Oil on the spark plugs?

[1997stang]

Hey guys, i took my o/r x pipe off today to swap a stock one on for inspection and i found oil in the x pipe. So to see if it was a big problem or not i checked the spark plugs to make sure their wasnt oil on them and sure enough there was. Oil on the spark plugs means bad piston rings doesn't it? How expensive of a job am i looking at here?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[01vert]

The insulator and electrode were oil soaked?

Just checking this isn't the top of the plugs having oil on them from leaking cam cover gaskets.

 

[droptopsnake01]

The insulator and electrode were oil soaked?

Just checking this isn't the top of the plugs having oil on them from leaking cam cover gaskets.

Good question.

o/p, do you remember where the oil was exactly?

And are you sure the "oil" wasn't just a black water residue?

 

[1997stang]

Positive, definitely oil and it was on the threads of the spark plugs.

 

[01vert]

How did the electrode look? The threads can get oil on them when removing them if the little seals on the cam cover leak into the pocket for the plug and COP.

The car have blue smoke coming out of it when cold or hot? When at idle or hammered on? Car seem to idle rough or have poor power?

 

[1997stang]

How did the electrode look? The threads can get oil on them when removing them if the little seals on the cam cover leak into the pocket for the plug and COP.

The car have blue smoke coming out of it when cold or hot? When at idle or hammered on? Car seem to idle rough or have poor power?

Blue smoke when the car is cold, none when the car is warmed up. Blue smoke at idle and hammered on when cold. Not sure if the idle is rough or the car has poor power, just got the car 2 weeks ago and this is my first time having a cobra so i just assumed this is how everything runs. Ive never driven another 01 cobra so i couldnt tell you if it feels sluggish.

 

[1997stang]

How did the electrode look? The threads can get oil on them when removing them if the little seals on the cam cover leak into the pocket for the plug and COP.

The car have blue smoke coming out of it when cold or hot? When at idle or hammered on? Car seem to idle rough or have poor power?

Actually, the electrode looked to be alright. Im going to do a compression test today and a leak down test to see if everything is alright. Hopefully those tests come out good.

 

[1997stang]

The only thing im curious about is why i would have had oil in the x pipe up near where it connects to the header. Its not like it was a mixture of some things, it was pure oil.

 

[01vert]

cold blue smoke sounds like excessive blowby? You pull to top of the intake to see if the PCV is dragging in a lot of oil?

Why you would see regular oil in the exhaust rather than an oily sooty mess is beyond me.

 

[1997stang]

cold blue smoke sounds like excessive blowby? You pull to top of the intake to see if the PCV is dragging in a lot of oil?

Why you would see regular oil in the exhaust rather than an oily sooty mess is beyond me.

No, ill check that when i get home.

 

[1997stang]

Some one who had the car before me didnt have the c clip that holds the clutch cable to the transmission on the car. Would this cause the clutch not to disengage completely? Ive been having a hard time getting the car into gear and shifting and it felt like the clutch was always grabbing but i couldnt figure out why.

 

[ModularFan]

check to see if you have a leaking Valve Cover, check to see if your PCV Valve is stuck open or clogged. do a compression test and a leak down test, it could also be a bad piston ring, could possibly be cracked.

 

[1997stang]

Im doing the compression test today. I took off the starter a few days ago to take the tranny out to put the new clutch in and didnt even thing about doing a compression test first.