It's been many years since I've used that technique, so many years that I forgot about it completely. The supplementary info has helped me to do the job thoroughly instead of half-assed. Thanks.
First off, I very much enjoy your videos! I love that you enjoy sharing your knowledge and experience with others. @ 1m 30s - You say that oil leaking into the spark plug well can actually get down through the spark plug into the engine and damage the engine. That is absolutely incorrect. For that cylinder to fire correctly it has to be a complete seal - valves and spark plug, on the compression stroke. The oil on the threads of that spark plug when you removed it got on there from the oil sitting in the well as you remove the plug. The oil above the plug base was definitely from sitting in the oil that was built up in the well. I also found a very quick very easy way to get the majority of oil out using a small syringe fitted with a couple of feet of small-diameter clear tubing. Fit right over the nipple on the syringe push it down to the bottom of the well pull the plunger back oil gets sucked right out quick and simple. Finished it up with a rag and a screwdriver and had a nice clean surface when I removed the plug. I should actually make a video of that process...lol
My 97' Odyssey 4 cyl. started missing. The plug wells were filling with oil from leaking gaskets. Sopped it out with paper towels and long surgical forceps. That was it. Runs perfect. Easy to do when needed. FREE.
It's not just the oil leaking into the cylinder that you need to worry about. It's the dirt, sand, and grit at the bottom that oil. That can flow straight into your cylinder and scratch the walls.
When ordering a new valve cover gasket just order the spark plug sleeves too so you can kill 2 birds with one stone. Another way you can get the oil out is by removing the nozzle of a spray bottle and putting the hose in the spark plug shaft and spraying the oil out onto a rag or paper towel.
@@jesserodriguez6938 Well, in my case I overfilled my car (2000 Civic) with oil by only a quart / litre (took a dip stick reading with one side of the car on the sidewalk / pavement, which was only about ten inches in height but it was enough to give a false low reading. Drove for 4 miles and car started to smoke like crazy and then lose power. I drained the oil and refilled to the correct level but it only stopped the smoke, car is still barely moving..... so here I find myself :)
@@dublinvids5146 same problem :(. took to the mechanic to get oil changed but only stopped the smoke, car is moving but sluggish, unusual smell, it will cost THOUSANDS of $ to run all diagnose and replace parts. Maybe some of the oil got into the CAT converter i think, and i wonder if there a product that can to clean the oil all the way from CAT and OUT from the muffler over time.
My idle in my car is shaky. It hasn’t misfired but I checked the well and the boot was definitely covered in oil. Anyway I’m changing my spark plugs because one stopped working, my spark plug wires, my distributor cap and rotor. The valve cover gasket and the seals for the plugs. It’s all worth it for preventive maintenance even tho it cost me $100. And even tho it’s my first time working on my car, I saw vids and they’re all super easy to replace and you save hundreds of dollars.
They should design the spark plug tubes to slightly protrude the surface of the valve cover so if the valve tube gaskets leak they will not leak down into the spark plug tubes.
Thank you. Ever since pepboys "replaced" my valve cover gasket when doing the throttle body my car has had misfire and oil leaking problems. My brother changed the gasket and found out they never did my valve cover gasket then called it a day and never checked my spark plugs. Good thing that place closed down. I will never go to pepboys for service again. So time to clean and change plugs and hope i dont have to redo the valve cover again.
I used a length of garden hose with a rag over it. Push the rag into the hose end with a screwdriver a few inches first, so it fits right over the spark plug and cleans right to the bottom.
I just replaced plugs and coils, with that being said old plugs had oil on them. After researching im going to replace valve cover gasket. Should I be ok with recently replaced plugs and coils? If you can help thanks
It will once you remove the spark plug the oil run back into the engine and you’ll get a lot of white smoke which should dissipate in a couple of minutes.
i actually greased the spark plug tread and installed it and i noticed that it was treading more deep,and i found out by many guys in youtube that im not suppose to grease plugs tread,its running fine but is it too late to remove plugs and remove all them grease in it..but how do i get the grease from plugs well without the plugs in it.thank you
2007 Lincoln mkz ..It all started with coil number 5 going bad , it had driven excellent for the last 6 months back and forth to Minnesota three times for work, oil change on time every time, and anyway cylinder 5 went out then I changed coil and plugs and injector on cylinder five, both bank 2 sensors, intake seals .I didnt hear any motor noise what so ever .I did see a drop of oil on my coil and I have low compression on just one cylinder. Which is cylinder 5 ..the middle. Someone had mentioned to me it possibly could be a crankshaft sensor symptoms are causing misfire in cylinders.Thoughts
There are little round seals under the cam shaft assembly that need to be replaced. Not too tough. Time consuming. Or just absorb the oil out of the plug wells now and then and forget it. Like this video shows.
At least on the Nissan Altima 2.5 L, there are oil seals at the base of the plug well tubes in the valve cover assembly. For whatever ungodly reason, Nissan chose not to make those seals replaceable. When they start to leak, you either keep cleaning them out more often as they gradually get worse, or you go spend about 90 bucks for a valve cover and spend about half an hour to an hour changing it out. Thankfully it's a pretty quick and easy replacement.
Hey Bob, I just removed my coil and the boot got stuck. I followed some instructions on how to remove a stuck rubber boot; but, unfortunately, I had already cut the boot into pieces. I was able to get 85% of the boot out successfully. However, when I pulled the spark plug out, some of the boot fell down into the engine. Will this cause damage to the engine?
I just replaced plugs and coils, with that being said old plugs had oil on them. After researching im going to replace valve cover gasket. Should I be ok with recently replaced plugs and coils? Any suggestions
Please let me know if you used the same ones. I am in the same boat and I believe since they’re new you could’ve just cleaned them like he said but the ones he had were old 🤙
How can you get hydro-lock unless the spark plug is loose? It would have to be loose for the oil to get in the Combustion chamber. Doesn't the boot seal to the to the end of the spark plug so oil can't get to the contact that attaches to the spark-plug electrode. Do change the spark plug because the expansion and contraction will eventually crack the ceramic dielectric between the electrode and the ground.
This video is OK, but here is how I dealt with the same problem on my 1996 Honda Accord. Always start by doing the simplest "fix" and work your way up to the most complex "fix". 1) Go to Walmart and buy a can of spray carb cleaner ($2.50) and a bottle of Bar's Leaks ENGINE OIL Stop Leak concentrate ($7.00). 2) Go home. When your car engine is COOL, remove the spark plug wires and clean the ends with a clean rag. Spray some carb cleaner up into each spark plug wire and clean them out as much as possible. 3) Do Not remove spark plugs. Spray carb cleaner down into each spark plug well to break-up and thin the oil that has leaked into each well. Use a long thin phillips head screwdriver, or even a piece of wire, to stir-up the carb cleaner in the wells and break up the oil. Be careful NOT to damage the spark plugs. Now put a rag down into the wells to soak up the oil/carb cleaner mixture. 4) When you are sure you have soaked ALL of the oil out of the wells, remove the spark plugs one at a time, and clean them, and gap them correctly. With a rag and screwdriver, wipe the wells out again before you replace the spark plugs. (just like this video shows) 5) Pour the ENGINE OIL Stop Leak into your engine oil. This will make the seals in your engine swell up, including those seals around your spark plug tubes, and hopefully put a stop to the oil leaking into the tubes. 6) After two weeks of normal driving, check the spark plug tubes again, and clean them out if there is oil in them. Some oil probably will leak into them until the Stop Leak concentrate gets a chance to recondition the seals. 7) If oil still leaks into the tubes after a couple of months, the seals may have to be replaced. But you may as well try this method first. For less than $10 and about two hours, you might fix your problem.
I just replaced plugs and coils, with that being said old plugs had oil on them. After researching im going to replace valve cover gasket. Should I be ok with recently replaced plugs and coils? If you can help thanks
SERIOUS QUESTION: My car wouldn't start, and when I pulled the plug wires they had lots of oil on them. Does that mean my motor is ruined? I did finally get it started but it ran real bad so I shut it off, knowing something wasn't right. Do you think once I get the oil out of the holes, replace the plugs, plug wires, and valve cover gaskets, that it will be ok since it would start before?
I will say this. I had this same problem as to where the spark plug was completely covered with oil to the point where when I pointed a flashlight into the spark plug tube you couldn't even see the spark plug at all because it was completely covered in oil and completely buried underneath the oil, all though no oil ever came out of the boot onto my valve cover. So since the plug went into the valve cover so far I just figured that oil there was normal. Anyway, I didn't clean any of the oil out of the tube. I just removed the spark plug and about two tablespoons of probably dirty oil drained into the spark plug hole. I'm just like this probably isn't right but fuck it, I just figured it would burn off. So anyway, I put the new plugs in, and aside from some black smoke coming out of the exhaust for a couple of minutes, everything was fine. I guess I got lucky. At any rate, I ordered a valve cover gasket set from Amazon in order to fix this issue. I think my plug may misfire every once in awhile because of the oil in the tube, and now that I know oil is not suppose to be there, I'm sure it's well worth the time and effort to fix. I never had my vehicle serviced like at the 30k miles or whenever you're suppose to have that done, and that may be when they would have re tightened down the valve cover, not sure. The point is the valve cover might just be a bit loose. But I'll wait to check for that until I get my gasket. Obviously you can see I don't know much about working on vehicles, but I just didn't want to pay someone to change four spark plugs. So I was like even if this is wrong, it shouldn't cause any damage and fortunately I don't think it did.
ima try this on my nissan altima. its not turning on and im guessing it has to do with this issue. if all goes well ill become a mechanic. thank you sir.
i got oil in my spark plug well changed the spark plugs and it runs again cost me about $25 bucks but ill have to replace the valve cover gasket and spark plugs again but it wasn't starting due to my spark plugs being bad changed them started right up this was on a 2005 nissan altima 2.5
The oil most likely leaked from the valve cover gasket or the valve seals.. If its an older car & none of it has ever been changed before I'd say replace the valve cover (which will come w/new seals & more than likely a new gasket), dry the posts of oil really good making sure there are no cracks or other worn parts (an easy replacement fix later if you're strapped on cash after buying the cover) & replace the spark plugs (or again if you're strapped on cash, the spark plugs can be cleaned dry then brushed gently with a wire brush)..
why would anyone replace their valve covers cept for show? Just replace the gasket. Replacing the valve cover on a true older car would be super expensive as we cant find parts for our cars
There’s a lot of oil in my cars spark plug wells and one day it didn’t start and that’s when I found out about the problem. I took the valve cover off and saw that the seals were brittle and breaking. How do you know if your engine is hydro locked cuz my car wanted to start today but can’t cuz of the oil
Use a sprayer, insert the hose of the sprayer into the hole and squirt the oil into a cup. Then pour some gas/diesel/brake cleaner into the holes and let is soak for a few minutes and squirt it out again. This is the only way to make sure you don't get shit into your cylinders.
It's completely harmless you fool, joke is on you. Any one who is slightly car savey knows that. And plus it's not going into the motor unless you were dumb enough to fill the cylinders. Which is a common practice. If you take your plugs out (providing there wasn't crud in your plug wells (hence my comment) you fill them with diesel and let it soak and clean the carbon out. then squirt it out. :P learning is not a crime.
ArcolaBridge So you are a automotive technician by trade then? So there is no other cleaner one could use instead? Brake cleaner is meant to clean brake dust and grease not oil from an engine. I guess when you wanna clean off an engine you spray it with brake cleaner right? BTW sprayer is meant to be air hose/line right? I also love the use of shi* as a reference to crude and oil and brake cleaner, very classy ArcolaBridge keep these gem comments coming us "idiots" would be just helpless without your infinite wisdom
I'm better than a 'technician'. Theres not many cleaners you would want to put into your plug well.Brake cleaner/diesel/gas is a great choice. Yeah you could use something else but it better burn off or it will sit there. If you take your plug out and water based stuff goes in your cylinder that could potentially be bad depending how much gets in. Water actually cleans carbon like a charm. A lot of people spray water into there intake to get rid of carbon deposits, bet ya didn't know that. Yeah you could degrease an engine with brake cleaner. It's completely safe. But I'd use an industrial strength aluminum safe degreaser which will work better than brake cleaner. Btw did you know brake cleaner and intake cleaner are the same thing? LOL you are arguing something you know nothing about and it's obvious. You can dig yourself a hole and keep trolling my comments. NO by a sprayer I mean a refillable bottle pump sprayer like a from a windex bottle. You submerge the puckup of the sprayer in the plug well and squirt the crud out. You just need to take your own time and educate yourself on these things. I'm knowledgeable on all kinds of engineering and mechanical stuff. You are not. I'll say fuck shit piss or whatever words I chose. I'm a person with a right to speak how I like. You can't make me yellow, you can't make me blue. You can't change me or make me do what you want me to do ya ninkumpoop.
There is a seal on the bottom of the tubes, if they are leaking (high probabilty) your video does not even mention this. How did you eliminate that as an issue and only worried about the valve cover gaskets?
I just replaced plugs and coils, with that being said old plugs had oil on them. After researching im going to replace valve cover gasket. Should I be ok with recently replaced plugs and coils? If you can help thanks
I had oil going into my spark plug but that’s fix now and I went ahead and re change the whole tune up and still get misfire 1 and 2 so does that mean oil is still in my valve
Because the cover also has seals that can break down over time.. change the gasket if you think that's your issues, but with an old car don't be surprised if the cover, containing bad seals, has to be replaced as well..
turn the engine over w/o the spark plug in, that will force out any oil. just like he said if a lot of oil drains into the combustion chamber on the compression stroke and then the plug is put back in....it will bend a rod b/c the oil cant compress. just like when you pump up a bicycle tire with a hand pump you get to the point where the tire is full and the air will not compress.
@@iceburg_jones9887 He means remove the plugs when the engine is running, I take it, otherwise how would the car start to begin with... or perhaps start the car with just 3 plugs.
I found "caked" old oil on my spark plug was very difficult to remove number 3 on a Ford Escort 97' any advice on how to clean/remove dried oil in spark plug well?
Poking a rag down there is better than nothing I guess. Best thing to use is an oil extractor which are handy especially you have an inboard boat, sucks it all out.
I have a 94 Toyota Camry (v6 3.0) replaced spark plug tube seals but don't remember how seal sits when valve cover goes back on, should I see lip of the seal when looking down into s.p tube when valve cover is on? It's not sitting flush, need help plz thanks
um easyer way to get the oil out is just take the plug out spary carb cleaner ect and start the car for 2 sec without the plug in. the piston will push everything out check the hole to see if u have oil leaking in the piston if u do it ok the car will burn it off u just need booster seal the seal for the plug or new wires most spark plug will clean up test the plug put it in the plug wire and start the car with the plug out if u see a red spark pitch it it trash if u get a blue spark it good screw it in the hole and pulg the wire in if u dont want to use the cars plug wire use the battery get any kinda of ele wire jump cables ect tie on wire to the pos. side of the battery and to the botttom metal part of the plug hole the glass of the spark plug and touch it to the neg. of the battery the spark plug will spark
I think to treat the Root cause of the Oil Leak will be by Replacing the Lower O rings, as located below the valve train assembly as done by Eric the Car Guy & BriansMobile video's. Then the problem will be solved.
***** go to Eric the car guy video's, Type in: Spark Plug Well Oil leak Fix- Honda Accord. This is for the Honda Accord 4 cyl. ~ 1997. 22 mins long. Brian has a similar one too.
valve cover gasket this guy doesnt fix problem just keeps cleaning the oil out where it leaks once a week so hes really good at it he will replace lead wires when they have burned out from the leak every few months too all to save 30$ and spend hours nursing this junk design of a car.
Hi there, I have a 1993 honda accord ex with oil down one of the spark plug well. Could this be the cause the car won't start? It let me down while driving on the highway. Any help is much appreciated, thank you!
it's best to just take the valve cover off and replace the gaskets first before putting new spark plugs. Otherwise, your not fixing the problem and oil will just get on the new spark plugs. Once gaskets have been replaced, clean valve cover and your done.
I just replaced plugs and coils, with that being said old plugs had oil on them. After researching im going to replace valve cover gasket. Should I be ok with recently replaced plugs and coils? If you can help thanks.
Just get a cheap turkey baster put a small vacuum hose on the end suck the oil out easy as pie, when finished throw the baster away. Too easy and quick gets almost all the oil out
