[ipopvtec]

Hey Guys,

I know this should prob be in a different forum but you guys respond much quicker. Yesterday I was going to swap my leaky ap1 valvecover to a 04 05 ap2 cover, and change my spark plugs. When I started taking out the coil packs, i noticed they were soaked at the bottom with oil. So proceeding to take off the cover, there was oil everywhere. I stick a socket in to take the plugs out, but when I put it in for a sec and took it out it was soaked. I took a look inside where the spark plugs are and it was flooded. After trying to mop up all i could with white tee shirts and napkins I take the plugs out, and they are also soaked. Is this a problem?

I know my shitty valve cover might have caused this, which is why its being replaced, but my question is am I good to just put the plugs in and put everything back together and go? Or is there anything I need to look into further that could be seriously wrong? I dont want to pop in my fresh plugs and have them get fouled INSTANTLY. And I would have to go back to square 1.

Attached are pics of after I took the plugs out in 1-4 and the soaked plugs taken 10 min after they were taken out.

[jlozano180]

Dont put anything back together yet, you have to look into it more. you may have bad spark plug tube seals. Is your car burning oil? (blue smoke out of the exhaust)

This post has been edited by jlozano180: 28 December 2011 - 12:28 PM

[ipopvtec]

jlozano180, on 28 December 2011 - 12:27 PM, said:

Dont put anything back together yet, you have to look into it more. you may have bad spark plug tube seals. Is your car burning oil? (blue smoke out of the exhaust)

Yes it does burn oil, not bad enough to smoke out of the exhaust tho... I think maybe when I added oil to top it off I may have put too much? IDK.

[TelosHedge]

i dont think overfilling oil will cause this.

what's really interesting is how all of your plugs are soaked. do you have any tube seals at all?

how much oil are you burning? do you have to add oil every x amount of time?

[ipopvtec]

TelosHedge, on 28 December 2011 - 01:55 PM, said:

i dont think overfilling oil will cause this.

what's really interesting is how all of your plugs are soaked. do you have any tube seals at all?

how much oil are you burning? do you have to add oil every x amount of time?

Actually cylinder 1 had the most oil, followed by cylinder 3, some didnt have much oil in them at all comparatively.

[bbp]

Oil overfill will cause the seals to go bad and start leaking.
This is probably what had happened to you.
Change the valve cover gasket, 4 seals on the valve cover and you might even need new plugs.
Post pictures of them here.

TelosHedge, on 28 December 2011 - 01:55 PM, said:

i dont think overfilling oil will cause this.

what's really interesting is how all of your plugs are soaked. do you have any tube seals at all?

how much oil are you burning? do you have to add oil every x amount of time?

[bbp]

your plugs look shot.
change all the seals and put it back together.

[ipopvtec]

bbp, on 28 December 2011 - 04:40 PM, said:

your plugs look shot.
change all the seals and put it back together.

Thanks for your advice. I had a feeling it was the oil overfill...

I got a whole new AP2 valve cover which comes with new seals, new gasket, new pcv valve, and new plugs. I also got new rubber metal thingys that hold the cover on.

I am just wondering if i am good to go as far as putting this stuff on, or do i have to look into it more..

[iVTECallday]

Spark plug tube seals were shot. New seals will stop that from happening.

[TelosHedge]

put it all together with your new parts. if you're still getting oil and all that at least you have ruled out those seals.

sounds like you've got it nailed down though.

[ipopvtec]

bbp, on 28 December 2011 - 04:38 PM, said:

Oil overfill will cause the seals to go bad and start leaking.
This is probably what had happened to you.
Change the valve cover gasket, 4 seals on the valve cover and you might even need new plugs.
Post pictures of them here.

TelosHedge, on 28 December 2011 - 01:55 PM, said:

i dont think overfilling oil will cause this.

what's really interesting is how all of your plugs are soaked. do you have any tube seals at all?

how much oil are you burning? do you have to add oil every x amount of time?

Here is a pic of how the dip stick looks, gauged on how deep it would go in with the cover on.



Put pieces of white tshirts inside the runners to wick the oil and moisture

[ipopvtec]

TelosHedge, on 28 December 2011 - 05:24 PM, said:

put it all together with your new parts. if you're still getting oil and all that at least you have ruled out those seals.

sounds like you've got it nailed down though.

I dont wanna mess up my fresh plugs man.. I think i might drain some oil before i do so. I wanna make sure that it doesnt happen again.. I also really dont wanna do a oil change cuz i JUST put new oil in lol.

[ipopvtec]

Could it possibly be because it has 2 different weight oils in there?

When i got the car the prev owner said the oil was just changed. Im pretty sure it was mobil 1 10w-30.

After a few hundred miles (i dont dd s2k) i checked and noticed the oil was REALLY low, so i changed the oil filter and topped it off with new oil castrol edge 5w-30 because of the winter coming up. From my knowledge this was fine because i know these cars burn oil.

Is this true?

[iVTECallday]

Yes Ap1's tend to burn off a quart or more between oil changes, its normal. Switching oil weight did not cause that, check the old valve cover spark plug seals for brittleness or cracking that is most likely your main culprit for the oil leak.

Always check your oil level before driving the S and never over fill.

[Nick.]

change the vc gasket while your at it, mine came in a kit with the tube seals

[Deception]

looking at your dipstick (no homo) it doesnt look high enough to be a problem. Your spark plug tube seals were shot, there's really no other way for oil to get in there besides the spark plug itself being really loose.

[TelosHedge]

ipopvtec, on 28 December 2011 - 05:35 PM, said:

Here is a pic of how the dip stick looks, gauged on how deep it would go in with the cover on.

gauged on how deep it should go in? so you guessed?

ipopvtec, on 28 December 2011 - 05:42 PM, said:

I dont wanna mess up my fresh plugs man.. I think i might drain some oil before i do so. I wanna make sure that it doesnt happen again.. I also really dont wanna do a oil change cuz i JUST put new oil in lol.

stock plugs are not that expensive. neither is oil. why don't you just start fresh to make sure it's all done correctly?

ipopvtec, on 28 December 2011 - 05:49 PM, said:

Could it possibly be because it has 2 different weight oils in there?

oil and water do not mix. oil and oil work just fine

[iVTECallday]

Deception, on 28 December 2011 - 06:51 PM, said:

looking at your dipstick (no homo) it doesnt look high enough to be a problem. Your spark plug tube seals were shot, there's really no other way for oil to get in there besides the spark plug itself being really loose.

I agree, if your spark plugs were loose though you'd see carbon buildup on the threads.

[ipopvtec]

TelosHedge, on 28 December 2011 - 06:58 PM, said:

ipopvtec, on 28 December 2011 - 05:35 PM, said:

Here is a pic of how the dip stick looks, gauged on how deep it would go in with the cover on.

gauged on how deep it should go in? so you guessed?

ipopvtec, on 28 December 2011 - 05:42 PM, said:

I dont wanna mess up my fresh plugs man.. I think i might drain some oil before i do so. I wanna make sure that it doesnt happen again.. I also really dont wanna do a oil change cuz i JUST put new oil in lol.

stock plugs are not that expensive. neither is oil. why don't you just start fresh to make sure it's all done correctly?

ipopvtec, on 28 December 2011 - 05:49 PM, said:

Could it possibly be because it has 2 different weight oils in there?

oil and water do not mix. oil and oil work just fine

No, I didnt guess, i measured with a measuring tape.

So im thinking now that i have a fresh valve cover, gasket and plugs ill throw everything back together.

Does anyone know what is the proper way to install the gasket and order to torque it down?

[ipopvtec]

Nick., on 28 December 2011 - 06:38 PM, said:

change the vc gasket while your at it, mine came in a kit with the tube seals

the new ap2 valve cover comes with the seals in it already, and i bought a new gasket and rubber circle things that bolt on top

[Billman250]

Tube seals, guaranteed.

Oil overfill will NOT cause this, but it will cause serious other damage. Your car has been this way for some time.

Loose plugs will not cause this, but will also cause SERIOUS other damage.

Tube seals usually leak from improper install after a powdercoated VC job, or not flipping the seals back into proper position after removing the valve cover. They must sit like this / \. When you pull the vc off, they get pulled like this \ /. If you dont put them back like this / \ they will get cut upon installing.

[ipopvtec]

Billman250, on 28 December 2011 - 07:50 PM, said:

Tube seals, guaranteed.

Oil overfill will NOT cause this, but it will cause serious other damage. Your car has been this way for some time.

Loose plugs will not cause this, but will also cause SERIOUS other damage.

Tube seals usually leak from improper install after a powdercoated VC job, or not flipping the seals back into proper position after removing the valve cover. They must sit like this / \. When you pull the vc off, they get pulled like this \ /. If you dont put them back like this / \ they will get cut upon installing.

Wow... Thanks Doc

This was exactly my problem. So how should they look when I put it back on. Picture A, or Picture B?

A:


B:



But most importantly, the new valve cover looks like this, can I install it as is?

[steguis]

The new valve cover just goes right on.

[ipopvtec]

steguis, on 28 December 2011 - 10:53 PM, said:

The new valve cover just goes right on.

thanks..

[Billman250]

It goes right on, as long as the seals are sitting as show in pic B