0il around base of spark plugs on v6 petrol-should i panic?

hogggman · Post by **hogggman** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 12:46 pm

hi,
i`ve just gone out to my v6 petrol bongo this morning,to change the oil and filter.i got sidetracked and was checking the spark plug leads.i pulled the caps off and noticed oil around the base of three plugs.two on one side and one on the other.it`s quite`clean`oil,in that it doesn`t look like when you have a blown head gasket and it doesn`t look like it`s contaminated with coolant.my coolant level has never gone down(i`ve only been driving it a week)and there`s no steam from the exhaust.it also runs very well,starts first turn of the key,and is even fairly economical for a v6 ,giving me about 27mpg.do i have a problem?i`m paranoid now,and i`m starting to panic.
i was initially changing the oil/filter as the engine sounds a bit`tappetty` and i thought it might help.
then,i thought that the sound was similar to when you have a loose sparkplug and there`s air escaping past the plug.as there was oil around the base of 3 plugs,i thought there might be 3 slightly loose plugs(but why the oil?)would you expect there to be oil there if the plugs were loose?i`ve just gonne out with a spark plug spanner and tried gently to tighten the plugs but they won`t move.now i`m very scared that the plugs might be stuick,and i`m scared of snapping one of them off.
this bongo was imported last may and has only just been sold and then registered as it couldn`t have an sva test as there was no model report-so therefore it was standing for around 10 months before i bought it and had it converted to a camper.
any ideas?i`ve only had it on the road a week and i`m beginning to worry.this was a `trade sale`at £2,000 and i took a gamble buying it.i just hope i don`t regret it.
thanks
jamie

francophile1947 · Post by **francophile1947** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 12:55 pm

I wouldn't expect oil around loose plugs - it usually comes from leaking rocker covers. As the vehicle is running well, just clean it out and see if it comes back - it might just be one of life's mysteries

moonshine · Post by **moonshine** » Sat Mar 15, 2008 1:25 pm

Beat me to it John, I was going to say check the rocker cover gaskets. That's certainly where I would start. Oil is much more likely to come down from the rocker covers than up through tight plugs, or even loose ones, unless the engine was well worn. Then I would expect it to be running rough.

If the engine is running well, I doubt whether there is anything seriously wrong. I don't like the fact that it has been standing around a long time, but if it is used regularly now, things should settle down.