should my spark plugs have oil on them?

[90pioneer]

91 318I. Just for kicks I pulled out the plug closest to the radiator. The plug itself looked good but there was engine oil on the threads and oil on the spark plug socket.

Is this normal?

[jlevie]

That probably means the valve cover gasket is leaking.

[90pioneer]

That probably means the valve cover gasket is leaking.

Is that a major issue and is it difficult to replace?

[kts]

+1 for a leaky valve cover.

a lot of cars seem to work just fine with a leaky valve cover gasket, but you should look into replacing it. it's very easy. (well, i haven't done it on an M42 in an e30 but it shouldn't be too hard.)

basically, just remove the valve cover (looks like there are about 14 bolts holding it down), remove the old gasket and the smaller gaskets around the spark plugs holes, and bolt the valve cover back up. should take you about 30 minutes.

[stamar]

ya valve cover leaking.


but of course 90 percent of us would just check to see if any of the bolts are loose first.

you should see where its leaking from oil is not exactly sneaky.

[Vivek]

It's super easy. There's like O shaped gaskets around the spark plugs on the inside that's probably leaking. The only thing you have to think about is to make sure you don't over tighten the bolts because it's super easy to strip the threads. I believe there's 16 bolts.

[rjcaptsean]

When you order the valve cover gasket from Pelican, they now include the spark plug gaskets in the kit. Shout out to Pelican for listening to customers and adding those in.

Overall replacement is mucho easy. You will probably spend more time just trying to get the cosmoline off.

[Threehz]

It's super easy. There's like O shaped gaskets around the spark plugs on the inside that's probably leaking. The only thing you have to think about is to make sure you don't over tighten the bolts because it's super easy to strip the threads. I believe there's 16 bolts.

Take this advice, job is super easy, but don't overtighten!