Oily Spark Plugs

[Kazoo]

My 2010 Aveo with 230000 kms has been running rough. Now barely runs, chugs, pops, won’t idle. I pulled the plugs, the 2 middle plugs are soaked internally with oil. Car has been trouble free for 10 years, was paid off 5 years ago. I’m thinking about attempting to do the head gasket myself. Any thoughts?

[Eg.h2o]

Buy a reputable gasket set, and an all inclusive timing set with water pump and adjusting tool, along with your copper plugs. Don’t forget a a torque degree tool and torque wrench. It’s not difficult, just time consuming. Give yourself a weekend to do it, and when you finish early, have a couple beers.

[Deano]

My 2010 Aveo with 230000 kms has been running rough. Now barely runs, chugs, pops, won’t idle. I pulled the plugs, the 2 middle plugs are soaked internally with oil. Car has been trouble free for 10 years, was paid off 5 years ago. I’m thinking about attempting to do the head gasket myself. Any thoughts?

Are you sure you need a new head gasket? By the sounds of it, your valve cover gasket is leaking oil into the spark plug valleys and causing a misfire condition where the coil pack fits onto the plugs. That would be a common problem easily and cheaply fixed. The valve cover gasket leak is far more common than head gasket problems.

But that's just my opinion.

Deano.

[Eg.h2o]

I pulled the plugs, the 2 middle plugs are soaked internally with oil.

I thought the same thing until I reread these words. This makes me think he is trying to say the electrodes are oil fouled by a bad head gasket leaking oil into the combustion chamber.

if he meant to say they were oil soaked externally, I would agree with you.

[slayerized6]

This is 99% a valve a cover gasket issue. Also change plugs, wires, and coil back while your at it. I just went through the same issues myself a few months ago.

[northguest47]

Valve cover gasket is my guess too - on my third, same problem where usually one cylinder starts misfiring, might even make the check engine light flash. The spark plug layout unfortunately channels the oil into the hole and eventually sure as shat it'll get in. We filled the holes with gasoline, mixed it up a bit and blew it out with an air hose before starting the replace.
Just wanted to say for me anyways may as well do the plugs and the wires while at it. My car is hesitating again at full load and I bet its again as well.. been getting worse and worse since I have left it go for like 8 months or so, last time I did it right away and the hesitation disappeared.