Oil on the top of my spark plugs
 

Need a little help from the gear heads on here.
My wife has a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis 4.6L V8. The car has a miss. The diagnostic machine says that #6 is having a misfire. On #6 cylinder I pulled the coil over pack and discovered that the hole that goes down to the spark plug has a bunch of oil in it. I have looked all around the hole and the valve cover does not seem to be leaking.
How can this oil be getting down that hole on top of the spark plug if it is not from the valve cover?

Gotta be leaking Valve cover.

Pretty much. Maybe the head gasket but it would have to be leaking in a very particular area.

^Literally has to be. Only other option is a cracked head and that would be a very unusual spot for one to crack.

Yeah there is no water in the oil or oil in the water so I don't think the head is cracked. But there is literally no sign of oil running from the valve cover anywhere. I thought that there might be a seal somewhere that has gone bad???

only thing there is the valve cover.

Get ready to shell out $30,000....
Oh wait, that's just me.

yeah im looking at one of those engines without an intake as we speak and there isnt anything but te valve cover gasket that could leak oil there

Yep.

I haven't done much mechanic work on my cars in 20 years. I liked doing it then.

Not so much, now. :)

Refresh my memory. When you get some age on those cork gaskets, they become brittle and smooth, so oil can just leak over the head, under the gasket.
Right?

Has anyone mentioned that it might be the valve cover?

Alright good info. I had a 2.0 zetec 4 cylinder that had those "tubes" or journals that went basically straight down through the valve cover and those had seals. I noticed that these on this 4.6 were basically bored holes between the valve cover and intake.

You should check the cover on the valves.

The aluminum there between those valve cover and intake is dry and clean. There is no oil to the touch. There is not any grunge on the metal like you normally see with an oil leak. That is why I am questioning the valve cover so much. Not saying anyone is wrong. I have done my own little stuff like this for 25 years now. So my instincts are questioning what I am seeing. Normally with a leaking valve cover gasket you have gunky build up of some type.

Gasket gremlins are hard to see. It has to be completely dark and you have to use a black light.

Your wife didn't add any oil recently did she?

http://forgifs.com/gallery/d/217169-...il-laundry.gif

It is full and she says she hasn't had to put any in it since we changed the oil. I wondered about that or maybe a hose that might have a hole that would only leak a little when hot but that would have to be for an EGR I think. I don't know if that much oil could, should, or would flow back up there like that.

LMAO This always cracks me up. I can't help but wonder WTF this stupid bitch thinks she is doing?

Next, she plans to change the blinker fluid.

Have to change the muffler bearings first.

Then the Fetzer Valve.

That is the tricky part. The Fetzer Valve can only be changed by using a metric crescent wrench.

I've used left-handed metric pliers on them before.

Awww, come on guys, it's so simple maybe you need a refresher course. It's all ball bearings nowadays.

I'd use a 320 or a 321. Whatever it takes.

It sounds like your spark plug wires are leaking. Have you checked the spark plug wire gasket? I am sure this is it. If you don't know where that is just pour some anti-freeze where you put the oil. About 4 quarts should do it. This usually seals these leaks up.

DON'T DO THIS. HORRIBLE ADVICE. You will end up seizing up the horn portal. What you want to do is add some Stop Leak. Normally, it'd go in the radiator. In this case, you want it in the gas tank. A tank or so should take care of the problem.

This happened to me late in 2013. What a mess it was. I needed all plugs, wires, and two gasket covers.

The car was misfiring like crazy.

Head gasket couldn't do it. Cracked head couldn't do it by the looks of this head.

Either it got spilt there or the valve cover gasket is leaking

Isn't that the engine that would sometimes blow sparkplugs clear out of the engine?

The v10 was MUCH worse. The early 5.4 did it some. The 4.6 hardly ever in my experience.


And I know this has nothing to do with nothing but the 5.4. 3 valve was probably one of the worst designs ever. Totally

Was there oil in the air intake tube?

Most likely needs a valve job. Sounds like leaky valve seals and woren out guides.

Lol. He's talking about in the spark plug tube. Above the threads

I think the video pretty much explained it...

I don't see a video anywhere lol...

After removing as much as I could I replaced the spark plug and coil pack. The boot was swollen and loose.
I have made 4 trips getting the car up to temp and letting it cool off between trips. When I got back home I monitored the area to see if there was any sign of oil again. So far no more oil has gotten back on that plug. We will see what happens. I am starting to think the gif that Fish posted might be accurate.

Oh and no there was no oil anywhere else in those tubes.

ROFL I'm going to print this thread and mail it to your home address!




Disclaimer: J/K of course to anyone who may be anal enough to consider that a threat.

The boot was swollen and loose because that oil had been collecting there for some time. It had just gotten deep enough to make it mis Fire recently.
Those boots usually don't swell up overnight

:cuss:

Sum bitch. Now that's embarrassing.

Check your number 8 cylinder (The one on the back right). If their is also fluid in it, Its most likely not oil but coolant. Happened to me last summer. Due to the slope and positioning of the gasket between the intake, coolant leaks into the valley and usually fills the #6 and #8 cylinders on the old 4.6L 2V. It just looks like oil because it mixes with dirt and extreme heat.

Coolant won't usually make the boots sloppy

labo
 

Wow, I now need a lobotomy.

:D

Thanks honey! Now, can you fix the oven?

She would be telling me she knew I thought it was her fault.