Oil in spark pulg cylinder??? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

salvagemr2 · 10-11-2006, 07:57 PM

Hello everyone,

Just bought a 91 Toyota MR2 and the check engine light is on. So I did a little inspecting and discovered oil in the spark plug cylinder. The third from the left. The motor is a 2.2 L. Has about 160K on the motor. Any insight as to a cause and possible solution would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Oliver

430hpToy · 10-11-2006, 08:18 PM

sounds like the rings are shot!

did you do a compression test of the cylinders?

salvagemr2 · 10-11-2006, 10:17 PM

I just found out about it earlier today. i will go ahead and do that. I was going to simply give the old motor a rebuild anyway so I guess this is insentive. How long do I have before it is not runable?

meoggi · 10-12-2006, 04:45 PM

no no no. do not listen to rings. get rings out of your head. the problem will lie higher than that. yes my friend your problem would be valve seals. i dont know if this is your only car and is your daily driver or not. if it is not your daily driver and is a project car i can help you make things cheaper. if this is your daily driver take it to a machine shop or a mechanic that deals with a good machine shop. if you take it to a mechanic the repair cost will be considerably higher. if you want to work on it yourself at home it will take about a full weekend to get your parts off. if you do this by yourself then take off the head. (cylinder head) * remember once you do that you will need a new head gasket*. take the head to a machine shop like napa if you have them around you. tell them you want your head done and tell them you would like your valve stem guides done, valve seats done and new valve stem seals. it would also be recomended to have the head resurfaced. also it woulod be a good idea to change as may gaskets as you can when you have everything apart maybe also a water pump. i know it is not your rings because your plugs would not be wet with oil. if the rings were leaking then you would be seeing alot of smoke out of your tail pipe and no wet oil. also when you reinstall the head you will need to se the timing. i recomend you have the car towed to a mechanic and have him set the timing. it is very important you do not start the car if you have not set the timing.
I KNOW THIS ALL SOUNDS LIKE ALOT OF WORK TO DO BUT IT WILL SAVE YOU MONEY. I WORK ON CARS FOR A LIVING. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A SECOND OPINION PLZ GO AHEAD AND ASK A MECHANIC YOU CAN TRUST. DO NOT GO TO A DEALERSHIP MECHANIC! THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF ROYALLY!
GOOD LUCK--------MATT

salvagemr2 · 10-12-2006, 08:20 PM

Thanks for the info. Would I be better off getting the motor completely rebuilt?

meoggi · 10-14-2006, 02:45 PM

well possibly. if you got the cash to spare. id say go for it because you got how many miles on this motor?, its old. if you like the car give it some loving and attention. at least you will know that everything is strong. the worst thing is to go and do alot of work to fix one problem and then a month later you find out now you gotta go deeper in the motor to fix a new problem. it really is your call. but i must incist that you go to a mechanic that you can really trust and talk to without feeling rushed. if he will sit down and go over your concerns with you then you found him. finding a mechanic is like shopping for a car. after all is said and done buy him a case of beer and then he will be your friend in the future for when you need him next. he will remember. belive me i know. good luck

OEMonkey · 10-15-2006, 10:56 AM

Why don't you pull the code for the check engine light?
And oil in the spark plug wells is commonly caused by a worn valve cover gasket. Just replace the valve cover gasket and grommets. You did say oil in the spark plug well, not oil in the combustion chamber. I would assume you pulled a plug wire and saw oil pooled up in the plug well w/ the spark plug still installed, correct?

meoggi · 10-15-2006, 12:15 PM

yes where is the oil at on the spark plug? is oil on the tip or is the oil closer to the wires. if it is closer to the wire then you dont need to rebuild anything. like he said it would be a valve cover gasket

salvagemr2 · 10-15-2006, 09:37 PM

The oil is in the spark plug well. I did simply pull the boot and see oil. Is this dangerous to drive?

meoggi · 10-16-2006, 04:29 PM

no just keep an eye on your oil level and oil pressure

RideMr2 · 10-16-2006, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OEMonkey

And oil in the spark plug wells is commonly caused by a worn valve cover gasket. Just replace the valve cover gasket and grommets. You did say oil in the spark plug well, not oil in the combustion chamber. I would assume you pulled a plug wire and saw oil pooled up in the plug well w/ the spark plug still installed, correct?

How could this be from a worn valve gasket and/or grommets.
I don't see how it could get into the *spark plug wells* due to them being so long?

OEMonkey · 10-17-2006, 11:54 AM

There's rubber tube seals for each spark plug well. But if you don't believe me, then go right on ahead and tell the guy he needs a head job and/or new piston rings.

tHa kNiGHt FaLL · 10-17-2006, 06:52 PM

pull the code... if it doesn't run like shit leave it alone for now. but start saving money.

salvagemr2 · 10-18-2006, 08:57 PM

The car runs pretty good. It idles a bit high and get terrible gas mileage on the street but great freeway. I have a bit of money saved and in a month or two I'll just get the motor rebuilt. would it be a good idea to throw in a better cam?

tHa kNiGHt FaLL · 10-22-2006, 06:01 PM

if you can find a set of performance cams for it. let us kno. i remember looking for along time and couldn't find shit