oil causing misfire in my plug cylinders help help help?

[yogi18m]

recently my car has been misfireing and running like shit, the SES light was on but it has recently went out. i decided to take it in and the dealership said that there is oil leaking in the cylinders where the spark plug goes in and that is causing a misfire which is making the engine backfire and all. they said that the gaskets needed to be replaced and that i should get some new wires and plugs which i agree with. They also said that i would have to replace the lower intake gaskets and the fuel injector o rings, i was confused cause this has nothing to do with the valve covers or the heads on the car. Anyways what i was wondering was if anyong has done this or knows anything about it. I changed the spark plugs and had no troubles doing that and was wondering if this is a job that i should attempt or not. They said somthing about the camshaft but cover but if its just a gasket or something im sure that i can handle it. well let me know how big of a job that this is, i would appreciate it very much so i dont tear this thing apart and not beable to fix the oil leak problem.
thanks a lot Brandon

[ryan.hess]

Re: oil causing misfire in my plug cylinders help help help?

recently my car has been misfireing and running like shit, the SES light was on but it has recently went out. i decided to take it in and the dealership said that there is oil leaking in the cylinders where the spark plug goes in and that is causing a misfire which is making the engine backfire and all. they said that the gaskets needed to be replaced and that i should get some new wires and plugs which i agree with. They also said that i would have to replace the lower intake gaskets and the fuel injector o rings, i was confused cause this has nothing to do with the valve covers or the heads on the car. Anyways what i was wondering was if anyong has done this or knows anything about it. I changed the spark plugs and had no troubles doing that and was wondering if this is a job that i should attempt or not. They said somthing about the camshaft but cover but if its just a gasket or something im sure that i can handle it. well let me know how big of a job that this is, i would appreciate it very much so i dont tear this thing apart and not beable to fix the oil leak problem.
thanks a lot Brandon

I don't see how oil would leak in if the spark plug was tight... Even if oil somehow managed to completely fill the spark plug hole, it wouldn't do anything, as it is a dielectric (they use it in transformers and capacitors to prevent arcing). However, if this is the problem, then you just need to replace the valve cover seals on both sides of the engine... That does require removing the upper plenum to get to the rear. I also don't see why they think you need to replace the lower intake manifold? Preventative maintenance maybe? Anyways, it's pretty easy and straightforward. It might take you a day if you've never had the plenum off before... I've taken the plenum off 40+ times in the past 3 months, and can replace the valve cover gaskets in less than an hour

[SappySE107]

The oil isn't going into the combustion chamber, its going in around the spark plug and the boot. This is bad, and although I wont say its common, its definetly a design issue. There is a gasket between the head and the cam carrier that is probably your problem. The gaskets around the cam cover spark plug holes COULD be your only problem but its a better gasket than the head>cam carrier.

Oil around the spark plug will cause problems. Same with water, it deteriorates the plug wire and this lack of proper insulation causes problems.

Injector o rings would be if they are pulling the lower intake for some reason. This is not necessary, tell them to stick it. The lower intake doesn't have to be pulled unless they are pulling the heads. The cam carriers aren't too bad though if you can do the cam timing already. The lifters will wanna go all over the place when its pulled but there isn't much you can do about that.

[Juglenaut]

Dealers Umph Money mongers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Typical Dealer response to make some serious cash tell em to shove thier wanky psss friggen dealers

[yogi18m]

is it ok, if i start taking the engine apart when i get home, or should i let it cool down, cause i know they said not to take the spark plugs out when its warm and bassically everything on the engine is aluminum. Also i was wondering if i could remove any more things from my exhaust to make it sound better, i just put 2 flowmaster 40 series on it and it sounds good but i would like for it to be a little louder.
thanks

[SappySE107]

You should let the engine cool off before you tear it apart. You can pull parts off but you gotta be careful. Better to be safe than sorry in this situation.

Resonators are supposed to really help out the sound on the DOHC w body. I dont have one but will probably get one this year.

[Cotton]

the lower intake gaskets really like to be a source of vacume leak, more so when the eng is cold.
that is the only reason they should have for wanting to replace them

[grandprix34]

your not alone, I seem to be having the same problem. Oil completely covers all the threads of my spark plus...the wires are 20 bux from Autozone so that could also be a problem..

Ben you mentioned that the cam carrier gasket could be a problem? If so, and if that is your problem, I have the part # cuz you will not get that gasket at any parts store (only a dealership for about 40buxs plus) so better off at GMPARTSDIRECT.COM

So you guys think that the valve cover gaskets could be the problem? How hard is it to remove the lower intake to do a complete gasket replacement (xcluding heads.)

[SappySE107]

If you have never done it, its going to take all day to do. The lifters are a pain to deal with but its not impossible by any means.

[grandprix34]

well i did have the cam carrier replaced since the other carrier had the damaged cam. I probably wont remove the carrier, jst replace the lower/upper gaskets and the valve cover gasket as well, hopefully this cures the problem

[yogi18m]

so your saying that i have to mess around with cam carriers and lifters and stuff, i thought i only had to replace the rubber seal inbetweent the spark plug hole and the valve cover gasket.
im begining to wonder if the dealership was giving me shit since there always was a drop or two of oil in the holes and when i took it for a run to try and make them leak they didnt, when i changed the spark plugs a month ago the guy who changed them before me put a clamp on two of the wires and when he bolted the intake on it forced the clamp to almost cut the two wires in half. so all i did was put elctrical tape around them, and the one that is cut is the cylinder that the computer said is misfireing, i figure that i should fix the oil problem thought cuz i remember a lot of oil being on the back plugs, i just dont know anything about the cams and all that stuff, i hope i just have to do the seals on the valve cover, theres some oil around those in the front.

[SappySE107]

If you are using electrical tape on your spark plug wires, that is a good sign that they are fucked up. Replace them and your problem may just disappear.

If could be the top O ring that is your issue. Its a simple fix and everyone would love for that to be their problem. Try it, but I don't have much faith in the head to cam carrier gasket when oil is getting down in there. I went through it and just replaced every gasket. Perfectly dry now and runs perfect.

[yogi18m]

How do i know if i have a lower intake leak? will it make sounds or what?

[SappySE107]

It will idle high and usually returns to normal when the engine warms up and everything expands. Sometimes you can hear it, sometimes the engine is too loud at that higher idle to hear where its coming from.