Oil coated spark plugs and metal
07-12-2009, 09:03 PM
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Oil coated spark plugs and metal
'88 928 s4 auto
OK, so I've done more work on my car and pulled a few plugs , so here are some pics. There were flakes of metal along with oil. Because there is so much oil I'm thinking the piston rings are shot, or as a friend suggested the car sat for so long and possibly the oil leaked passed the rings?
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1225.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1226.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1227.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1228.jpg
Here's my previous thread that has a little bit of history on the car.
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...new-owner.html
OK, so I've done more work on my car and pulled a few plugs , so here are some pics. There were flakes of metal along with oil. Because there is so much oil I'm thinking the piston rings are shot, or as a friend suggested the car sat for so long and possibly the oil leaked passed the rings?
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1225.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1226.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1227.jpg
http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a1...s/DSCN1228.jpg
Here's my previous thread that has a little bit of history on the car.
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-foru...new-owner.html
07-12-2009, 09:07 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
Repost of my last post from the original thread:
I am not going to be an alarmist here... but it would serve you better to wonder why there are metal flakes in the oil rather than oil on the plugs.
Perhaps when the car was put to rest, some oil was poured down each cylinder for long-term storage.
First step is to drain the oil and cut open the oil filter to see if there are flakes in there as well.
If there are flakes in the filter... you will need to seek out and heed the advice of the resident engine pros on this forum, as I am not one of them. They will advise you on whether to go further or not.
Perhaps when the car was put to rest, some oil was poured down each cylinder for long-term storage.
First step is to drain the oil and cut open the oil filter to see if there are flakes in there as well.
If there are flakes in the filter... you will need to seek out and heed the advice of the resident engine pros on this forum, as I am not one of them. They will advise you on whether to go further or not.
07-12-2009, 09:47 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Linkies no workie here, but I think those are the same pic's that you included links to at the end of your previous thread??
Looking at the high-water mark on the socket, I am thinking that the oil was above the spark plug, in the bottom of the spark-plug well in the head-- and not in the cylinder itself. The upper part of that well is formed by the cam cover, the lower part is in the head--- with a fat o-ring between that likes to get old and brittle. That allows oil to leak from the cam housing into the spark-plug wells.
That doesn't explain the metal (which I am not seeing in this picture), but that could just be dirt, corrosion and paint flakes from the outside world and not the inside. Unfortunately pulling the plugs before draining the well let all that crap into the cylinders. Flaking paint is no big deal, sand would be.
Unless the car was stored upside down, I wouldn't recommend soliciting futher advice from this particular friend. Oil tends to leak downwards...
What's the stick-thing shown in this picture?
Looking at the high-water mark on the socket, I am thinking that the oil was above the spark plug, in the bottom of the spark-plug well in the head-- and not in the cylinder itself. The upper part of that well is formed by the cam cover, the lower part is in the head--- with a fat o-ring between that likes to get old and brittle. That allows oil to leak from the cam housing into the spark-plug wells.
That doesn't explain the metal (which I am not seeing in this picture), but that could just be dirt, corrosion and paint flakes from the outside world and not the inside. Unfortunately pulling the plugs before draining the well let all that crap into the cylinders. Flaking paint is no big deal, sand would be.
a friend suggested the car sat for so long and possibly the oil leaked passed the rings?
What's the stick-thing shown in this picture?
07-12-2009, 10:03 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
Jim... I think he used the stick to see if there was oil in the cylinder (?) but that could be from the cam cover as well. Not so good if it introduced foreign (non-Porsche) material into the cylinder.... 
07-12-2009, 10:14 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
KpAtch3s, is this the metal you mentioned? (This is your DSCN1226 picture from photobucket).
Flake of something at the edge of the socket, some smaller stuff at the end of the threads.
It looks more like paint flakes to me. Is there any corrosion or flaking paint on the inside of those spark-plug wells?
If the plugs are still out, be very careful about anything dropping into those holes.
That makes sense, and looks like oil wiped along the side but not immersed- which would be consistent with oil in the plug wells.
If it is just leaking oil and flaking paint then it should be OK-- that assumes the plug-connectors were in good shape and kept everything else out of there...
Flake of something at the edge of the socket, some smaller stuff at the end of the threads.
It looks more like paint flakes to me. Is there any corrosion or flaking paint on the inside of those spark-plug wells?
If the plugs are still out, be very careful about anything dropping into those holes.
If it is just leaking oil and flaking paint then it should be OK-- that assumes the plug-connectors were in good shape and kept everything else out of there...
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07-12-2009, 10:29 PM
#9
Rennlist Member
Same. O-rings in valve covers leak oil on top of plugs.
Only mistake here was pulling the sparkplugs before soaking up the oil that collected above them.
Messed up my shopvac hose, but I duct taped small diam hoses on the end of the hose and stuck them into the holes to suck stuff out.
Only mistake here was pulling the sparkplugs before soaking up the oil that collected above them.
Messed up my shopvac hose, but I duct taped small diam hoses on the end of the hose and stuck them into the holes to suck stuff out.
