle is <$20, I'd definitely replace it again before losing any sleep.

[channelmaniac]

First thing I'd do is change that gasket.

+1 as long as the oil is on top of the plugs... if it's all over the bottom then you have some bad things going on.

[MadMerv]

Huh? I'm confused. What does the valve cover gasket have to do with the plugs? Are you sure it's oil, and not carbon build up? I would do a leak-down and see if those two cylinders are leaking more than the others. If not, rings are ok. Then I'd put a new set of plugs in and drive it for a week and check them again. My guess it's valve guides, but then I know nothing about Hon-duh's......

[channelmaniac]

Huh? I'm confused. What does the valve cover gasket have to do with the plugs?

Depending on the Hon-Duh motor it could have those silly little plugs down inside holes on the valve cover like the Miata does... which means if the valve cover gasket leaks, oil could go down into the hole and screw up the plug wires and short the spark to ground.... Just like on the Miata.

RJ

[tailchaser]

Depending on the Hon-Duh motor it could have those silly little plugs down inside holes on the valve cover like the Miata does... which means if the valve cover gasket leaks, oil could go down into the hole and screw up the plug wires and short the spark to ground.... Just like on the Miata.

RJ

Yeah... Just spoke to 3Bean... The oil is on the business end of the plug, so most definitely not related to the valve cover gasket. Way to throw us a curve, there!

[channelmaniac]

Ouch. You're on that one Bean.

[Mingle]

sorry to hear about it. well theres one good thing. hoda motors are very plentiful and cheap. unless its an accord v6.

[POS Racing]

How old were the plugs?? Does it burn a lot of oil??