Oil In The Plug Hole

[Ghostrider]

I went to go install some new plug wires and pulled the #1 plug wire boot out along with a crap load of oil. There's so much pooled in there you cant even see the plug! There's also some spots where oil is seeping out of the valve cover.

Does this mean a bad plug seal/valve cover gasket or a much larger issue at hand? The car runs just fine...no idling issues and isnt misfiring at all...so the plug must be firing ok even with all that oil.

[JazzyJeff]

Get some black RTV and seal up the valve cover. All it is is the valve cover gasket not sealing properly. I believe the whole kit from Vatozone is like $28 but a tube of some RTV will work just as well with the old gasket. Not really a big deal. Just be sure to get as much oil out of the galley before you remove the plug.

[98greensaturn]

yes Jazzyjeff is correct

[AC66Bronco]

use a turky baster to suck up the oil

also i used to like rtv and still do but for serious jobs i get out the right stuff

[Ghostrider]

Thanks guys...sounds good...but if I'm gonna pop off the valve cover, I might as well get the whole kit and just replace it.

[andy_wh2000]

Thanks guys...sounds good...but if I'm gonna pop off the valve cover, I might as well get the whole kit and just replace it.

dont bother man. I bought a new valve cover gasket from the dealer and that thing sucked balls. all it is is pre shaped rtv anyway and its didnt even match up to the shape of my valve cover exactly either. I ended getting leaks on the egr side and the plug holes didnt seal right. especially for the $40-50 pricetag. I ended up just using the rtv from a kragen. no leaks.

[Ghostrider]

Well this isnt the first engine in the car...the original had severe oil burning problems...and the valve cover gasket was repaired before I got the car. So is this a common issue with the LL0?

I guess then I'll just seal it with the RTV and call it a night.

[saturn_06]

no its just that the valve covers suck

[AC66Bronco]

http://www.autobarn.net/ch25223.html

use that.

[slowion2]

Thanks guys...sounds good...but if I'm gonna pop off the valve cover, I might as well get the whole kit and just replace it.

dont bother man. I bought a new valve cover gasket from the dealer and that thing sucked balls. all it is is pre shaped rtv anyway and its didnt even match up to the shape of my valve cover exactly either. I ended getting leaks on the egr side and the plug holes didnt seal right. especially for the $40-50 pricetag. I ended up just using the rtv from a kragen. no leaks.

that's because you've got a 1st gen aluminum valve cover. the composite ones actually have a gasket that fits down inside the edge.

use a gasket (the felpro ones work great) AND some sort of sealant (RTV or Right Stuff) and you'll be fine.

[Ghostrider]

I got a Fel-Pro blue gasket kit with the plug gasket and the bolt insulators. I got started working on all of this tonight starting with sucking the oil out of the plug hole with a baster...got most of it, but not all of it. I got the valve cover off almost effortlessly once unbolted. The old gasket was rock hard and I didnt feel like messing with it tonight so I bolted it all back together (gotta get to work somehow tomorrow). My question is, should there be any RTV on the head surface? Cause there wasnt a thing on it except some sludge and oil, which I cleaned up with some SeaFoam on a rag. The only part that had any silicone on it was the timing chain cover part of the valve cover...and I didnt even need to pry that stuff off...it must have been so poorly applied that once the cover came off it must have just snapped clean.

Also can I use a putty knife or do I need a specialized "gasket scraper"? Are they pretty much the same or completely different tools?

[AC66Bronco]

well i can answer the putty knife question and that is a big 10-4. no special tools needed.

as far as the rtv in my experiences i just coated around everything that had liquid. passing thru it. granted i dont know much about the LLO

[Jeremy]

If you have a composite cover, then you only need rtv at each spot where the timing chain cover meets the head, under the valve cover...

but I personally put the gasket into the valve cover, then run a small bead all along the bottom of the gasket and smear it on smooth before I put the cover on... Because I hate oil leaks.

[conflict325]

Same damn thing that happened to me but my 1 N 2 were filled with oil. N it wuz that the valve cover wuz not sealed

[Jeremy]

N wut did u do about it... reseal it N go?