Grrr... oil in my spark plug hole (on my Accord)

[Heat]

I'm taking a 1,000 mile (total) trip tomorrow and wanted to get my '99 Accord on the highway for some extended driving.

I picked up a new rotater cap and rotor, and new spark plug wires. Cap / rotor, no problem. On the spark plugs the first three had some oil residue, but the fourth well was full of oil - so much I can't get the wire onto the plug. I'll have to turn the car over onto it's side to let the oil drain out (joke) - I'll use a rag to sop up the oil so I can get the wire back on.

About six months ago I had paid my mechanic $400 in labor to replace my timing belt as well as the other belts. He also changed the valve cover gasket which I guess needed to be done to get the belts on. I've had a slow leak since then, and the spark plug / oil issue is just further evidence that his shop didn't replace the valve cover gasket correctly. I just hope I can convince him of that... I noticed that the spark plug well gasket appeared to be partly covering the spark plug well, that should help my case.

So... the Mazda5 will be taking a trip tomorrow. I need to do the same trip next Thursday, I hope to be able to take the Honda out. It will be interesting to compare the gas mileage on both vehicles.

And I received my new Valentine 1 radar detector in the mail today

 

[Davicho]

Spark plug oil tube seals did not get replaced or were not seated properly and the same goes for your valve cover gasket as well. You need to change mechanics if he can't do this simple thing right.

 

[Heat]

They are not seated properly - the gasket is maybe 1/4 inch into the space over the hole. When I try to put the end of the wire (the part that touches the spark plug) into the hole, I have to push it past the gasket. Not a good sign.

 

[Robotazky]

Every single time any of my vehicles are worked on something comes back wrong. Mechanics just don't care any more. That's why I trade cars and try to stay in new ones. It costs more, but I lose years off my life every time I have to deal with them. Last time I was at Mazda having our 5 looked at I seriously thought I was going to punch someone and had to stop talking mid-sentence and leave. In general, people are idiots. Mechanics are people.

 

[qcoffey]

Spark plug oil tube seals did not get replaced or were not seated properly and the same goes for your valve cover gasket as well. You need to change mechanics if he can't do this simple thing right.

Agreed! The sad part is, you paid to get the valve cover gasket replaced, but the spark plug seals are many times separate. He probably quoted one price and forgot to tell you and didn't want to eat the cost. Also, there is a specific tightening sequence and torque spec. If you can change your own plugs, you can replace that too. I stopped paying for other people to work on my car when I had my Protege back in 1995 and the dealer told me it was $374 to replace a sensor.

Now, when a job is done, I know it's right. Good luck.

Also, when you start it up, your gonna get some smoke out the tailpipe. It's the oil that dripped into the cylinder. It will burn off.