What is a spark plug O-ring?
While your spark plugs might not have a gasket, they do use O-rings. These O-rings keep oil and everything else on one side of the spark plug, and the other side remains dry. If you only have oil on one spark plug, you might have a leaky O-ring seal. This is one of the best outcomes if you have oil on your spark plugs.
What does oil on top of spark plugs mean?
You may find oil on a spark plug because: Too much oil was mixed with the gasoline. The piston rings (the component that seals piston and cylinder) are failing. If valve stems or valve seals are worn, oil can slip past them into the cylinder and coat the spark plug. The oil in the mixture is too thin in viscosity.
What to do if your spark plug is covered in oil?
If your whole spark plug is covered in oil, you should definitely replace the valve cover gasket and the O-rings around the spark plugs.
When do spark plug well seals need to be replaced?
Updated November 01, 2018. When a spark plug well fills with oil, it means that the O-ring that seals the well to keep out oil and debris has deteriorated and started to leak. Although the leak can sometimes be fixed by tightening the valve cover bolts, more often than not the valve cover gasket and well seals will need to be replaced.
What happens if you have a spark plug leak?
It’s import to fix this leak as soon as you discover it. Oil in a spark plug can do extensive damage to different areas of the motor, such as warping or breaking the valves and pistons or destroying the head gasket, which could lead to bigger problems.
What to do if your car’s oil cap is missing?
Open the hood and check to see if your oil cap is missing. If the cap is missing, look around for it in the engine area. Most of the time when someone removes the oil cap, they will set it down on top of the valve cover, and if they forget it, it often falls into the engine compartment. If the cap is gone, replace it.
If your whole spark plug is covered in oil, you should definitely replace the valve cover gasket and the O-rings around the spark plugs.
Updated November 01, 2018. When a spark plug well fills with oil, it means that the O-ring that seals the well to keep out oil and debris has deteriorated and started to leak. Although the leak can sometimes be fixed by tightening the valve cover bolts, more often than not the valve cover gasket and well seals will need to be replaced.
Can a bad piston cause a spark plug to leak?
More important, a bad piston will let oil leak into the spark plugs and that will create all kinds of problems. Your engine will misfire frequently, and you’ll experience a weaker engine performance.
Why do spark plugs need to be replaced?
And since the oil saturates the spark plugs, you’ll need to replace the spark plugs as well. A piston can crack if it gets exposed to too much heat. Then it will start to make knocking sounds and rattle quite a bit.