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Topic: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3 (Read 674 times) |
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Bruiser
Newbie
Posts: 27
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Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« on: May 10th, 2008, 12:40pm » |
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Hi guys, noticed the car was running a bit rough so looked at the spark plugs. No.1 cylinder (closest to rad) was covered in oil, literally dripping. 2,3 and 4 were fine.
Looking down the cylinder with a torch noticed oil on the piston, I assume this can only be piston rings right?
Could this be anything simple? or has anyone else experienced this with the 2.3 engine?
Anyway I cleaned the plugs and checked the gaps and seems to run better but am worried about piston rings/lack of compression etc.
It's a 98 with 80,000 miles regularly serviced.
Any advice would be much appreciated, cheers.
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Jonnycab
Senior Member
Former owner of 2.3 Ultima Facelift saloon
Posts: 3900
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Re: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« Reply #1 on: May 10th, 2008, 12:49pm » |
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Could be rocker cover gasket leaking 
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scorpio_man
Administrator
Ford Kuga awd
Posts: 5654
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Re: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« Reply #2 on: May 10th, 2008, 1:30pm » |
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on May 10th, 2008, 12:49pm, jonnycab wrote:| Could be rocker cover gasket leaking |
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the spark plugs have their own gasket as well. first thing i'd do.
hth
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ChrisF
Full Member
All the Granny's now the best 98 2.3 16v Ultima
Posts: 136
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Re: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« Reply #3 on: May 12th, 2008, 5:07pm » |
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You didn't say whether the oil was on the plug body or the electrode, if it was the former then it is probably the rocker gasket as Jonny said and the oil on the top of the piston is probably from the bottom of the plug tube, falling through the hole when you took the plug out.
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ottopmh
Junior Member
I'm a YaBB newbie!
Posts: 53
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Re: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« Reply #4 on: May 14th, 2008, 11:52am » |
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I have the same problem with cylinders 1 and 2, some oil on the plug bodies. It's due to leaking rocker gasket. I haven't changed it as it is not leaking that much yet.
But I have another problem with the spark plugs - they are getting loose. Has anyone else had this problem? Ford says 18Nm, I have consulted local garage and I'm currently using 25Nm. Plugs are still getting loose after few months and especially during summer time / warm weathers when A/C is in heavy use. Oil can not be blaimed as I've had this prob longer than leaking rocker gasket.
Symptom is rather interesting noise when the engine is under (heavy) load.
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Bruiser
Newbie
Posts: 27
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Re: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« Reply #5 on: May 14th, 2008, 7:29pm » |
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Phew!
Thought the engine was possibly broken... thanks!
Funny you mention where the oil is on the spark plugs, I didnt think that the oil dripped into the cylinder (which it obviously has) automatically thought rings were shot.
Only the plug body really had oil not the electrode.
Funny ottopmh mentions the plugs being loose as plug 2 was strangely loose. used to do them hand tight with not much pressure however this time used the ratchet with a bit of torque (no torque wrench that goes down that low). Hope they stay tight, keep an eye on them.
Thanks for the replies guys.
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TiberiuS
Senior Member
Ex. 1996 2.3 Ultima - RIP P789 KHJ
Posts: 2257
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Re: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« Reply #6 on: May 14th, 2008, 9:54pm » |
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on May 14th, 2008, 7:29pm, Bruiser wrote:| Funny ottopmh mentions the plugs being loose as plug 2 was strangely loose |
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Yes, same here. When I changed mine, two were quite loose and had baked the connectors on the ends of the HT leads.
My rocker cover gasket used to seep a bit at the rear, it never got any worse or caused any problems, I think it's quite common.
Regards, Bruce.
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Bruce - '07 Jaguar XKR coupe, '95 Jaguar XJ Sport 4.0, '82 Ford Capri 2.0 Ghia, '15 Honda Civic (sloooooww..)
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Jonnycab
Senior Member
Former owner of 2.3 Ultima Facelift saloon
Posts: 3900
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Re: Spark plug covered in oil - 2.3
« Reply #7 on: May 15th, 2008, 3:27am » |
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Regarding loose spark plugs...
A little while back, a fellow cabbie with a 2.3 Scorp estate had a strange rattling noise coming from the top of his engine that would get worse when revving.
A few of us mechanically minded cabbies  had a listen & came to the conclusion that it was either a broken valve spring or one of the self adjusters was busted 
He drove it like this for a couple of thousand miles, but it never got any worse.
Eventually he took it to a garage & they found the problem straight away....yep  ....a loose spark plug
I didn't think a loose plug would be capable of causing that kind of noise.....it really was one hell of a clatter
As for how much to tighten the plugs up. I do 'em up real tight, & I've never had a problem getting them out again when they need replacing
A good tip for when changing the plugs is to get down the hole with a long screw driver & scrape off any debris etc from around the plug seat in the head. This will ensure a good, gas tight fit when putting the plugs in
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