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93 Accord SE with oil on spark plugs


twcinnh

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My wife mentioned her 93 Accord SE has been slow starting the past week or so. I went out to change the spark plugs since it's been a couple of years and found 3 of the 4 had a good bit of oil on them.

 

Is this the end? Or, is there a possible solution I can do (I'm an average at home mechanic).

 

Would appreciate suggestions what the cause could be and what repairs to anticipate.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom C

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the end? not by any means... check your spark plug seals/grommets ... theyre cheap, change them and the valve cover gasket.. see if its still leaking from there

 

Any idea how complex this job is? I can do some simple things and would like to save the bucks if possible.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

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Any idea how complex this job is? I can do some simple things and would like to save the bucks if possible.

 

Thanks,

 

Tom

 

 

This job should take you about 20 minutes. You remove the valve cover, remove the old VC gasket, remove the old spark plug gaskets, install all the new gaskets and reinstall VC. Just make sure not to overtighten the nuts on the valve cover when reinstalling as they are usually aluminum and break pretty easily if you overtighten them.

 

Autozone will have a complete Valve Cover Gasket set for around 20 bucks I think. It will also come with lower spark plug gaskets but that usually requires you to remove the complete rocker assembly....and it's usually the upper gaskets that leak anyway.

 

Edit: And to clarify....there was oil in the spark plug holes i.e. back of the spark plug.....not the tip and inside the cylinder...right?

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This job should take you about 20 minutes. You remove the valve cover, remove the old VC gasket, remove the old spark plug gaskets, install all the new gaskets and reinstall VC. Just make sure not to overtighten the nuts on the valve cover when reinstalling as they are usually aluminum and break pretty easily if you overtighten them.

 

Autozone will have a complete Valve Cover Gasket set for around 20 bucks I think. It will also come with lower spark plug gaskets but that usually requires you to remove the complete rocker assembly....and it's usually the upper gaskets that leak anyway.

 

Edit: And to clarify....there was oil in the spark plug holes i.e. back of the spark plug.....not the tip and inside the cylinder...right?

 

I think the answer is yes. The plugs had oil on them when I took the old ones out. The oil was from the hold (sleeve) the plugs are set into.

 

Tom

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I think the answer is yes. The plugs had oil on them when I took the old ones out. The oil was from the hold (sleeve) the plugs are set into.

 

Tom

The it's bad plug seals or tubes. Like Nate said, an entire VC gasket set should be about 20 from Autozone. Buy the Felpro set.

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  • 3 months later...
<br />The it's bad plug seals or tubes. Like Nate said, an entire VC gasket set should be about 20 from Autozone. Buy the Felpro set.<br />
<br /><br /><br />

 

Sorry to be so long responding. Yup, it was bad seals, and yes, it did take about 20 minutes to get the job done. I was concerned as another poster had broken the bolts when replacing the valve cover, but I just made them snug and watched for leaks. It's been a few weeks now and no change in the oil level or signs of leaks.

 

I called several auto parts stores and the price difference in the Felpro set was something like 40%. I got it at Autozone. I followed the instructions for replacing the gasket and that went very well too. The old one was obviously getting stiff and brittle.

 

Thank you all for your responses and advice.

 

Regards,

 

Tom C

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glad to help man! while you had the valve cover off, how did things look in there? I was a bit surprised to see a fair amount of sludging in my mine... I guess years of semi neglect by my family and a clogged pvc system, so i've been working on getting to desludged using a short oil change cycle...

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glad to help man! while you had the valve cover off, how did things look in there? I was a bit surprised to see a fair amount of sludging in my mine... I guess years of semi neglect by my family and a clogged pvc system, so i've been working on getting to desludged using a short oil change cycle...

 

Having never removed a valve cover before my answer isn't authoritative, but I thought it didn't look bad. About the color of the oil just put in. The car has had regular oil changes and it's got about 185,000 miles. My family has put about 143,000 of those miles on.

 

Thanks again,

 

Tom C

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glad to help man! while you had the valve cover off, how did things look in there? I was a bit surprised to see a fair amount of sludging in my mine... I guess years of semi neglect by my family and a clogged pvc system, so i've been working on getting to desludged using a short oil change cycle...

 

Use a motor flush chemical! Follow directions, usually put in a hot engine, run st idle for 5 min drain oil ( I let it drain for 20 min at least to ensure all oil is out and chemical) Then change oil, run more usual 3000 miles and do a second flush, then you are good to go for a long while! I do that in every car I buy! :thumbsup: I also run Seafoam through intake.

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