#2 Cylinder Problem

[Diameg]

Okay, in another thread I was posting about problems with my car. I have gotten some great advice and really feel like I should fly down to Texas to buy Scott a beer or something for all the help he's given me.
I have now narrowed the problem down some more due to that great help.
I went to attempt to take the plug wire off, just out of curiousity. I did not take the intake manifold off so I did not expect to get the wire off, given how I can barely get the front ones off.
I took some stuff off to get access, and twisted my fingers in to give a heave-**, fully expecting futility.
The wire came out as easy as can be!
As per the Shotimes suggestion, I dabbed a clean cloth in there and it comes out wet. Would this be water or oil? Looks too clean to be oil, except for very new, light coloured oil.
If it is water, it looks a little too oiled coloured, if that make sense.
Is it perhaps water that has just gotten a bit light yellowy brown due to grease or something in there, or is it likely oil from before that has not gotten dirty?
Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[sdpatt]

I'll take you up on that beer.

It sounds like you have a plug well filled with oil and water that was stirred up into a light brown mixture of when you put the towel in. We know where the oil originated (plug well seal leak), but where did the water come from? Have you been hosing down your engine compartment?

That combination in the plug well will definitely cause problems with ignition leaks. Whatever you do, please remove the liquid and any entrapped grit from the well before you try to remove the spark plug. You DO NOT want that in your cylinder. That soup can definitely cause ring wear and cylinder wall scoring.

Clean the water and oil with towels and a carb cleaner from the plug boot, the plug well and the spark plug. Apply a dielectric silicone grease to the plug boot where it slides over the plug insulator. Your plugs are (over) due for a change, but this should help until then. You might want to check out those other plug wells too.


------------------
Scott

1991, 252K miles, glass hood, police grill, SVO shifter, Catz fogs,
K&N, 73mm MAF, Superchip, PP Y-pipe, Borla cat-back, 190 lph pump
Eibach/Tokico/polyurethane, SHO Shop front & rear strut braces,
16x7.5" Moda R1, 225/55ZR16 Bridgestone RE730, -1 deg camber x 4,
Class II hitch, Silver award at the SHOklahoma Car Show

 

[Diameg]

I did not hose down my engine compartment, but about a month ago, I used that CD2 Engine detail kit. It was recommended from a couple people on here, so I bought it.
Well, it says to spray off the first treatment, but knowing that hosing an engine compartment is bad, I used a wet sponge and sponged everything off. I know, same difference, but I was told the problem with water in the engine bay was the pressure from even a garden hose. As long as there is no pressure, simply wiping with water should be okay. Guess not.

Perhaps it is not water, and is just oil? I don't know, but it looks very clean and it smells like oil. Just thought oil would be darker.
Given that this is most likely the cause of my problems, is it okay to drive to get it to a mechanic? I did clean the plug well as best I could, put some dialectric silicone grease on the wire, and put it back together. However, there is still a very prominent gas smell coming from the car when it's running. I hope it's okay to get to the mechanic.

Are there any online budget places to get the Plug Well Gasket kit? I don't know of any Auto Zone's here in Ontario, and some other places I called don't have it. Anyone know?

 

[ChitownA34DR]

afterI hose my engine compartment down, I usually check my wells to make sure nothing got in. Cleaning around the top of the wells will keep the plugs suctioned to the valve covers to keep water out. As long as the valve covers are spotless in that area I guarantee no water in your wells.

------------------
White 93' ATX
80k miles
SHOcago Member

FOR SALE
-Dynomax Cat-back 4/2/01
-Coneless 5/4/01
-73mm C&L MAF 6/24/01
-17" Enkie RS6's w/225/50/17 Nitto NT-450's

 

[89 Gary]

Yes, that is what should be done if you clean your engine that way. Always pull the plug wires and check. I simply use high pressure air (after wrapping small rag around top of plug well)and blow everything out. This gets ALL grit/water/oil out. If it's "still dirty" I spray some simple green/hot water combo down the plug well and blow again.

 

[sdpatt]

It's not just the plug wells that are vulnerable to water entry. Every electrical plug in the engine compartment can be adversely affected by the corrosion from water exposure.


Diameg, did you check the other spark plug wells for oil/water? Is your engine still running roughly? There are other sources of the gas smell. One is the charcoal vapor canister. But you should eliminate the other cylinders as a source of a spark misfire by checking for oil. If there is a misfire, you should correct it as soon as possible. Unburned fuel in the exhaust can overheat and deteriorate the catalyst in the converters.

Scott

 

[Diameg]

Scott,

I must say, I did not just drench the engine in water. I used a very wet sponge to get away the CD2 stuff. It said to spray the engine, but I did not want to do that and thought that sponging it would be okay as long as I was carefully not to hit any electical components. I don't think it was excess water, but I could have been wrong on that one.
I have not checked the other plugs yet. Actually, I would not have checked that one had the plug wire not basically fallen off the plug. I mean, it came right out easy enough that I wonder if it was even on very well at all?
The gas is very prominent from the exhaust pipes when running. It also smells in the engine bay a bit when running, but not as bad as the pipes.
It is still misfiring and smelling pretty bad, with the noticable exhaust fumes.
I have plugs and wires on order and will be most likely getting the plug well gaskets as well. I had planned on changing that stuff in the very near future, the car just made my mind up on how near in the future that will be.
Two things:
What is the fix for the charcoal vapor canister? Is the the black thing I had to remove to get at the #2 cylinder?

Considering the now obviously very sick #2 plug and/or wire, I imagine that any gas going to that cylinder is just shooting right out into the exhaust. The only concern I have is the safety aspect in getting the car about 5 miles to the mechanic. I don't much care if the catalytic converters fall off after that fact because I have a new Y-Pipe to go on anyway. It would already be on, had the car not gone haywire on me in the last week.
Is this a safety concern or should I not be worried?