oil in spark plug holes

I was going to replace my spark plugs today. when I pulled the boot off, i noticed it was covered in motor oil. They all were. what is causing oil to be there?

the car runs great and has lots of power for a 4cyl., but w

you need to replace the o ring gormets inside the valve cover and replace the valve cover gasket most of the time they come together

natecivic hit the nail on the head. spark plug tube rings go bad all the time.

I was going to replace my spark plugs today. when I pulled the boot off, i noticed it was covered in motor oil. They all were. what is causing oil to be there?

the car runs great and has lots of power for a 4cyl., but w

I noticed the same thing in my 91 Accord, in one cylinder, when I changed plugs two days ago. Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but I believe that oil must not be allowed to go down into the cylinder because it could cause serious engine damage of the plug were replaced and the engine started with that oil, or any liquid, in the cylinder. The liquid isn't going to compress when the crankshaft is rotating and pushing the piston up and down in the cylinder.

In my case, I used a chop stick to press a paper towel down around the old plug and soak up that oil before I pulled that plug.

I think I'm going to just monitor this and try to postpone gasket/seal replacement until I take my car in to a shop for a valve adjustment.

well, dderoph, the small amout of oil you'd get from the plug seals leaking won't hydrolock (or would it be oleolock or something?) your motor. It'll just burn off the first time you run the motor. You don't really need to do the chopstick thing.

What you're saying is that the volume of oil is small enough that it would not cause damage if it gets into the cylinder. And, I agree that if, in fact, the volume is not large enough to cause damage, then removing that oil is not necesary.

I just don't know what is a safe volume of liquid in a cylinder. Therefore, I'd rather remove it. Chop sticks are cheap.

It's not always the seals in the valve cover. There are also seals in the spark plug tubes about half way down. Those are a little more difficult to replace since it requires removing the rocker assy. followed by a valve adjustment.