#6 oil in plug tube (1 Viewer)

[Halfpint]

Rig: '97 lx450

Did the distro,plugs, wires today and found # 6 basically filled with oil...

Rig ran like a champ prior and after all the PM, seems to run even better.

Should I be concerned with #6 and it deluge of life juice??

I'm reading about different seals and such. But is this bad? Need immediate attention? What's the severity here

 

[Rusty Marlin]

It needs a new valve cover gasket kit.
No rush, but don't ignore it either.
The circled items are what is failing, but you change the outer gasket too.

 

[Grandlooser]

You could just leave that spark plug out so that the oil drains back into the engine....oh wat I'm not my father just yet.

 

[Halfpint]

You could just leave that spark plug out so that the oil drains back into the engine....oh wat I'm not my father just yet.

Well when changing plugs it all drained back in...gave it an additional yoink after 14# tq. Hoping that kept it snug.

Will look into the new gasket kit.

Gotta pick up a knuckle service kit too...ugh...not looking fwd to the mess...

 

[BILT4ME]

Well when changing plugs it all drained back in...gave it an additional yoink after 14# tq. Hoping that kept it snug.

Will look into the new gasket kit.

Gotta pick up a knuckle service kit too...ugh...not looking fwd to the mess...

You need to move it up on the list.

That also means you're getting a huge vacuum leak from the tube seals. That will affect everything else about how it runs.

It won't break or destroy anything, just makes a mess and makes it get even worse mileage.

 

[LandLocked93]

Did you get the extra piece that's missing from one of the plug wires out?

 

[FMC80]

Did you get the extra piece that's missing from one of the plug wires out?

Good eye!
Edited: Bad eye for you and me too.

 

[LandLocked93]

Did you get the extra piece that's missing from one of the plug wires out?

Oh wait. I think it's there...flipped up on the shaft? My mistake. Bad eyes. lol

 

[Halfpint]

You need to move it up on the list.

Yup- got a #6 misfire (0306) this morning... I know damn why too... plug must be doing a michael phelps in there...placing order now...

 

[BILT4ME]

Yup- got a #6 misfire (0306) this morning... I know damn why too... plug must be doing a michael phelps in there...placing order now...

How do you know it's in there smoking pot?

 

[Halfpint]

How do you know it's in there smoking pot?

all the plugs like to burn...some just doobie more than others...

 

[Halfpint]

Welp, replaced all the seals and gaskets on TB, valve cover and plug tubes...

Took out each plug and cleaned it.

Car ran good after initial startup then p0306 once warmed after a minute or 2 .....ugh...

I wonder if the oil fouled the plug up or the wire. ..

I pulled the plug again and it looked okay

UPDATE: pulled EFI fuse to get it to relearn...started and got the misfire rumble again...then after 10 seconds...no rumble.. every thing was smooth and no pending codes...

Turned car off..restarted and rumble.

And now a weird smell..al.ost like burning plastic

So confused.

 

[Halfpint]

Found that if I blip the throttle a few...it runs smooth after . The smell...ugh I see bluish smoke coming from tailpipe now. That's the source of smell...never smoked prior...hmm smoke doesn't smell like oil..or gas..

I stuck injector? Head gasket?...why did healing the valve cover leaks make this worse ..

Idle is still rough, lobish...so assuming #6 still isn't working.

Oil and coolant look clean

 

[LandLocked93]

Just throwing it out there...my anecdotal experience has been that a 20min drive - sometimes a couple, over a couple days - helps get the ECU back in the swing of things.
Blipping will smooth out a rough idle due to relearning. But it does nothing for the ECU to get a map.
And getting a rough idle on startup - after shutting the truck off before the ECU is fully re-mapped - is predictable.
As far as the smell... barring any visual confirmation of the contrary, it could be that air/oil/fumes are now going where they haven't in a while with the new seals and whatnot in place. It's 'burning out the gunk', in my mind.

Do a 'mpg run'. 45 mins, flat interstate if possible, on cruise@65mph, one-way. Then back (obviously). You're just looking for a change for the better in overall running condition. But you can track fuel mileage too while you're at it. Sometimes that helps to indicate if all is well or not.

 

[zonker]

Didn’t you say the oil drained back thru the spark plug hole? If so.. a huge reason for the smoke and smell. Oil on top of the cylinder is kind of on the wrong side Of the piston.. that is if my memory serves me correct.

 

[Halfpint]

Didn’t you say the oil drained back thru the spark plug hole? If so.. a huge reason for the smoke and smell. Oil on top of the cylinder is kind of on the wrong side Of the piston.. that is if my memory serves me correct.

You make a great point, sir. I would have assumed it would have smoked prior to the gasket/seal job tho...so it has me confused...

Perhaps taking the cover off exasperated it more...

 

[77mustard40]

Had this happen with a friends 100 when we were doing the timing belt. The oil in the tube will drain into the cylinder when you pull the spark plug. Since we had the battery disconnected while wrenching we let the truck idle for 20 minutes to let the ECU re-learn after finishing the job and starting her back up. She smoked like crazy at first and it gradually improved. Smoke was gone after the initial run and no issues after that.

 

[Halfpint]

Had this happen with a friends 100 when we were doing the timing belt. The oil in the tube will drain into the cylinder when you pull the spark plug. Since we had the battery disconnected while wrenching we let the truck idle for 20 minutes to let the ECU re-learn after finishing the job and starting her back up. She smoked like crazy at first and it gradually improved. Smoke was gone after the initial run and no issues after that.

Ran it idle for a bit and it smoked like a banshee...

Drove down the road and smoke lessened to almost none.

Drove some more and p0306 came on pending. Then P0300...

Parked at house and had a studdered idle- assuming bad #6 again. But no smoke...Turned car off.

Checked coolant and looks good. Pulled dipstick slight crud on it om top of oil mark and clean oil beneath.

Unscrewed oil cap and saw something I do not like:

so now I'm thinking HG.... I fired up the car again and horrible stuttering and again smoke.

How the heck did a valve cover gasket change lead to all this!!

 

[BILT4ME]

Ran it idle for a bit and it smoked like a banshee...

Drove down the road and smoke lessened to almost none.

Drove some more and p0306 came on pending. Then P0300...

Parked at house and had a studdered idle- assuming bad #6 again. But no smoke...Turned car off.

Checked coolant and looks good. Pulled dipstick slight crud on it om top of oil mark and clean oil beneath.

Unscrewed oil cap and saw something I do not like:


View attachment 2833692so now I'm thinking HG.... I fired up the car again and horrible stuttering and again smoke.

How the heck did a valve cover gasket change lead to all this!!

Just to be clear; The milky colored stuff on the bottom of the oil cap means absolutely nothing, other than you have not driven it enough. There is condensation inside the crank case and since that plastic is the first place to cool, the moisture condenses on that and mixes with the oil. This "My HG is blown!" myth is continually proliferated by the interwebs. It is NOT an accurate indicator.

If you're that concerned, go down the compression test / leak down test / exhaust gases in the coolant test rabbit hole.

Check for vacuum leaks. Removing the VC and replacing seals, you had to move around a lot of parts on top. Odds are you have a vacuum line in the wrong place, or one got bumped loose.

Also, it's possible that an injector plug got jostled and is causing the random misfire on a cylinder. When you pull off the VC and the TB, you have to jostle around the wiring harness by the EGR. This is also likely a culprit of what you're experiencing.

Check each of these one by one and report back.

What color smoke and what are you doing on the throttle when it happens?
Blue
White
Black

Accelerating
Decelerating
Cold start-up
Pulling away from a stop sign

 

[Halfpint]

Just to be clear; The milky colored stuff on the bottom of the oil cap means absolutely nothing, other than you have not driven it enough. There is condensation inside the crank case and since that plastic is the first place to cool, the moisture condenses on that and mixes with the oil. This "My HG is blown!" myth is continually proliferated by the interwebs. It is NOT an accurate indicator.

If you're that concerned, go down the compression test / leak down test / exhaust gases in the coolant test rabbit hole.

Check for vacuum leaks. Removing the VC and replacing seals, you had to move around a lot of parts on top. Odds are you have a vacuum line in the wrong place, or one got bumped loose.

Also, it's possible that an injector plug got jostled and is causing the random misfire on a cylinder. When you pull off the VC and the TB, you have to jostle around the wiring harness by the EGR. This is also likely a culprit of what you're experiencing.

Check each of these one by one and report back.

What color smoke and what are you doing on the throttle when it happens?
Blue
White
Black

Accelerating
Decelerating
Cold start-up
Pulling away from a stop sign

All true- just super paranoid since my 94 LC popped the hg. There are no signs of overheating or oil pressure loss...

White smoke on startup, and throttle blips.

It actually went away as I mentioned on my test drive but the rumble idle and craziness makes me uneasy.

I was thinking injection issue prior to valve cover job. And it persisted after VC gasket replacement.

Valve cover was open over night in cooling weather, so I could imagine condensation buildup- I slapped it all together the next morning.

Will check vac lines and such...next I'll compression test.

Thx for talking me off a ledge.