Last plug swap I found oil in the #3 cyl spark plug tube. The top of plug was coated, looking like this. At the next MM.org DIY Day I replaced the seal for the tube. That didn't fix the issue as I found oil on top of the plug again while trying to diagnose the running on 3 cyl issue. (Cyl 1 is the culprit there). Going to try and fix this little problem by replacing the tube while fixing the running on 3cyl issue. New spark plug tubes are inexpensive at only 7 bucks or so. Hope this gets it.
was the plug loose? Have you checked since? See if its coming from the cylinder? I hope not, but if so... a compression check would be in order. I agree, hopefully it's just the spark plug tube needing replacing.
Plug was not loose. It has been checked a few times now and each time there is a little oil there. Compression has been checked there quite recently. 2,3 and 4 all are about 150-155 lbs. The recalcitrant cyl 1 was just over 60.
who needs 4 cylinders anyway? Mitsubishi Colt # Automaker Mitsubishi Motors UK presents a three-cylinder "supermini," :lol: Well the install of your new pistons,rings and spark plugs tubes you should have virtually a new power plant!
Nathan, when we pulled the coils on the e36 during the head gasket replacement, we noticed that almost all of the sprak plug valleys had oil in them. It's a BMW thing. This excerpt is from Pelican Parts' Tech Section on e36 spark plug replacement: The way that the ignition system is designed on these BMWs, there is the opportunity for the spark plug holes to completely fill up with oil, if you have a leaky seal on your valve cover. When you pull out the spark plug connector / coil combo, you may find that it is completely submerged in engine oil, as shown in Figure 12 and Figure 13. Looking down the hole, you may not even be able to see the spark plug because the entire hole is filled up with oil (Figure 14 and Figure 15). While common sense says that this is not a good thing, the reality is that this is actually quite common, and doesn't seem to affect the performance of the car one bit. If you do find this oil in your spark plug holes, I would suggest that you go one step further and replace the valve cover gasket. This replacement procedure is very simple, once you have the coils removed, and should only take you about 20 minutes more, providing you have the actual gasket on hand. If you find oil in your spark plug holes, then you should definitely replace the gasket. Not sure if it's the same on MINIs .. but just thought I'd pass that along.
I would say your rings are allowing a good amount of blow by. Then amount of blow by looks like its causing your spark plug to foul up. Which means your rings could be shot, or possibly cracked ring land. When I started to find out what happened to my car I took my spark plugs out I saw oil on #1 and then #2,3, and 4 were normal. Then I did a compression test and found I had 0 on 1, 151 on 2, 155 on 3, and 151 on 4. Then pulled my head and found my piston melted. I hope you find out the cause of your troubles.
Not directly MINI related, but a friend's Neon had oil in a spark plug tube. I helped replace the valve cover gasket along with the tube seals and plugs (were old anyway). No more oil in the spark plug hole.
I had to replace the Valve cover on my R56 this weekend (long story) and I can confirm that it is the same on our heads. If the spark plug gaskets leak, oil will leak down into the spark plug holes. Should not be a big deal as it is only the top side of the plug.
In the first post, the tube seal has already been replaced in a fix attempt. FYI, having replaced the tube seals on the valve cover I can report it is no easy task. I doubt oil passing the tube seal on an R53 valve cover would accumulate at sufficient volume to spill over the tube's top, and the plug boot also seals the opening. Keep in mind the spark plug seals the tube at its base. It is possible the tube is at fault if there is a crack in the tubing wall seam; it is also possible the head is cracked, threads are missing, or the plug is cracked. Oil can be coming from the top (valve train area) or coming from the bottom (combustion chamber). Regardless of whether physical evidence is found suggesting the tube at fault, while the head is off, I strongly suggest having it, crack, pressure, and vacuum tested, plus the deck measured for trueness. Valve guide issues are in this head's history, time to see how they're holding up.
Your experience isn’t very different. BMW was in a joint venture with Chrysler to build the first generation new MINI engine. The engine was designed for the European Neon and the MINI. The North American Neons used a very similar engine, just bigger. Chrysler designed both engines.