96 neon...I changed the plugs about a year ago and there was a bit of oil on the plugs...Today, I was driving home and one of the spark plugs came out...a nice man stopped to help..said the gap looked good but couldn't get the plug back in all the way. He said it should be good enough to get me home, but I only made it about a block before black smoke came billowing out of the tailpipe. My mom had a similar problem with her 2001 neon..turned out the rings were cracked that hold the spark plugs in. Just wondering if that sounds like a possibility of what is wrong and if that repair is something I could handle...or if I should leave it up to the trust mechanics. Thanks for any help and suggestions you can give!!

-Amanda

 

tube seals are bad!! but what worries me is ur plug came right out[&:]!!!!!!!the black smoke could be cause u got oil in the piston chamber,,try letting it run and c if it clears up,,,just a suggestion!!!

 

Thanks for the suggestion - I'll get some of my handy buddies to help me out ...I'm one of those not-so-car-friendly girls

 

the spark plug popping out is kinda bad. either its the plug itself (hopefully) or the threading into the block thatis bad, which is a little more of a headache. and that black smoke is probablyonly from theoil getting into the combustion chamber.

 

my 97 neon had that problem. had to heli coil the plug. I'm using 20 w50 oil now. 144k miles. any lighter and the oil gets consumed.