i went to change the spark plugs in my 97 accord lx, 2.2L non vtec, i pulled the first plug and my heart dropped, it was sopped with engine oil!

as i changed the rest of the plugs the amount of oil on the plugs was less going from driver side to passenger side. there was oil on the wire boots except on the last one i did, there was not excess oil in the plug holes.

it does look like the valve cover gasket was replaced but i dont know when as i recently purchaced this car.


is this going to mount to a major repair, could this be something easy to fix, or normal for honda engines???

any help will be greatly appreciated!

 

Well it depends alot on if its on the top or bottom of the plug. since you said its also on the boots then I'd imagine its all on the top. It just means the spark plug tube gaskets are bad. Less than a $20 fix.

 

thank you, i also found a nice diy page on this exact issue, im going to post the link in a few minutes, if this is what is wrong ill be very happy, i am experienced in valve cover jobs, and hopefully this will be somewhat the same on the accord...

ALSO: how do i move my post to the general area??? i cannot seem to find out how...

 

Sounds like you have it figured out already, but I just had the same problem on my 96. I got a tip to a video on ericthecarguy.com for the fix if it helps? I watched it to great success! Hope it's just the upper seals and not the lower, more difficult ones? Good luck!

 

Just joined this forum for exactly the same reason. This is a 1997 accord with V tech engine [Still not sure exactly what that means yet ] and auto transmission. Just picked up for a new driver. Ideled a tad rough figured air filter and new plugs would be easy fix. And sure enough the first plug I pulled (away from the drivers side) was pretty oily. Didn't know what to think. The next three seemed to have decreasing amounts of oil on the plug and threads. Added the plugs and was ready to take it for a test drive, thought a search on the Internet might help....Started up fine and hopefully can't be any worse than the NGK that I pulled out. Was hoping for that link or more info on this thread about the "tube" but I will book mark this page and share tdbrgr@yahoo.com as a legit email incase anyone wants to contact me directly.

 

As I mentioned above, there is a video on ericthecarguy.com showing a diy fix for the spark plug tube. You have a leaky valve cover gasket and/or seals which are allowing oil into the tubes. Hopefully all you need are the upper seals and a gasket, but it wasnt expensive or difficult to repair. If your lower seals are leaking, it requires removing the valve train to access the lower seals. Good luck.