What would cause oil to get up into all 4 spark plugs in a 92 Camry (4Cylinder engine)?

Question

This 1992 Camry had oil all over the spark plugs. What might be causing this? I took the cylinder cover off the engine and the pcv valve appears to be plugged and I am going to replace that tomorrow. Is there anything obvious that could cause oil to get all over the plugs?

as far as bad gaskets around the plugs..which gaskets are you referring to?

hmm didnt see any gaskets around the plugs. are they down where the plugs screw in?

The oil to me appears to be coming from underneath the plugs not from above them. But I will take out the tubes and clean them off and put some black gasket seal goo on the threads and some on the top threads to help the grommets on top seal off the top in case my observation on where the oil is coming from is wrong.

Answer 1

i guess your have a 5sfe 2.2 litre 4 cyc camry if this is correct follow these steps Frost remove the cam cover or you might call it the tappet cover after you have lifted this cover off you will se 4 steel round tubes in which you will se that the spark pugs are in remove the spark plugs then with a large pair of vise grips unscew the tubes one at a time after you have them out with a wire brush remove all the old sealant around the course thread after all are clean them put about bead of heatproof sealant around all the thread after you have done this screw the tubes back into the cyc head tight replace the spark plugs and cam cover your problem is fixed what cause this is the cyc head is illumine and the tubes are steel they heat and cool at a diff rate the sealant then lets go and bingo oil around the plugs

Answer 2

Bad gaskets around the plugs inside the valve cover. Relatively cheap and easy to replace.

Where the valve cover seals around the top of the plugs, each plug has its own individual round gasket. It's common on many four cylinders with high miles that these will eventually leak. On my Nissan, they're about two inches across, round and gray.

Answer 3

I had this problem before with my Toyota Unser (An MPV in Asian Region). The mechanic said That the engine oil circulate in the head dripped down to the combustion chamber when he tried to changed the oil. He fix this by blowing compress air into the combustion chamber (all 4 of it) through th park plugs holes, starts the engine and rev it up for 10 min to get rid of the white smoke. Done

Answer 4

Quite a few things the bad thing is that most of them are expensive.

1) Cracked head or block that lets the circulating oil get into the valves instead of on the rocker arm

2) Blown piston.. or valve.. oil is pumped INTO the head via the valve and then spreads to the other cylinders.

Check each cylinder for compression.. then check the vacume.. that should give you a clue.

good luck

Answer 5

From what you decribed, I have to agree with the spark plug tube problem and the solutions offered. I had a similar problem with a Nissan Altima.

Your didn't mention any excessive tailpipe smoking which would indicate oil actually getting into the combustion chamber. That is a more expensive problem to fix, and a difficult one to DIY if you've never done it before. I'll never do it again...

Answer 6

Its called Blowby. Bad rings that wont drag oil back down. Also carbonated gunked up valves that dont seat all the way. The pvc valve stands for posotive cranckcase venalation, which basically is a breather valve for your engine block, and will not stop your problem.

Answer 7

if the oil was on the side where the wire snaps on the plug
you need spark plug tubes , you cant normally get them out with out damaging them so you will need 4 new ones and some sealant .

Answer 8

also your oil must have been over the top off line oil can over take in the combustion chamber and once the piston reaches the top of the cyl (exhaust cycle) it smacks back some oil

Answer 9

bad rings or valves are not setting letting oil in. But clean or replace pvc frist then check

Answer 10

engine is buggered