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Small amount of oil in spark plug well

3K views 14 replies 7 participants last post by  Jim O. 
I'm changing my spark plugs due to a misfire, and noticed a some oil in the spark plugs well. The ignition coil itself looks alright, but was loose when I went to pull it. My first thought is that the spark plug was loose and allowed a bit of blowby. Any thoughts?
What you wrote in the first post looks like it says that the COIL was loose - was the coil loose, or was the actual spark plug loose?

Anyway, oil in the plug well and on the back end of the plug is, as everyone else has pointed out, a leaking valve cover gasket, or someone missed the oil filler and poured oil over the top of the engine. I’d carefully clean it out (shop rags, brake clean or other solvent, and compressed air - be sure you don’t wash any grime into the cylinder through the spark plug hole if you have the plug removed). If you can, remove the plug and clean out the threads the spark plug screws into. A twisted paper towel or a shop rag held in a hemostat or one of those extra-long Q-tips works well for this. A thread chaser may also help, if you’re having problems screwing in the new plug. Once you’re done cleaning things up, screw in the new plug by hand until the washer contacts the head, then torque with your torque wrench…While you’re at it, I’d also suggest removing the rubber boot from the coil and giving that (along with the wire spring inside the rubber boot, that goes between the end of the plug and the coil) a good clean, too. A dab of dielectric grease between the rubber boot and the porcelain on the spark plug will also help seal out any fluids that get into the spark plug well…
 
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