Possible Problem?!?
 

Hey guys I have a slight problem. I was pulling my coils and plugs out to just do a routine inspection when I noticed one of my coils and the plug tube were covered in rust. I cannot figure out how I'm getting water inside the spark plug tube. The car is not running bad, or making any weird noises in any way. I pulled the valve cover off and there is no water/ coolant in the oil. There was some kind of gel around the seal for the spark plug tubes that smelled like E-85. I am running E-85 on my car and I know that the fuel starts to mix with oil, but the oil has only been in the car for about 500 miles. Any way I took a ton of pictures, maybe someone else has had this happen to them. Any help will be greatly appreciated!! :tipwink:

Here you can see the gel substance around the coil tube seal.

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-23-52_862.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-24-04_343.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...3-24-11_47.jpg

Here you can kinda see the rust all along the wall of the tubes. Mostly in cylinder #3, but a little in cylinder #4.

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...3-24-19_63.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-24-55_298.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-25-11_198.jpg

Here is a shot of all of the coils in cylinder order. Starting from the left Cylinders #4, #3, #2, & #1.

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-25-50_620.jpg

Same order on the plugs. Notice how cylinder #3 has rust at the base of the porcelain part of the plug.

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-26-10_630.jpg

Same order again.

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-26-39_869.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...3-26-50_49.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...3-26-55_10.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-26-59_442.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-27-08_937.jpg

Removed the valve cover and inspected for any signs of a blown head gasket or other damage.

http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-43-29_227.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-43-34_799.jpg
http://i967.photobucket.com/albums/a...-43-52_396.jpg

I also have a bore scope camera that allows me to look down into the cylinders. When I looked down into the cylinders there didn't seem to be any cylinder scoring, or any head gasket damage. Can anyone tell me why this happened??

Was that plug loose. I see this all the time on fords with loose plugs.

No the plug was tight. That was the first thing that I checked! :ponder:

The seal around the coils is probably trashed?

Condensation perhaps? Consider that the rust is pretty far up the tube, I don't expect it was that full of water but condensation on the walls would certainly give that situation.

did you tighten down your coils properly?

That said, it almost looks like valve train parts have water in em too by those pics..... I hope I'm just not seeing it clearly.

do you let the car sit extended periods of time?

The Spark plug tube seals are brand new. I replaced the valve cover gasket and seals together. I could see it possibly being condensation, but where did it come from? It is hot as f@%k here, humidity would be a much more likely scenario.

The coils were properly tightened, but I am not 100% positive the seals on the coils are doing their job. (Original coils with 108k miles) The spark plug tube did not have any standing water in it whatsoever.

As far as the valve train having water on it, that must just be an illusion made by the poor quality pictures. I did not see any signs of moisture on anything internally.

Yes I do. I have been thinking that that could play a role in why this happened, but I just don't really know why.

that's most likely the problem. the alcohol in e85 attracts water. if you let it sit for a long time, it will attract water and cause certain parts to rust.

Boom.

E85 is hygroscopic just like brake fluid, I would have your injectors tested as well, a few people have rusted sets closed.

There is a good writeup about this a few pages back, I will try to dig it up.

How did E-85 get into the spark plug tube seals though?!? I never let the car sit for more than a couple days to a week without starting it.

The humidity you have in Houston would be the problem especially when you run it hot and then a cold night sets in. I'd have a good look at the seals, you can use a few different things to mark the seals and test if they're sealing, they make a crayon/chalk for that used in setting gears in a rear diff, it's bright yellow.