spark plug trouble?? - BMW Forum

saltshaker185 · 05-22-2006, 09:40 PM

Ok so last night i was cleaning my ICV because my idle was jumping... yadayadayada... engine was apart and i decided to get new vaccum hoses cause mine were a little dry rotting (whats that one site where you can find part numbers? i forgot it...) and so i had some more free time and so i decided it was about time to change the spark plugs while i was at it... when i took out the first plug, there was oil on it... nothing damaged by the oil just covered in it... same with the second... didnt bother taking out the others cause i knew i already had a problem... so yeah whats up with my engine?? shouldnt there just be a light bit of carbon build up if anything on the plug?? oil i know is a bad sign... dont remember what it means thuogh, i think ethier piston rings or valve gasket has gone bad?? help me please! hopefully this is an easy fix! (btw only time i have any blue smoke is when i rev it...)

Furious · 05-23-2006, 02:43 AM

oil on the head of the plug? or when you took the coils off? if the second than you might have to change your valve cover gasket. if its on the actual head of the plug than im not really sure, can you get the car somewhere to get a leakdown or a compression test?

WarNox · 05-23-2006, 04:41 AM

im pretty sure it will be your valve cover gasket (rocker cover) because mine is starting to leak nd there is little oil around a few of the spark plugs. but i also know that my 4th cylinder has lower compression but at the time of doin the spark plugs i did not specifically check if that one leaked the most.

Dudesky_E36 · 05-23-2006, 08:11 AM

Oil in the spark plug well is pretty common, just means you need new valve cover gaskets. Doesn't affect performance; the plug still fires normally. There are 2 inner gaskets that seal the mating surfaces where the spark plug holes are, then there's the gasket that seals the actual perimeter of the valve cover. Now if you have oil inside your cylinders, that's a different problem altogether!

The site you're referring to is realoem.com

saltshaker185 · 05-23-2006, 02:41 PM

im pretty sure mine is alot like warnox's situation... its around the head of the plug furious, where the spark accually happens... and yeah so you all think i need a new valve cover gaskets? how much work is that? and how hard? is it something that needs to be done asap?? thanks oh and thanks dudesky for the site... i thought it was something like that...

Furious · 05-23-2006, 06:24 PM

ive done it , its pretty easy to do.

Dudesky_E36 · 05-23-2006, 06:43 PM

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...alve-Cover.htm

saltshaker185 · 05-23-2006, 08:59 PM

awesome dudesky thanks for the link! and yeah in that tutorial though the guy has his intake manifold off... i can leave mine on when i do this cant i?? also, whats the cheapest place to get one of the gaskets, but that are still good quality?

WarNox · 05-24-2006, 02:32 AM

get a proper one at bmw, it'll be oem and they're not very expensive! i'll do mine sometime soon.

Dudesky_E36 · 05-24-2006, 06:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saltshaker185

awesome dudesky thanks for the link! and yeah in that tutorial though the guy has his intake manifold off... i can leave mine on when i do this cant i?? also, whats the cheapest place to get one of the gaskets, but that are still good quality?

No, don't take the manifold off. He just has it off because the pics were taken while other work was also being done. I bought my gaskets from AutoHausAz.com for about $21 total. Or get it from the dealer; as WarNox said they're not that expensive.

Dirty Martini · 05-24-2006, 10:33 AM

Maybe I missed something here, but I thought he said the oil is "around the head of the plug, where the spark actually happens". He also noted blue smoke when revving.... Doesn't sound anything like a valve cover gasket to me, sounds like piston rings. Do you need to add oil. If so, how much/how often?

325isBaby · 05-24-2006, 11:51 AM

I would bet it's valve cover gaskets too...remember that oil will travel to the lowest area (like S*it runs downhill and all) If it were the piston rings, there would be more concerns than just oil on the plug.

Blue smoke when reving will happen because there is oil on the plug and due to the valve cover gaskets being crap oil is running down coil hole and down the spark plug.

Start with the cheap and easy before we freak out ok.

General Motto= K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid!)

Dudesky_E36 · 05-24-2006, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty Martini

Maybe I missed something here, but I thought he said the oil is "around the head of the plug, where the spark actually happens". He also noted blue smoke when revving.... Doesn't sound anything like a valve cover gasket to me, sounds like piston rings. Do you need to add oil. If so, how much/how often?

He's actually asking about both. As to the oil on the spark plug head and blue smoke, yea, it generally means oil is leaking in through worn piston rings, valve guides, or cylinder bore. Could be time for a rebuild

saltshaker185 · 05-24-2006, 02:42 PM

no i dont get blue smoke all the time... its just when i rev it up past 6000 rpm... im pretty sure its just the valve gasket... and its not like smoke, its a normal puff of... exhaust im pretty sure...

Dirty Martini · 05-24-2006, 08:18 PM

The question remains: Oil consumption Yes or No? If you've got oil running down your coil hole and making it into your combustion cylinder, I don't see how you have any compression whatsoever. If you've got oil on the "hot" end of your plug, it's coming past the rings or valve guide seals. If you've got oil on the "cold" end of the plug it's the valve cover. I have never seen oil, shit or anything else run down a coil hole, get past 10 rings of threads and the pressure of combustion and get to the hot end of a spark plug. As I said earlier, maybe I'm missing something here...