Oh oh!

Hi! Thanks for being here! I've used your knowledge in the past with
stellar results!

Because of fual prices these days, I tried to do my own tuneup on my 2000
Sonata 2.4L.

Hadn't did a tuneup on a car since 1985, I was poorer then.

Took back the boots (spark plug wires) once because they're only 2 wires!



Question, in the 2nd and 4th port and there is oil. Blown valve cover
gasket?

Thanks!

 

Maybe the result of sloppy oil filling. Is it old oil?

 

Probably a slow leak. There are seals around each spark plug hole as wel
as a gasket around the outside of the valve cover.

Use your personal judgment whether it's best to replace now or clean ou
and recheck in a little bit to see how bad the leak is. I figure it's no
that bad because you reused the plug wires.

Actually, since this sounds like the first plug change, I should as
whether you're still within the powertrain warranty period (10/100 fo
original owner, 5/60 for others). If so, you can have this problem fixe
for free

 

I'm actually the 2nd owner.

Matter of fact, I didn't remove the sparkplugs, I was afraid oil would
really foul up the cylinders. What is your suggestion on removing the oil?
As I needed my vehicle to get to work the next day (today)I just put
everything back the way it was. Then search for wiser souls. It starts fine
and runs a bit rough after about 5 miles, but hasn't died and got me back
and forth to work

When I attempted to remove one of the plugs in an oiled cylinder the oil
came to about 2/3 the depth of the sparkplug socket wrench bit. The
socket's rubber gripper was too oily to get a grip on the plug, I suppose.

 

Now that you mentioned it, I did have an oil change and the slight
shuddering of the motor soon afterwards.

If the mechanic was distracted or sloppy, how would oil get into the
cylinders?

(did I mention I hadn't done an tune up since '85?)

Hope I'm not being a pain for asking such nube questions. I appreciate you
people very much!

 

It did not get into the cylinder, but that oil could have cause some
shorting out of the wires. When you change the plugs, change the wires also
as the oil may have helped them deteriorate. After five or six years it is
a good idea to replace the wires anyway.

 

Actually, the oil is a very good insulator - much better than air. So good,
in fact , that the business end of the plug may not fire if immersed in oil.
Breakdown voltage for clean - and that's the catch - mineral oil is in the
neighborhood of 20 - 30 Kv / mm. But, you are correct about the possibility
of the oil damaging the wires and boots.

 

If this were due to sloppiness, I'd expect that under the cover would b
all wet with oil. You can also look at the oil itself. If it's clea
like it just came out of the bottle, it's likely it was spilled. If it'
dirty like the oil that you normally see on the dipstick, it's leakin
from the engine.

Go ahead and remove the plugs and let the oil drain into the cylinders.
With all the plugs out and the coils disconnected to prevent inadverten
arcing, place rags over the holes and crank the engine for a few seconds.
This will dispel enough oil to prevent a fluid lock-up of the engine. The
wipe the plug tube walls clean and install new plugs and wires. When yo
start it, it'll smoke from the exhaust until the oil in the cylinder
burns off. A hard test drive of a mile or two will probably get rid of i
all