oil in spark plug well

Have a friend that's been going through a patch of bad luck with his car so he decided he needed to do some routine maintenance on it. When he went to change the spark plugs, one of the spark plug wells was completely full of oil.

Anyone with some possible causes??? I was thinking possibly head gasket or possibly worn/broken piston rings. Going to start ripping into it tonight and just start from the top and work on down. Hopefully find it, but if someone can point out what to watch for, it might be a bit easier.

Thanks in advance.

I had that problem in a dodge neon....turned out to be a plug gasket blown......dont know if it would be the same in your friends vehicle. Hope everything works out ok.

That's what I was wondering, also. Could just be a faulty spark plug, which would be cake, but probably going to have to take the valve cover off just to be able to see the bottom where it seats.

Oh well, we'll start ripping it apart, start from the top and work down until we find something...

Most engines have O rings or some type of gasket under the spark tubes. As mentioned that is common on Neon's. The fix is to install new O rings or tube gaskets. They are not considered reusable parts so they should be replaced when the valve cover is removed or when they leak.

Clifton

Truckpoor - keep us updated on your diagnosis.

Turned out to be the gaskets in the valve cover. Easy fix. Was a Honda Accord.