stanger problem with my 96 neon

[jobwanter]

my car is more than 35 mpg before. but recently it dropped to 16 mpg.

i changed the tires and cleaned the air filter. but no improvement.

so i guess its sparks may need to be changed. when i was changing the sparks, i found engine oil in the 4th spark.

any suggestions?

thanks.

[jobwanter]

Originally Posted by jobwanter

my car is more than 35 mpg before. but recently it dropped to 16 mpg.

i changed the tires and cleaned the air filter. but no improvement.

so i guess its sparks may need to be changed. when i was changing the sparks, i found engine oil in the 4th spark.

any suggestions?

thanks.

I found some ppl have the same problem as mine:

Question: 1996 Dodge Neon DOHC mileage: 84000. Hi guys. I was changing my spark plugs today and when I pulled out one the old plugs, it was covered in oil. Is this normal? I don't know too much about cars but none of the other cylinders were like this? What do you think?

Answer: It would appear from what you described that the rings and/or valve stem seals have failed in the cylinder with the spark plug that was covered in oil.

Follow-up from viewer: On theses particular cars the plugs are down in the head a good ways and if the valve cover gasket is leaking it will leak down into these holes! Try replacing the valve cover gasket first before spending a lot of money on diagnostics for internal engine damage!

[seniorbigs]

Common problem, replace the valve cover gasket and spark plug well gaskets.