March 4, 200719 yr I have a feeling this isn't good... My Dad is changing the spark plug wires on my car, when he pulled out the left side front one there is oil coming out, I do not know what this means but I know it can't be good! can anyone help???
March 4, 200719 yr Oil coming out, dont panic. If you turn to your hitchhikers guide page number..... hehehehe There are seals in the valve cover that seal the spark plug buckets. That is probably where the oil is coming from. You can change them if you want, or if it hasnt affected your oil consumption, or caused any smoking, leave them be. nipper
March 4, 200719 yr Author Oil coming out, dont panic. If you turn to your hitchhikers guide page number..... hehehehe There are seals in the valve cover that seal the spark plug buckets. That is probably where the oil is coming from. You can change them if you want, or if it hasnt affected your oil consumption, or caused any smoking, leave them be. nipper How do you fix it? besides taking it in to my machanic... Does the engine have to come out? better question is it an expensive fix???
March 4, 200719 yr I don't think either motor offered in 95 had spark plug grommets... It's either an ej22 or ej18. Both have the same design.
March 4, 200719 yr Ah i didnt catch that, but then i would go with either a valve cover gasket, or just sloppyness. First thing i would do is clean the engine. Get a foaming engine cleaner and use the hose. Dont directly spray any sensors. Clean all the opil, and confirm that it is a leak, how bad it is, and where it is coming from. nipper
March 4, 200719 yr Author I don't think either motor offered in 95 had spark plug grommets... It's either an ej22 or ej18. Both have the same design. Sorry not 95 impreza anymore I now have a 2001 Subaru Forester
March 4, 200719 yr Sorry not 95 impreza anymore I now have a 2001 Subaru Forester Spark plug grommets it is then. Get a valve cover gasket set. Still needing to do this to my buddy's 02 RS. I changed his plugs a month or so ago and he about sh*t when he saw the oil on his. It's not a big problem. The oil is only getting on the bottom of the plugs when you take them out.
March 4, 200719 yr The oil is only getting on the bottom of the plugs when you take them out. We like to think of it as self lubricating spark plug threads hehehehe nipper
March 4, 200719 yr Author Does the engine have to come out to change these gaskets or grommets? I was smart enough to buy i Subaru, just not smart enough to fix one How much should a repair like this cost aprox. ?
March 4, 200719 yr The motor will stay in. It would probably be an under 1 hour job for somebody who has been around them a while. Longer if not. I'm not sure on the gasket price right off, they shouldn't be really expensive. You just have to remove the valve covers, change gaskets, and replace them. Good idea to do it right in the middle of an oil change. But it is not an immediate problem IMO.
March 4, 200719 yr Author The motor will stay in. It would probably be an under 1 hour job for somebody who has been around them a while. Longer if not. I'm not sure on the gasket price right off, they shouldn't be really expensive. You just have to remove the valve covers, change gaskets, and replace them. Good idea to do it right in the middle of an oil change. But it is not an immediate problem IMO. I was just looking up valve cover gasket sets and it shows to rectangular valve cover gaskets...is this all that I am loking for?
March 4, 200719 yr You'll need those, and the spark plug grommets. They are like big o ring type things. Most of the time you can get it as a set. Where are you looking it up at?
March 4, 200719 yr Whas thinking, the front left one is that the one nearest to the oil filler hose? (it really depends on how you see left and right) But i had it once after my brother added oil that there was oil in the hole of the sparkplug, without any troubles. He just poured some over the filler hose. (the reason why he filled it was even worse, because the CEL came on he directly thought it was the oil , so now i forbid him to fill anything except petrol ) I would check that first before fixing anything, was just an idea.
March 4, 200719 yr Spark plug hole seals. They go over the spark plug tubes directly behind the valve cover. The seals compress with age and leak.
March 5, 200719 yr Author Whas thinking, the front left one is that the one nearest to the oil filler hose? (it really depends on how you see left and right) But i had it once after my brother added oil that there was oil in the hole of the sparkplug, without any troubles. He just poured some over the filler hose. (the reason why he filled it was even worse, because the CEL came on he directly thought it was the oil , so now i forbid him to fill anything except petrol ) I would check that first before fixing anything, was just an idea. Left from the view of looking at the engine standing in front of the car
March 5, 200719 yr Author Spark plug hole seals. They go over the spark plug tubes directly behind the valve cover. The seals compress with age and leak. Ok, so should I order all these seals directly from subaru, or are thr after market as reliable?
March 5, 200719 yr Author You'll need those, and the spark plug grommets. They are like big o ring type things. Most of the time you can get it as a set. Where are you looking it up at? http://replacement.autopartswarehouse.com/parts/autopartswarehouse/wizard.jsp?year=2001&make=SU&model=FOR-4WD-001&category=All&part=Valve%20Cover%20Gasket%20Set&dp=true
March 5, 200719 yr OEM gaskets are the best way to go. And I'm assuming by the way you described looking at the motor tha would be the passenger side of the car, right?
March 5, 200719 yr Author OEM gaskets are the best way to go. And I'm assuming by the way you described looking at the motor tha would be the passenger side of the car, right? that is correct
March 6, 200719 yr We here would reffer to that as the right side. But as long as we know what you are talking about, that rules out the oil filler as a possibility. I'd say check on the gaskets from a subaru dealer or online supplier like www.subarugenuineparts.com The aftermarket gaskets usually aren't made to the quality of factory replacements. And I've found in some cases don't even fit right.
March 7, 200719 yr I'd go OEM. The wacky design of those plug pipe gaskets relies just the right properties of the material to seal properly. Besides, I bought the whole set (valve cover gaskets, bolt seals, plug pipe gaskets, o-ring for the oil filler tube) OEM, and it was $40 and change total -- not a lot of dough for peace of mind. You could probably drive a long ways w/ leaky pipe gaskets with no problems. However, word is if it gets bad enough, it can cause misfires. If oil leaches up the plug boot and short out, cable to head). Seemed like a lot of oil in my pipes though, yet my plugs were still bone dry, due to the great design of the plug boots (it was as if they knew the pipe gaskets were stupid). The job is straightforward. Took me ~1.5 hours for my '02 OBW, and I'm sure many could do it much faster (took me 2 long days to swap engines in my '78, and the following week I met a professional wrench who'd done his '79 swap in 1.5 hours). The only tricky bit is: clearance is quite tight for removing the valve covers once they are unbolted -- have to figure out just the right way to wiggle them out and back in. Do get them all the way out though, so you can clean the sealing surfaces. Remove plugs and clean out the pipes with a shop rag while you have it apart. Obviously, a good time to swap plugs and wires, if you need 'em. Factory torque on teh valve cover bolts is surprisingly low -- don't go crazy. If your engine is very dirty, might want to clean it first, to avoid getting crap in your valve train.
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