Spark plugs look ok?

[mjimport]

Hey, just pulled the plugs and appear to be pretty old.
Also the car came with bav auto wires and it looks like there was a piece of the original plug wire stuck to the plug(?)
Order is 1.2.3.4 left to right. Plug #2 was kind of oily but not as bad as some posts I've seen on this forum.
Anything you guys see here that looks troublesome? The car ran very well prior to starting the intake cleanup project (almost done)
Thanks in advance!

[TobyB]

Looks like you need to take it out for a track day!

But they don't look awful. #2 is burning some oil...

t

[ttrousdell]

There is some carbon buildup but nothing that I would be concerned about. The oil on the threads of plug 2 is coming from the top of the plug. The gasket between the head and the valve cover needs to be looked or valve cover tightened down more because oil is dripping down into the spark plug hole.

[mjimport]

Awesome thanks!
Yea the injector ports, injector tips, etc. were very gummy. Looks like no one has ever been in there before (good thing I suppose).

[White325is]

I would change the plugs and stay away from the 4 prong plugs.

What are you driving these days?

[mjimport]

Yep, got some NGK 2 prong.

I've had this 91 318is for almost a year, just daily driving it and slowly restoring.

Any interesting swaps planned for you?

[White325is]

As of now. No. Just bought a house in williamsport. So I will be moving back end of December.

[Gkwan]

Awesome thanks!
Yea the injector ports, injector tips, etc. were very gummy. Looks like no one has ever been in there before (good thing I suppose).

I have a similar oily mess under the vacuum hoses, similar to where you have it on the left side of what ever that plastic box is. Do you know where that oil came from?? And what needs to be changed to keep that area clean?

I don't want to hijack your thread, but I have a similar issue with my spark plugs. I had oil in the tubes, but I have recently changed the valve cover gasket, so was surprised to see oil on the plugs. The area near the gaskets feel clean. Today I took out one of the worst ones and found oil all over the threads. I haven't changed the plugs recently, if that makes a difference.

How does this look?? Thanks!

[roguetoaster]

When you changed the valve cover gasket did you also change all of the spark plug well gaskets? If yes, perhaps you have a stripped or insufficiently tight valve cover bolt. Be careful if tightening as the torque spec is almost nil.

[Gkwan]

When you changed the valve cover gasket did you also change all of the spark plug well gaskets? If yes, perhaps you have a stripped or insufficiently tight valve cover bolt. Be careful if tightening as the torque spec is almost nil.

I did change the spark plug well gasket and torqued them to spec, (10nm). The tops of the park plug wells seemed dry, but I will check the bolts and try again.

thanks!

[Reyhan335]

Yeah, i would change them, if you don't change them now, then you will have to sooner or later so might as well while you have them out.

[mjimport]

Gkwan, what cylinder is that from? I'm going to guess the 2nd? I've seen a few like that and it seems that the valve cover does not seal well at the 2nd plug.

Unfortunately for me, I'll be waiting a while to put everything back and test drive. Autohaus screwed up and sent me some sort of resistor when it should have been an injector.
Now I have to wait for them to get my return on 11/23, THEN wait for them to send me the correct injector. I haven't driven my e30 in over a month :(. :(

The oil I believe is due to years of blowback buildup in the vacuum lines, then seaps out of the cracked hoses. I may be wrong though. It could also be from the valve cover gasket and runs down one of the MANY coolant/vacuum lines (prior to "mess" mod).

[TobyB]

No, I meant there was ash on the #2 plug, which is evidence that it's burning some,
as well as leaking. Change the plugs, check them again after a few hundred miles,
and see if it's still doing it. A little's ok, but if it does it again that quickly... well, don't
put a titanium valve cover on it!

As to leakers, I made the mistake of using a Reinz cover gasket. It's leaked ever since.
The HEAD gasket sealed fine, though.
And yes, you need to use the whole thing- profile gasket, plug gaskets, and rubber washers.
The washers are supposed to spring- tension the profile and plug seals....

t

[Gkwan]

Gkwan, what cylinder is that from? I'm going to guess the 2nd? I've seen a few like that and it seems that the valve cover does not seal well at the 2nd plug.

Unfortunately for me, I'll be waiting a while to put everything back and test drive. Autohaus screwed up and sent me some sort of resistor when it should have been an injector.
Now I have to wait for them to get my return on 11/23, THEN wait for them to send me the correct injector. I haven't driven my e30 in over a month :(. :(

The oil I believe is due to years of blowback buildup in the vacuum lines, then seaps out of the cracked hoses. I may be wrong though. It could also be from the valve cover gasket and runs down one of the MANY coolant/vacuum lines (prior to "mess" mod).

Thanks for the info. This plug was actually the first one (closest to the cabin) but a #2 also had some oil in it.
Suck to hear that Autohaus screwed up. I prefer them over the other sites where possible since their prices are cheaper and its easy to get free shipping.

I have got to get in there and clean up the hoses under the intake since its so oily under there.

Maybe I need to change the rubber washers since I got them, but never changed them.

Thanks!

[MVincken]

actually fyi, you always start counting on the timing (chain or belt) side :)
so this would be your 4th and 3rd plug

changing the rubbers is never a bad thing.