My plugs are wet =(

[VoltsFRS2013]

Hi all, wondering if any of you have had any issues with your spark plug tube seals?

Just got my plugs done by the guys over at ptuning here in Virginia. Tech noted that there was traces of oil in the spark plug wells, and clearly my old plugs have oil on them.

Having a hard time finding the OEM Parts online, also wondering the severity of this sort of thing and how I should go about it. Plan on taking the car back within the next 5k miles or so but still a bit paranoid.

[DarkPira7e]

Which plugs? Was it oil, or excess fuel? Was it on the tip, or on the threads, or just in the plug wells? The cause aside, wet plug tips are going to damn you. You will start losing performance, and eventually start having misfires as the plug will fail to spark at all when it's too soaked.

You'll need to prioritize fixing this regardless; if oil is going anywhere it's not supposed to, it becomes a fire hazard to some degree, especially on the passenger side on the engine.

[VoltsFRS2013]

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

Which plugs? Was it oil, or excess fuel? Was it on the tip, or on the threads, or just in the plug wells? The cause aside, wet plug tips are going to damn you. You will start losing performance, and eventually start having misfires as the plug will fail to spark at all when it's too soaked.

You'll need to prioritize fixing this regardless; if oil is going anywhere it's not supposed to, it becomes a fire hazard to some degree, especially on the passenger side on the engine.

For sure. It is on my main list of things to fix at the moment.

Each spark plug had a tiny bit of oil on the threads. Tech mentioned it to the service writer to advise me to do them sometime. Obviously I have no way of knowing how long the oil has been trickling into the spark plug tubes, however I have had these plugs pictured in the car for 73,xxx miles. New ones went in today, doing a follow up in a few weeks to get these gaskets switched out.

[DarkPira7e]

Originally Posted by VoltsFRS2013

For sure. It is on my main list of things to fix at the moment.

Each spark plug had a tiny bit of oil on the threads. Tech mentioned it to the service writer to advise me to do them sometime. Obviously I have no way of knowing how long the oil has been trickling into the spark plug tubes, however I have had these plugs pictured in the car for 73,xxx miles. New ones went in today, doing a follow up in a few weeks to get these gaskets switched out.

Ahh, with that little bit, I would hardly worry. It's worth looking to see if the valve covers are leaking something externally, but I wouldn't fuss over that at all. If you got the plugs replaced, I'd say you're good for another 70k if the plugs still looked that good

[VoltsFRS2013]

Originally Posted by DarkPira7e

Ahh, with that little bit, I would hardly worry. It's worth looking to see if the valve covers are leaking something externally, but I wouldn't fuss over that at all. If you got the plugs replaced, I'd say you're good for another 70k if the plugs still looked that good

Thank you! I honestly baby my car lol. I drive 20-30 miles MAX every day. I'd say 9k a year-ish?

As I said, the tech said no VC leak just tube seals and said with the condition he saw it in I'm totally good for another 10-20k if I keep an eye on my oil. I always change my oil every 3500-4000 miles or 2-3 months, whatever comes first. (Just did an oil change today with Eneos 0w-20 and Subaru Black filter after I got the new plugs in)

That's also the weird part, I never burn oil. I would expect to be burning some sort of oil but I don't. The main reason why i posted was to see if anyone else had any issues haha.

[humfrz]

What @DarkPira7e said.

About burning oil, no more oil that can work its way down the plug threads, you wouldn't notice it as "burning".

If you have a minor external leak, it may take about 200,000 miles of driving to leak out a quart.

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by VoltsFRS2013

Thank you! I honestly baby my car lol. I drive 20-30 miles MAX every day. I'd say 9k a year-ish?

Well, you are going to hate that most engine wear takes place in the first 5 minutes of run time then...

[solidsnake11]

anti seize??

[ls1ac]

The plug tips look great. Clean the tubes clean the boots clean around the heads.. look at them in 1k and see where the oil is. In the tube around the boot???

[mav1178]

damnit the clickbait title made me come in here... wait, sorry, wrong thread.

[VoltsFRS2013]

Originally Posted by Spuds

Well, you are going to hate that most engine wear takes place in the first 5 minutes of run time then...

new plan, never drive again.

Mekanik lvl 99

[VoltsFRS2013]

Originally Posted by ls1ac

The plug tips look great. Clean the tubes clean the boots clean around the heads.. look at them in 1k and see where the oil is. In the tube around the boot???

10-4. Will do! Car will be going back to the shop soon anyways. I’m going to watch my oil levels.

[bcj]

The oil and hydrocarbon deposits are on the inside of the crush washer on the plug.
There's always going to be particles forced up the threads by explosions in the cylinder.

The tip is burning clean.
As long as the crush washer is performing and there's no oil on the outside of the plug or the igniter coil, you'll be fine.

[VoltsFRS2013]

Originally Posted by bcj

The oil and hydrocarbon deposits are on the inside of the crush washer on the plug.
There's always going to be particles forced up the threads by explosions in the cylinder.

The tip is burning clean.
As long as the crush washer is performing and there's no oil on the outside of the plug or the igniter coil, you'll be fine.

There was a minuscule amount of oil on the threads towards the bottom of the crush washer when i took them out of the package. Not sure if that was because the tech got oil on them, or how they came out of the car.

I check my oil pretty regularly and never notice any variance. Bought the seals today, going to get it done sometime in the next month or so most likely.