Need help fast, spark plugs drenched in oil.

I have a 1991 Saturn SL Sedan 1.9L DOHC. I read a similar post about
this but wasn't sure. I pulled out the number 1, 2, and 3 plugs and
they were covered in oil, number 1 being the worst and the number 4
cylinder being completely dry. Could this be the valve cover gasket?
I replaced the plugs and it would start for half a second and then die.
After it died, I pulled out the plugs and the electrodes were covered
in oil, which is why it died. When the number 1 spark plug was out, I
looked with a flash light into the cylinder and there is quite a bit of
oil in there. How should I go about getting the oil out? and could
the valve covers leaking cause that much oil to fall into the
cylinders? Cause everytime I clean the plugs and fire it up, it shoots
oil onto the plugs and it dies. Let me know what you think. Thanks
fellas.
I hope its not the rings or valve seals. :/ I am worried

~Sean

Sean,

Sorry, but it sounds like rings to me. I'd do a compression test.
How many miles are on the engine? Has it been using oil?
Any bluish smoke out the tail pipe?



On 23 Jul 2006 19:22:08 -0700, wrote:

>I have a 1991 Saturn SL Sedan 1.9L DOHC. I read a similar post about
>this but wasn't sure. I pulled out the number 1, 2, and 3 plugs and
>they were covered in oil, number 1 being the worst and the number 4
>cylinder being completely dry. Could this be the valve cover gasket?
>I replaced the plugs and it would start for half a second and then die.
> After it died, I pulled out the plugs and the electrodes were covered
>in oil, which is why it died. When the number 1 spark plug was out, I
>looked with a flash light into the cylinder and there is quite a bit of
>oil in there. How should I go about getting the oil out? and could
>the valve covers leaking cause that much oil to fall into the
>cylinders? Cause everytime I clean the plugs and fire it up, it shoots
>oil onto the plugs and it dies. Let me know what you think. Thanks
>fellas.
>I hope its not the rings or valve seals. :/ I am worried
>
>~Sean

Nah, it was perfectly fine, I was driving on the highway going about 60
and then it just died and coasted to a stop. So I had it towed to my
place. I was wondering if it would be possible for the valve cover
gaskets to leak down the plugs into the cylinder and thats how the oil
got there. Cause usually the rings will all go out at the same time.
I am sure there are a lot of miles on the motor. If it is the rings,
how challenging will it be to pull the cylinder head off? Another guy
that posted here said he had the same problem and someone said it was
the valve cover gaskets, just trying to see what everyone else thought.
Thanks for the replies. Also, what PSI should each cylinder be at?
What will indicate it being rings or valve seals? Do i just screw the
compression tester into the spark plug socket and have someone kick it
over? Thanks.

~Sean

I had something like that happen with a leaky gasket which eventually
left the plug almost submerged in oil. When removing the plug, of
course it got drenched - as there was a small well of engine oil on all
sides of the plug.

What stopped your engine from running - I suspect might not have
anything to do with the condition of those plugs or maybe it does...

Not sure what the cylinder pressure is supposed to read, but each
cylinder should be within 5 psi at most.

I think that if the pressure builds up over a series of cranks, theres
a hint of leakage.
If a little motor oil down the plug hole doesnt alter this, the leaking
might be through the valve seats.

There is far more definative and expert material relating to this
science than I can come close to relating half as well.
-WaV

wrote:
> Nah, it was perfectly fine, I was driving on the highway going about 60
> and then it just died and coasted to a stop. So I had it towed to my
> place. I was wondering if it would be possible for the valve cover
> gaskets to leak down the plugs into the cylinder and thats how the oil
> got there. Cause usually the rings will all go out at the same time.
> I am sure there are a lot of miles on the motor. If it is the rings,
> how challenging will it be to pull the cylinder head off? Another guy
> that posted here said he had the same problem and someone said it was
> the valve cover gaskets, just trying to see what everyone else thought.
> Thanks for the replies. Also, what PSI should each cylinder be at?
> What will indicate it being rings or valve seals? Do i just screw the
> compression tester into the spark plug socket and have someone kick it
> over? Thanks.
>
> ~Sean

I would definitely check the head cover gasket first, replace it, then check
out the rings.

marx404

On 23 Jul 2006 19:22:08 -0700, wrote:

>I have a 1991 Saturn SL Sedan 1.9L DOHC. I read a similar post about
>this but wasn't sure. I pulled out the number 1, 2, and 3 plugs and
>they were covered in oil, number 1 being the worst and the number 4
>cylinder being completely dry. Could this be the valve cover gasket?
>I replaced the plugs and it would start for half a second and then die.
> After it died, I pulled out the plugs and the electrodes were covered
>in oil, which is why it died. When the number 1 spark plug was out, I
>looked with a flash light into the cylinder and there is quite a bit of
>oil in there. How should I go about getting the oil out? and could
>the valve covers leaking cause that much oil to fall into the
>cylinders? Cause everytime I clean the plugs and fire it up, it shoots
>oil onto the plugs and it dies. Let me know what you think. Thanks
>fellas.
>I hope its not the rings or valve seals. :/ I am worried
>
>~Sean


Are you saying 'covered in oil' on the cylendar side, or was the
ceramic post covered?

I had a 1996 SL2 that filled up the sparkplug hole(the ceramic part,
with the boot). It caused the engine to misfire, and I found it after
I decided to check the wires.

I first retorqued the cam cover gasket. Removed the oil as best as
could be. Temp fix till I got a new cam cover gasket. I later
replaced the cam cover gasket, and when that proved to work, I
replaced all the spark plugs and wires.

Nww this worked for me, and cost minimial time and money. Your
results might not be the same, especially if you oil problem wasn't
the same as mine.

later,

tom @ www.NoCostAds.com

wrote:
> I see. well, I am going to have to do a compression test. The oil is
> hitting the electrode side of the plugs. Any way to get the oil out of
> the cylinders, cause the pistons are throwing oil up onto the
> electrodes causing them to stop working and the car to die after a half
> of a second. Thanks.
>
> ~Sean
>
If you haven't already done so, I'd try to soak up most of that
excess oil in the plug wells prior to removing the plugs. I used
torn up strips of old t-shirts and worked that down into the
wells with the plug still in place to soak up that oil. It
worked well for me. Then I cleaned everything up and put on a
new gasket and the plugs are staying dry ever since. Think this
is a common problem.

Sean,
How many miles are on it?
Lin


wrote:
> I have a 1991 Saturn SL Sedan 1.9L DOHC. I read a similar post about
> this but wasn't sure. I pulled out the number 1, 2, and 3 plugs and
> they were covered in oil, number 1 being the worst and the number 4
> cylinder being completely dry. Could this be the valve cover gasket?
> I replaced the plugs and it would start for half a second and then die.
> After it died, I pulled out the plugs and the electrodes were covered
> in oil, which is why it died. When the number 1 spark plug was out, I
> looked with a flash light into the cylinder and there is quite a bit of
> oil in there. How should I go about getting the oil out? and could
> the valve covers leaking cause that much oil to fall into the
> cylinders? Cause everytime I clean the plugs and fire it up, it shoots
> oil onto the plugs and it dies. Let me know what you think. Thanks
> fellas.
> I hope its not the rings or valve seals. :/ I am worried
>
> ~Sean

On 24 Jul 2006 08:55:13 -0700, wrote:

>I see. well, I am going to have to do a compression test. The oil is
>hitting the electrode side of the plugs. Any way to get the oil out of
>the cylinders, cause the pistons are throwing oil up onto the
>electrodes causing them to stop working and the car to die after a half
>of a second. Thanks.
>
>~Sean


If the engine's cylinder is flooding with oil, maybe having your
engine quit is a good thing. You don't want some type of hydraulic
lock occuring.

Sounds like time to visit the dealer. If it was the boot side, then
you might have had the same problem I had, a bad cam cover gasket. But
you are describing the oil being a problem on the inside of the engine
cylinder.

Good luck on you fixes, and feel free to repost what you did to fix
it.

later,

tom @ www.NoCostAds.com

Yeah, I havent done the compression test on it yet, but I am sure it is
probably the rings or valve seals, since down below the plugs its got a
puddle of oil. I will post my compression readings and let you all
know what I find out from the test.

~Sean