sbond072

Hello I am rather new to the forums but i cant seem to find whats wrong with my car if anyone can help this is whats going on:

I am burning oil and it seems like alot about a qt a month, so i decided to pull codes and none came up, so then i decided to pull the plugs and cylinder 1 and 2 had oil dripping off the plugs and are pretty dirty and 3 and 4 were dry and clean... there are no oil leaks ... would it be a valve guide ,burnt valve, valve gasket....? and is there any way to tell what it is or if its one or the other

---Thanks Cbond

ncmudbug

How many miles on it? Have you done a compression test? If the plugs were truly dripping, that sounds like a head gasket. I don't think you'd get that much oil from rings or valve guides.

Glyn M Ruck

You need to perform a leak down test. That will highlight where the problem lies.

Leevan

I had a similar situation. It was even the same number plugs as you. But I noticed the oil in the top before I took them out. I changed the spark plug gaskets in the valve cover (and also the valve cover gasket while I had it off). It's been fine since

samaritrey

how many miles do you drive a month?

sbond072

abot 1000 max a month , and 95000 on it now and also there was oil on top the plugs the dealer said it was a leak at the oil fill cap but i know its not so they are going to do a compression test for free ...

LILBENZ230

Have you checked the very back of the engine? This is where the common-to-fail vacuum pump is on these cars. My car doesn't use more than half a quart in 6 months and 13k miles.

LILBENZ230

Dragging this thread back up.

My car has recently been having a stumble after sitting for 8+ hours. Today, after having sat for 36 hours, I let someone else use it and decided to go out there as they left. I heard the stumble as it started and so did they. Well, as they accelerated off right after starting up there was blue smoke. Not a lot, but definitely some.

Is it possible that oil leaking into the combustion chamber via the spark plug seals could be the reason for the initial stumble? In my head this makes sense. If so, that will soon be taken care of. I have a timing chain and tensioner in hand, just waiting on the valve cover and spark plug gaskets to come in. That will be fixed then.

SunnyRayToronto

whitish blue smoke from exhaust could also mean coolant in engine oil,... usually via leaking head gasket so look out for that.

ncmudbug

Oil should never leak past the seals into the combustion chamber (unless I'm misunderstanding what you're saying). If the seal will not keep oil from entering the combustion chamber from outside the engine, you would always have a poor seal - not just when you start up - and It would run like crap.
Matt, I would guess that the oil your car is burning is likely valve stem seals. I might be valve guides, too. Certainly your Indy can help find the actual source.

LILBENZ230

Head gasket would be white smoke... This was definitely oil related. There are tons of threads on here about owners of M271s finding spark plugs covered in oil. How could the tip of the spark plug have oil on it and there be none in the cylinder? The guy who posted earlier in this thread had it happen and replaced the valve cover gasket and spark plug seals and said it was fine afterwards.. Think that's what I'm gonna do.

ncmudbug

Don't forget that the headgasket also seals oil passages to the head. Sometimes they can leak into the combustion chamber. If the rings are really worn, oil can get up that way, too. A leak down test would tell the tale.

LILBENZ230

Wouldn't those issues show up when the engine runs vs only for a minute after sitting a long time? The only other car I've had this happen with was a 150k mile Camry, and it was the valve stem seals. No drivability issues. I will replace the valve cover gasket and plug gaskets and report back. As healthy as the car is I can't imagine it being more serious than that. It runs great.. No smoke other than briefly after start, no power loss, no declining fuel econ, no significant oil loss - less than 1 qt in 13000 miles - etc.

ncmudbug

I think you're right. If it was something serious like rings or a blown head gasket, it would more an all-the-time thing. I certainly don't expect your car to be that worn out with the way you keep it up. My first guess would be valve stem seals but I'm not sure why they would be an issue only when the car was first starting... Maybe the seals expand when they warm up and thus seal better???

[Sorry if we were "talking past each other". I was getting confused with who had what issue!!]

nlpamg

subscribed to this. this sounds familiar. good luck, Matt.

sammydragon3

just replace the valve cover, spark plug seals. and oil filter seal

this only costs 150 to replace...at an indy or cheaper