Hi! I have a 2003 Accord LX, 4 cyl, 4 door, manual xmission, 112,700 miles. The owner's manual recommends changing the spark plugs at 110,000 miles so I got myself a set of 4 NGK exact replacement plugs. I replaced 3 of them just fine. When I removed the ignition coil from cylinder #2 (2nd cylinder from the left hand side when facing the car with the hood open), I noticed it was greasy and dripping with something. For the heck of it, I inserted the spark plug socket in there and pulled it out almost right away without unscrewing the spark plug. It came back with gunk on it. I did not proceed with the spark plug replacement for fear that some gunk might fall into the cylinder, and also unless I find the cause, it might end up happening again with a new plug.

My question is, how did the gunk get in there? What should be my next step?

Anup

 

Your concern is the same as mine. Mine has been oil, not gunk.

So I've used paper towels (the blue paper shop towels sold at auto parts stores are slightly more absorbent) to push down there to soak up the gunk / oil. Not perfect and someone else might do it differently/better. Since your car now runs well, every year going forward you could simply pull the plug lead and redo the oil soak removal.

Some would have you replace the valve cover gasket and fix the problem, 'tis good but it will likely re-occur. and you have 3 that are still not leaking after 110K miles - that's exceptional.

I have oil in my spark plug wells every so often for years, due to O-ring seal leaking on different cars.
Cars can run well, very long time, in this condition - as you've found out.

 

Simply pull the plug. I would not worry about hydraulic lock, just plan on a few seconds of smoke upon restart. This is based on the thousands of cars worked on over the years. Do not put anything down the spark plug tube to adsorb the oil if you can't get it out. Two reasons, if by chance you crack the existing plug not you will have ceramic pieces that may fall into the cylinder, and secondly if you try to remove remaining oil with the plug remove and loose a piece of cloth or paper towel into the cylinder there will likely be trouble.

I will be one to say replace the cover gasket and grommets for the spark plug tubes. Plan on adjusting/checking valve clearance while you have the cover off.

 

The coils would normally have some dielectric grease smeared in there when installing.
Are you looking at excessive grease oozing around the plug? No problem.

I'm not sure if those coils are oil-filled; maybe that is leaking?
Need a new coil.

Engine-oil leaking from inside the valve-cover?
Get new gaskets there.

General dirt getting in there?
Not sure how to judge the need for some kind of repair.

 

Thank you Uh-Oh, Turtlehead and JimBlake for your responses. I used 'gunk' as a loose term. It is greasy stuff and it could also have some oil mixed in, I can't tell. When I called the parts guy of the Honda dealer, he told me that the ignition coil doesn't have grease in it. So it sounds like I don't have to replace the ignition coil.

I also looked at the Haynes and the Honda official shop manuals to get familiar with various parts and procedures. I couldn't find any reference to grommets. Are they the same as spark plug tube seals? The two manuals differed on how to the valve adjustment procedures. The Haynes manual said install a compression gauge in the #1 cyl. Turn the crankshaft clockwise. When the piston approached TDC, compression will be noted in the gauge. Continue turning the shaft till the notch in the shaft pulley is aligned with the TDC mark on the front cover. At this point, #1 cyl is on TDC. Concerning valve adjustment, the Haynes manual says, loosen the adjuster nut and adjust the adjuster screw. Then hold the screw with a screwdriver to keep it from turning and tighten the locknut.

On the other hand, the Haynes shop manual says, the punch mark on the variable valve timing control (VTC) actuator and the punch mark on the exhaust camshaft sprocket should be at the top. Unfortunately, it doesn't say where these parts are located. Will it be very obvious to me when I remove the valve cover? Also, for the adjustment the shop manual recommends two special service tools 07MAA-PR70110 (adjuster) and 07MAA-PR70120 (locknut wrench). Do these 2 tools make the job easier than a regular screwdriver and regular wrench?

Anup

 

Tube seals prevent the oil from getting on the plugs....so those are what is suspect right now.

Yes, once the cover is off the two sprockets will be easy to find. The tool(s) list do make it easier than a screw driver and wrench/socket/crowsfoot. Sometimes the nut is at an odd "tilt", making it had to get a wrench in there....yet you need to hold the "set screw" with the screwdriver as you tighten the lock nut......then you have to be sure to get the proper torque on the lock nut, how do you do that with a wrench. Hence why I use the "crowsfoot".

EDIT: watching TV as I was typing and totally forgot one point I wanted to make. If you are not sure if it was oil in there vs. some "blow by" or other "stuff" (real tech talk there ), I would just replace the plugs and dive for a while and then recheck to see if the "stuff" comes back.

 

Sorry about the grommets.

The tube seals are round rubber gaskets around the sparkplug holes, you'll see them if you were to remove the camshaft cover.

The "grommets" are the washers under the cam-cover hold-down nuts. They have a rubber grommet glued to the metal washer. In earlier years the rubber & metal were separate parts.

A camshaft-cover gasket "set" should contain the outer gasket, 4 tube seals, & 6 washers.

 

I picked up a valve cover gasket this weekend. They special ordered the spark plug seals for me. In prep for a valve adjustment I thought I'd try locating the crankshaft pulley and determine if I have the ability to rotate it with the tools I have. I read somewhere that it takes a 19 mm socket. I went for the pulley at the very top, and the 19 mm socket did fit it. I was able to rotate the pulley clockwise. How do I know I was turning the crankshaft pulley and not another kind of pulley? If this is the correct one, is it true that I should only be turning it clockwise. The reason I ask is that when I actually get to setting the TDC, if I overshoot the mark, is it ok to turn the pulley counter clockwise or should I continue turning it clockwise one more turn?

 

Top pulley being the power-steering pump??

It's better to turn the crankshaft pulley. Go into the right-front wheel well. Turn the steering so you can see the plastic inner fender liner, forwards of the axle. There will be a star-shaped cutout where you can push the socket with extension through the hole & onto the center bolt of the pulley.

It won't be good to turn it backwards. It helps if all the sparkplugs are removed so you don't have to work against the compression.

 

I tried to do a dress rehearsal today. I noticed that the "plastic" at the end of the ignition coil is cracked (this is the one which had the "gunk" on it. I'll call the dealer and ask if they sell this separately. The whole ignition coil is expensive and runs $75. I removed required parts/bolts per shop manual in order to remove the valve cover. It was a struggle but I finally got it off. I replaced the valve cover gasket. That's when I noticed that the "spark plug seals" they had sold me were not spark plug seals but rather seals that come with the ignition coils. Jim Blake's technique of pushing the socket through the star shaped cutout to turn the crankshaft worked well. The valve gap clearance didn't seem right but that's another subject. At that point I decided to call it a day, having been at it for a long time already. I tried putting the valve cover back, and again it was a struggle. But now I'm running into another issue. The cover is almost in position. Close but no cigar. It is not quite seated right and rocks front and back as viewed from the front of the car with the hood open. I don't see parts outside the cover colliding with the cover. Unfortunately, I don't have visibility to something coming in the way just underneath the valve cover. I took the cover out and tried putting it back again, with the same results. Now I'm stuck, and can't go to work till the valve cover an other parts are back in place. Any hints?