If you pull the coil packs and shine a light down there, should it be 100% metal or is it normal for there to be what looks like a small amount of oil residue deposited on one side (due to the tilt of the motor)?

I forgot to look down there before I pulled the valve cover yesterday, so I'm not sure if it was always like that or if the plug well seals are not perfect and that that has happened from 1 day's driving. It's exactly the same amount on each plug, so it seems like it's normal for 44K and original plugs.

Thoughts?

 

Did you check the torque on the plugs?

 

My torque wrench appears to be on the fritz, so I didn't mess with it. My VIN is outside of the range for the problem, but when I buy a new wrench I'm going to check it.

 

I would at least double check that they are snug.

 

Your VIN being outside the range for the recall has no bearing to whether the plugs should be properly torqued or not. You should always torque the plugs to the spec. Also oil in the spark plug tubes is not normal, i would suspect the spark plug tube seals are bad and replace those as soon as possible.

 

I told you to be careful with those spark plug well gaskets.

There should be zero oil in the well.

 

I'll just order all 5 gaskets and drop them in soon. It doesn't look like fresh oil at all, so I was wondering if maybe some kind of anti seize compound that they use from the factory could cook off the spark plugs and deposit like that. I ran my finger around the well and felt no oil really and the coil packs themselves look the same as always, which to be honest, is somewhat oily-looking. They were like that when I pulled them out the first time though.

 

there shouldn't be any residue of any kind on the plugs. Honda puts them in completely dry, no anti-sieze, no dielectric grease and no oil. So it is likely coming from your spark plug gaskets. New gaskets will cure the problem.

 

Thanks for the info, I'll replace them. Is it normal for them to break down over time, because I'm pretty certain that what's in there was always in there?

 

Yes, they can break down with time. Your car is now about 7 years old and it isn't unusual for the rubber oil well seals to leak a little oil. I saw that problem in a car I worked on that was about 5 years old, thoguh they had the valve cover off once before.