Oil in the spark plug chambers

[debian0001]

Hello,

My old car has oil in the spark plug chambers, like 2 or 3 out of the 4. The car attempts to start but obviously won't.

Would this be an easy fix that I could do? If not.. how much effort is needed?

I am thinking about just junking the car, I recently bought a new one so it's not that important.

For what it's worth, it's a 2002 Dodge Neon. I've had it since 2003 and it's basically my first car so I'm a little attached lol. I wanted to turn it into a project car in the future to learn some stuff but I currently live in the city so I don't have a garage and my parent's place is 50 miles north so I can't drop it off without it being expensive.

 

[TridenT]

Probably need to replace the gaskets on the valve cover. The effort depends on the car. I doubt it's very intensive.

 

[Jimzz]

Get a valve cover gasket that includes the spark plug tube seals, less than $20 at rockauto.com. The tube seals are what your problem is but you need to remove the valve cover to get to them.

Not to bad a repair. Make sure to clean the spark plugs or replace them if they are old.

 

[debian0001]

Thanks guys, I found a youtube video on it... Doesn't look too bad, just need to get tools.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6AFbfLOjpk part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDR5vWIhVMs part 2

 

[Raduque]

It's an easy-peasy job, in and done in about an hour. I had to do it on my old Nissan. Cost about $12 for the gasket kit. Didn't have any problems running, though.

 

[someone16]

You should get a proper diagnosis before throwing parts at it.

 

[silicon]

You should get a proper diagnosis before throwing parts at it.

I'll second that

 

[jaha2000]

You should get a proper diagnosis before throwing parts at it.

ON a 14 year old car and on a 20 dollar part? Could not disagree more. Hes going to pay somebody an hour of shop time to diagnose it, they would then charge him another hour to replace the gasket since "they were already in there". 250 dollar bill vs 20..
And in all likelyhood, if thats not the cause, its more than likely something more serious that will require a shop any way.

 

[someone16]

ON a 14 year old car and on a 20 dollar part? Could not disagree more. Hes going to pay somebody an hour of shop time to diagnose it, they would then charge him another hour to replace the gasket since "they were already in there". 250 dollar bill vs 20..
And in all likelyhood, if thats not the cause, its more than likely something more serious that will require a shop any way.

Replacing those seals most likely won't solve his starting problem. If OP wants to try he can always just clean up the oil in the spark plug tube and see what happens.

 

[master_shake_]

Replacing those seals most likely won't solve his starting problem. If OP wants to try he can always just clean up the oil in the spark plug tube and see what happens.

ya it will...

the spark plug wires are contaminated... that will cause an issue delivering spark to the plugs.

 

[debian0001]

Well, I pulled it apart, here's what I notice. The spark plug chamber on 2 of the 4 cylinders is loose. When I say loose, they pretty much came off on their own. I don't quite get how they are supposed to stay on, the spark plug itself doesn't look like it locks it down. the other two seem to stay in just fine, I tried to pull them but they're strong. I think this is the problem, the chambers are loose, allowing oil to get in.

 

[shabby]

The spark plug chamber on 2 of the 4 cylinders is loose.

Few ways to fix it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Dp4RoEW1N0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2POqsrnIlU