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This looks bad

C

Con2er

CEG'er
Joined
Feb 27, 2004
Messages
257
Location
Surprise AZ
l_63fd6b5b393c43ce8dac379ae2a3dab3.jpg


Is it bad? There was alot of oil on the plug when I pulled it out. #4 cylinder of the ztec.
 
Yeah, that's bad. Probably fried or almost fried rings. Run a compression test to determine that. All pistons should read the same and usually above 120 psi. No idea what the specs are for the vtec.
 
I looked down into the cylinder. It's very clean. All the others have tons of carbon I think this car may have been running on 3 cylinders for awhile. I hardly drive it but when I do it seems gutless, but I attributed it to being used to the SVT. Going to check for spark.
 
I reinstalled the spark plugs and it definatly is getting spark. I left the spark plug wire off started the car on 3 cylinders and then put the wire on and it ran noticably smoother. :( So basically this car has less then 140k on it and the engine is going. My choice now it to trade it in before it becomes totally worthless or just run it till it croaks. I was going to put new plugs in it but these still look great after 60k miles Platinum ftw. No sense putting new ones in anyway. Fuel filter has 60k too should I change it maybe?
 
eh... some people change it after 50k. some more. some less. they arent very expensive so i would say yes.. you should. speaking of which.... i should change mine. i have the factory one with 126k on it:shocked:
 
well run it a while on the (hopefully!) new spark plug and see what happens, don't make any decisions yet. look at the NEW spark plug in a few hundred miles

mike
 
Is the oil on the plug tip or on the threads? Is it on top of the threads?


I'd only on the threads, more so on the top or is from the valve cover gasket.
 
BrApple said:
Is the oil on the plug tip or on the threads? Is it on top of the threads?


I'd only on the threads, more so on the top or is from the valve cover gasket.
Click to expand...


My guess is also the valve cover gasket. Im not sure how the zetec valve cover looks on the inside but the v6s have o-ring gaskets in every hole where the spark plugs go to prevent oil from leaking out. These often become worn. If the valve cover on the zetec has these same gaskets which I am pretty sure it does then I beleive its that.
 
zetec valve covers do not have the seals around the plug holes like the duratec does. however it can leak near the plugs and it then collects on top of the plug.
 
It ended up only being the #1 plug ( I had them backwards). I cleaned it up and reinstalled it. The oil was on the threads and was being blown past the plug I was guessing. I didn't look in before I took it out. The spark plug wire Boot had oil on it. It seemed mainly on the inside though. I will pull the plugs again to check.
 
I checked the plug again there was oil but it seems to be coming from a valve cover gasket leak. I looked down the hole and noticed a small trail of oil running down the inside. Thanks for the help. I might not have noticed that leak there if no one mentioned it.
 
99RedCSVT said:
Yeah, that's bad. Probably fried or almost fried rings. Run a compression test to determine that. All pistons should read the same and usually above 120 psi. No idea what the specs are for the vtec.
Click to expand...

(edited by Tony2005)

Valve cover gasket, I will put money on it too.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Con2er said:
I reinstalled the spark plugs and it definatly is getting spark. I left the spark plug wire off started the car on 3 cylinders and then put the wire on and it ran noticably smoother. :( So basically this car has less then 140k on it and the engine is going. My choice now it to trade it in before it becomes totally worthless or just run it till it croaks. I was going to put new plugs in it but these still look great after 60k miles Platinum ftw. No sense putting new ones in anyway. Fuel filter has 60k too should I change it maybe?
Click to expand...


Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but leaving one plug disconnected also disconnects another spark plug. Unlike distributor type systems, where one spark plug fires at a time, the distributorless systems have 2 sparkplugs which are part of the same spark circuit.

(Not to mention, this can be hard on the ignition system?)

My 2.0 also fills in oil around #1 plug. Removing a plug in my car looks like the picture I see above. Oil on the socket and oil down the plug and threads. I need to address my valve cover gasket this spring.
 
Exact same issue here

Exact same issue here

I have a '99 Zetec and I ran into the *exact* same issue yesterday although my #1 plug was not quite as bas as the one in your pic. It is the valve cover gasket leaking down on top of the plugs, which then drains into the threads some. One interesting thing to note is that I had the valve cover gasket replaced at the dealership 2 years ago. *sigh* I guess its time to do it again? (and again, and again...)
 
the same thing happen to me it was just the valve cover gasket the oil will get rite in there.i replaced it and now no prob..
 
Fel-Pro valve cover gaskets are pretty cheap at AutoZone. Like $12 IIRC. No sealant required. Just pull off the valve cover, install, and replace valve cover :shrug:
 
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