Hello guys!

I'm having an issue with oil in my sparkplug wells.

Now, i'm not entirely sure, if this is an ongoing problem, or just a shitty job done by a shitty mechanic.
Now when i bought the car, it had oil all over the engine bay, because of a leaking valve cover gasket.

The previous owner said they fixed it, and it was not leaking anymore, but that he could not be bothered with removing the oil, and just wanted to get rid of the car.

So, i don't know if the valve cover gasket is actually fixed, or if he was lying.

Either way, it's a v6, and i got some new gaskets, some fresh oil, and a filter.

However, my question is here, on the V6, are there spark plug tube seals, and could they be leaking, or does the valve cover gasket sorta come with them built in? (thats what it looks like).

Anyone know anything about this? It's the inner sparkplugs that's closest towards the steering wheel, and hardest to get to, that are getting oily. The other three are fine.

thanks!

I had this on my BJ (1.5), only on No.1 plug.
It was the result of a poor job by the local garage, when they did the timing belt. On the BJ the top cover gasket needs sealant in the right places, and needs torqueing down correctly, otherwise it won't seal internally, even if it's sealed externally.
Luckily oil is an insulator so it doesn't affect the spark plugs. Until you want to change the plugs and the oil could leak into the cylinders!
I didn't know it could be a problem on the V6 too.

Congratulations on discovering a V6 "easter egg"!

V6s commonly leak oil from the rear valve cover gasket. How often, and how much, seems to depend on the car. Whether it can be permanently fixed, again seems to depend on the car. I've no idea why it happens, and I don't know if anyone else knows why. It's a pain in the backside, because obviously you have to take off the entire intake, to change the gasket.

There are no separate seals on the spark plug tubes, only the circular parts across the middle of the gasket. So Jinglebells is right: valve covers need to be torqued properly to make sure everything seals properly, and if a mechanic does a rubbish job then the situation will be worse. But I think leaky covers are simply a feature of the F, as I also have endless problems on my 1.5.

On the V6, as well as oil in the rear plug wells, you'll probably find it seeping out the back of the cover and down the rear of the engine block. From what I understand from chatting with other people about this, it's usually worst on the top left corner, if you're looking towards the back of the engine (so: the corner pointing towards the offside 'A' pillar)

But it's common: there's nothing especially wrong with your car. Mine did it: I changed the gasket and dumped pretty much an entire tube of sealant around the edge, and I've had no more problems so far (yes, I know that too much gasket sealant can also be a problem, but I wanted to make damn sure it didn't happen again).

Sometimes the covers warp slightly: put the cover on a table and then kneel down, look along the edge, and see if the entire edge of the cover is in contact with the surface. Try wobbling it. If you feel any rocking or wobbling at all, and the table surface is absolutely smooth, then the cover is twisted. Obviously this means you won't get a good seal. I found this with one of my 1.5 covers. If it's really bad, replace it.

Given that leakage is common on the F (1.5 and the rear bank on the V6), there's not much you can do, besides doing a thorough job when you replace the gasket. Clean everything thoroughly before you fit the new one, don't leave any gaps in the sealant, use RELIABLE sealant of the correct type (not all gasket sealants are equal!) and torque down the bolts evenly in the correct order. Make sure the sealant has set completely before you turn on the engine again.

(By the way, my visitors have gone now, so I'll have a look for those parts you were after!)

S

EDIT: By the way, from experience I don't recommend using Hylomar Blue gasket sealant - which several people have recommended to me. Hylo Blue is designed not to harden, it's ultra-messy and I've never had good results with it. I use JB Weld black RTV, which is thicker, easier to apply, and forms a much better seal. I used it on the front valve cover gasket on the V6, and so far the cover hasn't leaked a drop of oil.

Thanks a lot for the thorough answer.

I took your advice and ordered exactly what you recommended - JB Weld Black RTV.
If it works for you, it will work for me, and i really want it to work, and be rid of the oil, and the smell of burning oil, for good.

I assume it's a no brainer, and not very difficult to do, but when you like me have never tried it, it seems risky, and i have to deal with the dread of ruining my engine.

But when it comes to the job of replacing the gasket, and applying the sealer, it seems to be broken down into a few steps.

1: Disassembly - take the thing apart. (This one seems easy. Take it apart, clean it up, don't throw dirt and sand down the open engine, and remember what sparkplug-wires go where.)

2: Removal of the old gasket - Nothing here to save other than to make sure it's identical to the new one perhaps.

3: Cleaning - Cleaning/scraping of the residue from the old gasket sealer, along with any carbon buildup etc. (Again, should be easy, just don't throw the old gunk down the open engine)

(3.5: Bonus step - painting the valve covers!)

4: Putting the new gasket into place (Some say i should put some engine oil on it, others don't mention it, some say don't do it. This is one of the parts i'm afraid of getting wrong.

5: Gasket sealer - This is the scariest part. I don't know where, or how much to put, and i'm afraid if i use too little, there will be leaks (even though the gasket should be enough in itself) and if i use too much, that the excess will leak into the engine and cause a problem.... Also here i'm not a 100% sure where it even goes. I assume it should be applied to the engine, and not to the valve cover with the new gasket, but again, i never tried it, and am not a 100% sure.

Note: I watched a few videos of people doing this, and they all where very specific with where exactly to put the gasket sealer, like in very specif corners, and very sparse. But it's different, and i have no idea where to put it on my engine. This is the scariest part!

Thanks again!

JB Weld: make sure you have the right one, there are two types of black JB Weld. One is specifically for gaskets, but there is another that is a more general purpose sealant. I think the only difference is the higher resistance to oil and temperature.

Steps 1-3: yes, you got it!

[quote]I assume it's a no brainer, and not very difficult to do, but when you like me have never tried it, it seems risky, and i have to deal with the dread of ruining my engine.[/quote]

You won't ruin the engine by sealing the gasket poorly (although you'll lose oil very quickly!) The biggest danger is dropping something down the ports while you're changing it. When I'm cleaning up old sealant and debris on the block, I use a pair of needle-nose pliers to grab any small pieces of debris and move them safely out the way. Usually they're covered in oil, though, so they stick to the block and are easy to pick out.

Putting oil on the gasket: I've seen varying advice on this, but I think it depends on what the gasket is for. I've seen it recommended on oil filters, for example; but valve cover gaskets, no, at least not rubber ones like ours.

Don't worry too much about using too much sealant: in my experience, I've never had a problem with this. Obviously it's recommended not to use too much, or when you tighten the bolts it will squirt out the side and be wasted. The other reason usually given, is that it could block something around the valves. However, if you look at our valve covers, there's loads of space around the edge, so there's not much danger of it going where it shouldn't.

Before you start, put the cover on as a test, without any sealant or bolts, and familiarise yourself with where all the bumps and corners are on the mating surfaces, and you can see the areas where you need to pay more attention.

Test-fit the gasket into the cover, too, to make sure you've got it the right way round - if you've got it wrong, best to find out BEFORE you add sealant and end up in a mess!

I seal both sides of the gasket: so, I put a small bead in the groove on the cover, then press the gasket in and let it cure; then put a bead around the edge of the block, and then replace the cover. Perhaps you don't really need sealant in the groove on the cover, but I've had so many leaks that I do it anyway.

Make sure the bead of sealant is even and continuous all around, and try to do it in one go if possible. Don't forget to seal around the circular plug wells in the middle, and any flat surfaces that radiate out from them to the edge of the block.

When you put the cover on again, partially tighten the bolts in a criss-cross order, to keep the pressure on the sealant even. Let the sealant cure a little, then finish torquing up the bolts (there is specific torque, but I don't know what it is, offhand - someone here will know, or it might be in the rubbish Haynes manual!)

Let the sealant cure for 24hrs (so, try to do this job when you won't need the car until the next day). Then before you turn the engine on again, clean up any loose oil anywhere, including the underside of the bonnet, so you have a completely oil-free engine bay, and can spot any new leaks.

After your next couple of trips in the car, check the oil level, check the ground under the car for drips, check around the edge of the valve cover for any obvious leaks, and check the underside of the bonnet for any spraying oil. If you find any of these, then you still have a leak somewhere.

Don't worry if you mess it up the first time: you can always clean up and try again. Annoying, but it's one of those jobs you only get better at with practise!

(One final thing: if you keep finding oil around the distributor, where it fits into the block, you might need to change the distributor o-ring.)

S

Here's the torqueing sequence for the 1.5's cam cover, I guess the V6 should be done in a similar manner:

[img]https://mole.haynes.com/image?chapter=61015-02A&filename=2a-11.33.tif.jpg[/img]

I had to the rear bank twice, 2nd time with genuine gasket, front one I've done twice with a genuine gasket and that started leaking and then stopped I got a spare one now which this one has the seals for the bolts too, no idea if that makes any difference lol

Anyway I used Elring DIRKO as a sealant, not sure I can recommend that one from my previous experiences lol... Cleaned the covers up and carefully applied gasket and sealant and then torqued it down correctly: