• Hi Guest!
    You can help ensure that British Car Forum (BCF) continues to provide a great place to engage in the British car hobby! If you find BCF a beneficial community, please consider supporting our efforts with a subscription.
    There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Tips
Tips

I think it's bad...

Share this page

M

mytvtmini

Freshman Member
Offline
Wife took her Sprite out for a drive this weekend and came back with an engine that was running, but had no strength. It was also shaking like crazy. Took a look under the bonnet and I see oil seaping up around the front spark plug.

I'm thinking a broken ring, any other ideas?

Thanks
 
Could be anything from a leaking valve cover gasket allowing the spark to travel the outside of the plug, to a blown head gasket... If a cylinder is FILLING with oil it'd hydro-lock and break things completely.

Spin it on the starter with the plugs out, power to the coil DISCONNECTED and don't have anything you want to keep clean on the plug side of the engine... If you get a geyser from a plughole it's tear-down time. Otherwise a compression test and/or leak-down test are in order.

Start with the simple stuff: clean it off, go thru the spin-up, replace the plugs and find the leak source.
 
How about a loose spark plug?
 
Could also be as simple as oil leaking down from the valve cover gasket area & wetting the spark plug wire.
 
Checked to make sure oil wasn't coming from above. Definitely coming up from spark-plug.
 
So, you're back to Doc's suggestion: compression check - dry & wet.
 
How about Jacks suggestion, tighten the spark plug, it isn't supose to leak. In fact it is preaty rare to leak. I vote for oil from outside.

"oil seaping up around the front spark plug" nah it has a washer seal, tighten it up.
 
I'll try both suggestions. I appreciate all the help.
 
/bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/iagree.gif
Once again Jack has it right.
Spark plugs shouldn't leak, oil or anything else.
Tighten it.
However, misfiring comes from any number of problems. The cylinder should have the three basics, compression, fuel and correctly timed spark.
The last of which sounds like a good guess for a potential problem. Check for spark with the plug out and engine cranking.
The first of which could also be a problem. Check compression.
 
Back
Top