Oil Deposits/Check Engine Light

Well, last night, after i gunned one good time, the light came on. The same problem i had a while when i thought it was the o2 sensor. Well, i guess it isn't. I put i new one on when i installed the headers, and basicslly the same thing happens, after the light comes on, acceleration greatly depreciated. I thinking it would have to do with the oil deposits on my plugs, i know they are not supposed to be there. I figured/guessed that the deposits would cause hesitation in acceleration, becuase fuel and spark mixture is all screwed up. Do i have to do a rebuild, or is there a another to address this problem?

are you sure that they're oil deposits and not carbon deposits?

What's the timing set at?

ct91rs - yeah, they're oil deposits. I have a book at home that pretty much describes all the malfunctions of plugs and has pictures of what they look like. When i took the old plugs off (bosch plat. 4's) all of them had oil on them. Not much, like they were being drowned, but oil was there and very visible.

wrightz28 - i don't know what the timing is set at, and i don't know how to tell how many degrees it is set at. Can u explain?

wrightz28 - i don't know what the timing is set at, and i don't know how to tell how many degrees it is set at. Can u explain?
Then I assume you don't kow how to pull the code from the ECM to see what the check eng light is on for....
Oil deposites on the plugs will NOT trigger the check eng light, especially not in a 3rd gen.

Morley, the light only comes on every once in awhile, and it's after driving for as period of time. After i park the car for awhile, the light is no longer on and car is running fine again, but will act up again. My question to u is, does ecm store the error codes? Say if i went to check to codes at autozone or did it myself, would the code still come up, although the light is not on? Could you tell me how to check them again?

yeah, you sound like mine did.

on mine the ecm refrence wire was cracked, and the previous owner just advanced the hell out of the dist. to keep it alive. thus the ecm was not in sync with igntion timing.

Here's the scoop. The valve stem seals on these motors leak, fact of life. You have to incorporate this into you ignition timing (when the spark ignites the fuel relative to to the position of the piston on the power stroke). If you're igniting too soon or late you're allowing excess oil seeping past the seals to build.

The fix I found on mine was to set the base timing to the point where it emited the least smoke (from oil burning) without killing the motor, which in my case just so happened to be @ 8 advaced, the sweet spot for my motor's perfrmoance.

So, what you need to do is get a timing light and distributor wrench (14mm)

Enigne off, disconnect the tan wire (ecm ref) on the passenger side top of the fire wall.

Check your base timing by connecting the timing light +/- and the pick up on cyl #1. Behind the crank pulley (driver's side) is the timing index tab that tells you where you're at. fire up the motor, point the timing gun at the tab and pull the trigger. This is where your base timing is (usually 0*, stock).

To adjust you timing, loosen the dist. hold down bolt and turn the dist. to achieve desired results. In your case probaqbly about 4* s/b good. After a while you can almost ditch the gun and do by ear.

Just make sure you tighten the dist. back down and recheck your setting afterwards to see if the dist. walked a little while tightening. AND, reconnect the tan wire!!!!

Test drive and see how it feels, re-adjust as neccessary.

Alright, i try it this evening. My pops knows how to tell the timing i'll have him give me the run around. So should i advance it or retard it? (tryin to sound smart here)

actually, i advize against doing that. not to sound like a prick. the oil on the outside of the plugs, the porcelin (white) part is from your valve covers leaking oil. this is also a common problem. I strongly advize against screwing with anything untill you run the car for error codes. yes they are stored and will be there even if the check engine light is off. as far as checking the car for codes, you use a paper clip, and wire the top two terminals farthest to the right together and watch your check engine light. it will start flashing. it flashes each code three times. starting with code 12 which you ignore it will look like this....
FLASH * FLASH FLASH * * FLASH * FLASH FLASH * FLASH * FLASH FLASH * *

(the "*" is a pause)

after it does that it will flash other codes, say a code 23 would look like this....

FLASH FLASH * FLASH FLASH FLASH**

and then two more times and so on and so forth. just keep count, and post back what you get.

which O2 sensor did you get? Don't say the Bosch sensor that autozone has for $35. I made that mistake and the car ran just as it did with a bad O2 sensor. If you didn't get the factory ACDelco unit ($70)... you should. this fixed my problem. sounds like you have the same problem. bad O2 sensor. Car idles poorly and power greatly decreases at the same time the (check engine) light turns on. I'm 86% the problem is with the O2 sensor.

I'm with IROC... I wouldn't mess with the timing. If it hasn't been changed recently then it should be still at the original setting. Plus, the car runs fine other times. to my knowledge the ECM only changes timing under load/acceleration and when knock is present. If this were the case, he would notice the problem systematically when he accelerated or every time he did a certain thing.

I say spend the money on the factory O2 sensor, and quit buyin Bosch products, this includes your spark plugs. every auto parts store I have been to, tell me that those plugs foul out frequently (only one terminal on the plug fires at one time, not all four at the same time. and so there is always three other terminals that are left to more easily collect soot). Buy ACDelco products.... known for reliability, GM uses them for a good reason.

Morley, the light only comes on every once in awhile, and it's after driving for as period of time. After i park the car for awhile, the light is no longer on and car is running fine again, but will act up again. My question to u is, does ecm store the error codes?
The codes will be stored in the ECM for 50 starts (assuming they don't reoccur) or until you disconnect the battery/pull the ECM fuse.

cant say as ive ever seen a raped ape run..................

interesting mental picture though, thanks for that morley, i think im gonna go watch someone slaughter a pig to get that out of my head ;)

Instantkevin, the bosch one is the one i got. And what happens is the the exact way you described it. Poor idle and great power loss. Just gonna have to spend $70. Still gonna check the codes though.

When flashing the codes, the ignition is on.

When flashing the codes, the ignition is on.

Is that a question or statement? If it's a statement, then it's true. If is't a question, then yes, the ignition must be on or it will not flash codes.

Amen to what instantkevin said about bosch products, I haven't come across an automotive product of their's that was any good.

cant say as ive ever seen a raped ape run..................

interesting mental picture though, thanks for that morley, i think im gonna go watch someone slaughter a pig to get that out of my head ;)

Dude, when you go take a camera and post up on here so I can get the damned mental out of MY head too! LOL