if it were your head gasket you would know lol, just like all these other guys said, the plug tubes are running straight thru the valve cover and down, and most likely those tubes are loose, tab down with a block of wood like darth said, but make sure not tap hard enough to dent the tops of them, and changing the gaskets wouldnt hurt.. also try to get the oil back out of the tubes so it doesnt mess with your connection on the wire to the plug.

good luck bro

 

forgot to add, for ninhalo, like i said about the oil in the tubes, its probably causing a bad connection on the plug wires to the sparkplug... not really fouling unless the oil is somehow getting into the cylinder, but if you see no smoke, your not burnin any oil.

 

how are these tubes accessed?
do I just remove the plastic casing where the plug wire boots sit, or is it more complicated?

I'd like to try that today if I can and see if that helps until i can get the gaskets.
thanks

 

spark plug tube seals

 

all you gotta do is take the valve cover off...

easiest way possible is unplug the coil on top... you dont really have to, but it will make it easier to remove the valve cover..

you have 10 bolts im pretty sure, and when you take those out the valve cover will lift right off, you also got a vent tube thats attached to the side, but just pull that off....

Now your cam and lifters will be showing... and 4 metal tubs sticking straight up...

wiggle them a bit and see if they are loose just for fun lol.. since you got the cover off may as well tap em down just to make sure..

get a good thick block of wood.... and do one at a time...

put the block of wood on top, and just tap easily down with a hammer.. but make sure teh wood is flush with the top of the tube so you dont dent them... do each one and then put your cover back on...

Make sure you dont over tighten the bolts because they are VERY VERY VERY easily broken...

you may be able to take an air compressor to try to blow the oil out of the tubes after you get the cover back on, take your plugs out and wipe all the oil off of them and use a Qtip to get the oil out of the plug wires to make sure you get a good connection..

hope this helps you bro.. good luck
hope this helps you out bro

 

Pretty much how I did it. Really easy. My gasket was fine though after all of that, lol.

 

yeah roush makes a good point, you need to check your valve cover gasket and your gaskets that are on your spark plug tubes to, and make sure they are clean before you put it all back together.. i forgot to mention that...

*update* im currently rebuilding my engine, and i noticed that it is way easier to get the valve cover off if you take the coil off all together, because it blocks the valve cover bolt on the main back in the middle..... it is possible to get it out... but its pain in the ***.. it would be a shorter time just to loosen the 4 bolts on the coil, than trying to take that one bolt out by itself with the coil on lol.. good luck

 

Wow...alot of missinformation on here.

The four rings/seals around the spark plug tubes tend to enlarge over time and fall out causing oil to hit the top of the spark plug boot and go into the tube.

You don't need to replace your engine.

Stock seals will swell up MUCH faster if you use synthetic oil.

You pretty much never have to replace the stock neon valve cover gasket. Notice how I said the stock one...if some douch already scraped the stock one off and used either goop or rubber...then ya do it.

BTW the seals are on the back of the valve cover....not at the bottom of the tubes.

Oh and never try to reinstall seals that have fallen out.

 

ok well I got the cover off looks like some idiot beat me to the job, silicone everywhere tubes all beat to hell.
Well I tried to wiggle the tubes they wont budge. but looking at them it seems the oil is entering from the bottom of the tubes. the tubes are pretty much dry except for a few areas where the oil dripped off the plug when removing them.
any ideas on what to do next? or is turning into a lost cause?
thanks

 

Ugh...