# 1 spark plug oily;



## ERIC60 (May 14, 2017)

I have trouble to start my engine at cold; I figured out that one of the spark plugs, always the same , is black and oily; after cleaning, I can start normally my engine;
all the others spark plugs are fine; 
I have no smoke and engine hums softly;
help!!:surprise:


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## john23 (Mar 6, 2016)

you most likely have a leaky valve guide on that cylinder....i would think it would start cold though with just 7 cylinders, if this is a v-8 we are talking about, you likely have another issue with the difficulty starting with 7 cylinders. perhaps a choke that is not working properly? good luck


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## ERIC60 (May 14, 2017)

I thought it was rather a segment, but to make sure I have ordered on ebay a compression meter to check my eight cylinders;
if it's a valve guide, do I have to reset my valve gap after changing the seal?


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## Lemans guy (Oct 14, 2014)

Eric, black wet stuff on plug can be oil,..but is often gasoline mixed with old carbon and just looks like oil.

since the car starts good when the plug is cleaned you may just have a misfire on that one cylinder. Which could be a bad spark plug, too much Gap, a bad plug wire, a bad distributor cap....a plug wire shorting, a vacumn leak at that intake runner....

a misfire will cause extra gas in the cylinder and allow it to become wet and black and dirty. of course it could be oil also, just don't get to that conclusion too fast. change the plug, test the plug wire with an Ohm meter, look inside the dist cap..

maybe if you fix the misfire you will fix the problem.


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## ERIC60 (May 14, 2017)

hello Lemans, this particular plug is new, I changed it when I discovered the issue; the other ones are recent;
the wires are supposed to be recent as well, changed by the former owner;but the impedance are quite low (around 100ohms)
the are from Packard and I'm not sure if it's correct or no, since a plug wire is normally 500ohms per foot;
in any case they are all 8 around theses values, so I suspect it's normal; after all , the less impedance, the more you drive power; the contrary (high impedance) would be concerning and would explain a poor
firing; but maybe I'm wrong...
(I compared values with my small city car, and they are around 1200ohms)

after having checked all my wires with ohm meter and reseat them on distributor, I went for a "ballade" this morning and I started the engine with no issue ; my plug is now much better aspect; it's not oily anymore but still grey and dry, when the others are light brown (café crème!) so, it's an improvment but still not perfect; it means that the fact to shake the cables changed something (loose contact on distributor, probably)
if you have another thought, get back to me


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## john23 (Mar 6, 2016)

you will have to remove the head to install or knurl a new valve guide, so, yes, you will need to check your valve clearance...if it is a valve seal, you will remove the rocker arm and spring, so again you will need to readjust that valve...keep us posted on your progress...


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## ERIC60 (May 14, 2017)

ok, John, thanks for the tip;
the thing is that here, in France, there is no more garage , or very few ones, able to repair "traditional" engines, with carburetors and valves;
they use the "mallet" , plug it into dashboard and wait for result from computer!
just to give you an example, Midas refused to change my oil because they say it too much sophisticated!!

all this to tell you that I will do this setting by myself, with a good tutorial and help from a friend;
I'll keep you posted;
cheers


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## john23 (Mar 6, 2016)

hi Eric, sorry to hear about the sad state of auto mechanics in france...please do keep us posted and feel free to ask any questions necessary...good luck!!


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