Oil on my Spark Plugs

[NoXis]

Bit of oil on the bottom of 3 spark plugs. I assume this means new valve cover gasket, spark plugs and some sort of sealer?

Please advise. I am a rookie and not afriad to admit it.

[cooljess76]

Originally Posted by NoXis

Bit of oil on the bottom of 3 spark plugs.

Oil at the bottom? Do you mean under the threaded part(electrode) or on the ceramic part(insulator)?

If it's on the shiny white part, then yes, you need a new valve cover gasket and spark plug seals. If the electrode has oil on it, you need to do some engine work.

[spidertri]

Yup, new valve cover gasket, here's a write-up,

http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=12007

I changed mine out earlier in the year, very straightforward. Parts cost about $50 from pelican parts.

Welcome, check out the Mid-A forum if you are interested in coming out to any of our meets.

[dave45056]

Also, cross shop Pelican with Autohaus AZ. They have free shipping at $50 and often have better prices. As far as selant is convcerned I like Great Stuff. It's black and comes in a cheeze wiz type of can. Available at Autozone and others.

[NoXis]

spidertri - I checked out your 'do it yourself' link and which of these parts are available at autozone or other store and which would I have to order online?

Did that link list all the item numbers for Pelican?

[hotmilk400]

ahh.. dont listen to them, my entire 2nd spark plug is covered in oil, top and bottom ..

just don't except a working cat converter in a few months.. .. or motor.. haha..

unless u have done motor work before, u are better off taking it to the dealer. alot of problems can arise if done wrong or u lose something. at least u know u will be able to sleep at night if it was done correctly. if not, heard it wasn't to hard by a few experienced friends.

[NoXis]

im torn between two (2) 318ti ethusiasts!!

arrgg!

[NoXis]

Originally Posted by hotmilk400

unless u have done motor work before, u are better off taking it to the dealer. alot of problems can arise if done wrong or u lose something. at least u know u will be able to sleep at night if it was done correctly. if not, heard it wasn't to hard by a few experienced friends.

How is sometihng like this fixed by a dealer? Could you elaborate please?

[hotmilk400]

im no enthusiasts btw.. haha.. i primary do electrical in the interior and exterior. mostly installing sound systems, i tend to stay far away from any motor work, the most i have done was replacing the entire air intake set-up.

anyway,

they just rebuild it like your would have to do. but the labor fee isnt free like a do-it-yourself job.

i'm sure you could take it to other places, but might as well take it to people that primary work on bmw's.

at least u wouldn't have to worry about getting the correct parts, and u woudlnt have to worry about messing it up. if you feel confident that you do it yourself, like many people do, then go for it. i just took a guess, but i figured u have never done anything ilke it before. if you have never done anything like it before then i wouldn't suggest it as a first project. maybe grab a friend that has done it before to help you. if you are mechanically incline, the you should be fine

maybe ask spidertri to help u do it. =]

[NoXis]

funny enough, spidertri is actually about a 30-45 minute drive from me

[spidertri]

Originally Posted by NoXis

spidertri - I checked out your 'do it yourself' link and which of these parts are available at autozone or other store and which would I have to order online?

Did that link list all the item numbers for Pelican?

Yeah, those numbers after each part are BMW part numbers. You can type them right in at pelican parts and they will come up. I haven't used Autohauz AZ before but I have heard good things about them as well. I'm not sure if you could find any of this stuff at autozone, I don't usually buy parts from them.

You should read through that DIY a couple times, if you feel like it is something you can handle then I say go for it. If it seems too hard, then take it to a dealer or other mechanic. Alot of us in the area have done this job, we might be able to get together and do it one day...if you have a heated garage...

[CirrusSR22]

I doubt you could find them at Autozone. If so, the 318ti parts I've found there are incredibly expensive. IMO, the only three places to shop are www.getbmwparts.com (Tischer), www.autohausaz.com, and www.pelicanparts.com. Each place sometimes has the cheapest, but there doesn't seem to be a trend on the cheapest overall. I've ordered many times from all three and they are great.

[hotmilk400]

germanautoparts.com has a nice selection of things as well, and sometimes cheaper.

i mentioned spidertri because i noticed he lived in MD.. haha.. kinda nice to be that close to him tho.