Oil in the spark plug 4.4 v8
 

There is Oil in the number 1 spark plug right bank and it is causing my car to stutter and smoke from the right side exhaust.
Could this be a leaky gasket, o rings or spark plug seals?

It seams as if the oil is there without running down the outside of the threads, it has a compression of 150psi and the one next to it is the same.

Has anybody els had this problem? Or any ideas?

I am going to change all the seals and gaskets this week to see if it makes a difference.
Also, what oil should I be using?

Cheers

Mac

Most likely leaking valve cover gasket... 4.4 V8's are more prone to failure than other BMW engines..

I had the same problem on my 4.4. It was the last spark plug on the drivers side. Mine was just a small leak, a few drops, and was fixed with new valve cover gaskets. I would use 5W-30 synthetic oil as reccommended.

Very common fault on the V8's, its the valve cover gaskets, get them done as soon as you can before the coil packs start to fail.

What everyone else said above. I had this issue last year and it was the valve cover gaskets.

even though the oil is "inside" the plug tip?

I have been told it could be the inner gasket not outer, would that be right.?

There isn't oil on the outside of the engine.

Mac

Change the valve cover gasket and while your at it (if you live in a cold climate) install the upgrade crankcase oil sepator hoses that prevent too high pressures which might contribute to your problem.

Got back from the dealers and they said it may be oil stem plug seals???? or something like that. But weren't sure. It would be a big job for them. and at £80.00 an hr I wasn't letting them.Especially when they were not even sure!!!

Any body know anything about these? I was surprised to hear that they dont know of any problems with the valve gaskets leaking??.

They reckon my engine might of got very hot at somepoint and hardened the seals. ? They have done a compression test on all cylinders and they are all ok.
They are not sure how the oil is getting into the chamber and getting burnt through the exhaust?

It is going in for the valve gaskets etc on Saturday so will let you know how we get on.

Cheers

Sorry its the vlave stem oil seals?

Mac.

Who ever told you it is the valve stem oil seal hasn't a clue, or thinks you don't have a clue.

The valve stem oil seals are on the stem of the intake and exhaust valves. These seals prevent oil from being pulled from the valve train/valve cover area into the cylinder around the valve stem. A perfect example of this happening is when a car puffs smoke on the first start of the day and it then clears up.

Performing a compression test will test many things (rings, valves, pistons and cylinder walls) but it will never test valve stem seals.

The oil leak I believe you have is a leak from the valve cover into the spark plug well. This leak has nothing to do with valve stems. I would suspect your stuttering problem is being caused by the spark plug misfiring because the oil in the spark plug well is shorting out the coil.

You need to do two things.

1. Find a new shop that honestly knows what they are doing. May be hard to do.

2. Change or have your valve cover gasket changed.

Come to think of it. . .try cleaning the oil out of the spark plug well first and see if it comes back. The wonderful shop may have just poured it in there to find somthing to fix.

You call,
SS