spark plug is covered with oil

[magnai]

i have mitsu Galant gdi 1998 model with 1834cc engine. yesterday, i had the spark plugs looked as i was having cold startup problem. the car wouldnt start up the first time, but always starts up when i fire it the second time. anwyays, when i had it checked, the engineer found that the tips of the 4 sparks plugs were covered in engine oil. correct me if i'm wrong, but the plugs should be clean right. i'm guessing, the rubber rings or whatever its called, is borked...

Also another thing, my car idle fluctuates a little sometimes.. idling at 750rpm, rises to 950-1050.. i've read that good throttle body cleaning would solve the problem.. but (i'm a noob when it comes engines) i can't exactly locate the throttle body. if i'm not wrong, its at the engine side of air intake system right (right where the engine connects with the air intake tube)..a photo would help me so much... how do i clean it? i've bought some carb cleaner... should i just spray at it, and rub with brush or cloth.. should i do this with the engine running OR turned off..

thanks guys.. sorry for my noobie questions

[Subaru ETA]

oil on plugs = rocker cover gasket needs replacing
cleaning throttle body = (throttle body is where the intake tube meets the intake manifold) remove intake tube, spray sum carb cleaner around,. open the butterfly by pulling the throttle cable. spary around edges and on the butterfly. try not to spray directly down the throttle! clean up with a rag. it may run like **** when you first start it after doing this as sum cleaner may have got into the manifold - just give it a few quick hard revs

[magnai]

does the rocker cover gasket look something like this....
Gasket.


again, my apologies for the newbie Qs

[bradc]

the idle stepper motor is fairly notorious in these cars for having problems, you may want to get that checked too.

[Subaru ETA]

does the rocker cover gasket look something like this....
Gasket.


again, my apologies for the newbie Qs

thats the one....you will also need the "donuts". the round gaskets that go around the spark plugs. this come seperatly.

bradc is right bout the stepper motor, get that checked too. this controls your idle and changes it when loads are turned on

[magnai]

thanks guys.. i'll get it fixed over the weekend.. in teh mean time, i just to need translate parts name into mongolian, so i can explain it to the suppliers.....

[Paul Beazer]

Does the car have air con?
The revs will increase to counteract the load placed on the engine by the air-con compressor.

[Kalle]

ehmm.. guys.. didn't he just said that the TIP of the plug was covered in oil? If that is the case then the problem is more severe than just a bad rocker cover gasket.. Then it must be oil in the combustion chamber, right?

[Nick Mann]

That's the way I read it too, Kalle.

Please can we have a photo of where the oil is on the plug? Is it at the spark end (Nasty) or the lead end (Not so nasty)?

[richy rich]

ehmm.. guys.. didn't he just said that the TIP of the plug was covered in oil? If that is the case then the problem is more severe than just a bad rocker cover gasket.. Then it must be oil in the combustion chamber, right?

i read it like this

this is an indicator that the piston rings are on way out

does it smoke at all out of zorst

[amsoil]

Seems to me that some servicing is required here in the 1st place. Plugs running well with correct fueling should be a light brown colour right at the tips. If your car doesn't fire up straight away then you may get fuel fouling which you will need to check by pulling a plug fairly quickly after it doesn't start the car and smell it to see if its fuel or oil. If its fuel then the question will be why? Two easy reasons are that the injectors need cleaning (take the easy route and add an injector cleaner to the fuel) or that the plugs have had a life and need changing. (if the gap gets too big from errosion over time then they will not be so keen to ignite the mixture) Best do both! If this doesn't do the trick then we are looking for oil. It can only get there in 2 ways, past the rings or down the valve stems. But lets keep our fingures crossed that its neither of these as both are bad news. With good oil and good servicing neither should occur.
I take it that this car doesn't come with a service history?