oil in spark plug recess

[rik89]

right so today I thought i'd change my plugs, part of a cpmplete service on my 318ti m44.
i did an oil change, checked the levels etc and ran the engine for about a minute
pulled the plug cover off and the plug connector nearest the front of the engine bay.
i slotted my 16mm plug tool down there and pulled it out again to find oil all over the tool, thought this was a bit odd and the spark plug wasnt very tightly seated(seemed semi nipped up)

i put my tool in the other slots and they were all perfectly clean.

any idea on what could have caused the oil? just the fact the plug is loose?
will i need to blow any sh1t3 out of the sylinder b cranking it?

any help much appreciated

[b.u.ti-ful]

Funny you should post this as I am doing this repair as we speak.

You need a new valve cover gasket.

Lucky for you (and me) it's all spelled out right here:

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12007

[1996 328ti]

I changed my valve cover gasket last week.
The gasket was hard as a rock.

Not sure of a M42/M44 has the same type of gasket, but if there is a separate gasket that goes around the spark plugs, you may need a dental pick to remove it.

Be sure nothing drops in there.

[rik89]

cheers guys shall do this tomorrow and let you know how i get on,
are the plug gaskets part of the rocker cover gasket set?

[cooljess76]

While you have the valve cover off, take some brake cleaner and a poker and scrape all of the crud out of the fitting where the crank case vent(CCV) hose slides onto. Your car will run better

[b.u.ti-ful]

Originally Posted by rik89

cheers guys shall do this tomorrow and let you know how i get on,
are the plug gaskets part of the rocker cover gasket set?

I would not assume it all comes together because when I called my BMW dealer, they guy was ordering each part.

But other aftermarket sellers might have it all as a kit.

[cooljess76]

you can get the part numbers from realoem.com. I'm sure the part numbers are posted on this forum somewhere as well, try searching "valve cover gasket" or "spark plug gaskets"

[1996 328ti]

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...62&hg=11&fg=15

fig 5 (1)
fig 6 (1)
fig 7 (3)

Don't loose the bolts and washers. I dropped one and had the hardest time finding it.
Turned out to be on a crossmember. Never made it to the ground.

Tischer Parts is your best bet.
http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...layCatalogid=0

[rik89]

yea cheers for that i just found that on realoem.

now gotta find somewhere local to get the bits from thats open on sunday

number 13 i presume is the ccv hose, i'll get it cleaned up nicely whilst the cover's off.

read that guide does evryone here use sealer on the cam cover?

[1996 328ti]

Originally Posted by rik89

now gotta find somewhere local to get the bits from thats open on sunday

Didn't pay attention to your location. Good luck. Should be an easy job. If I could do it on my 2.8, should be a snap on a M44.

[b.u.ti-ful]

Originally Posted by rik89

does evryone here use sealer on the cam cover?

Yeah, get a tube of high temp sealer.

You'll see it on the old gasket when you take it out.

By the way, I just pulled my valve cover and did a practice run putting it back on and I definitely will need to remove the ductwork above the rear of the cover to make it easier to place when I reassemble. It's too tight a squeeze without removing it.

I'm done for today and my gaskets aren't in til Monday - but, I figured I could get myself 50% of the way today and drive my other car.

[elchicano]

Yeah i had this done at the dealer a couple months back. I did my oil change a couple weeks ago and found oil in one of the sprak plugs. It's really annoying when you pay someone to do a job and they don't do it correctly. I need to take it back and have them fix, that's if it's still under warranty.

[b.u.ti-ful]

That sucks - I wonder if they put the old inner gaskets back in instead of new ones?

[rik89]

right, i phoned round a few places. found a place that does a gasket set for £100 delivered next day.
seems a little expensive to me?
thats approx $150 :s

i might try tightening up the bolt by plug 2 as its next to plug one that thats the only plug with oil in the hole.

also is it ok to just spray degreaser down the hole? (obviously i would leave the plug in so as not to let anything get in the cylinder)

[b.u.ti-ful]

Be very careful about overtightening that aluminum thread!

You can swab out the oil one way or another for as long as you need to.