Hi, I bought a 2000 VFR and changed the spark plugs. All four had oil above the thread, and in the thread, yet seemed fine on the spark end. Anyone have ideas where the problem lies? Hope you can see the attached picture. Thanks, Andy
Yep, comes from a very very very minor somewhat but not a big deal leak in the spark plug tubes. Most of the time this only happens upon pulling them out as this releases the seal tension on the lower portion of the tube a bit and there's always a little bit of oil there, pretty common on the vfr. Now try it on a Hemi head engine if you want to see oily spark plugs.
Just done mine (2002 VFR800i VTEC). Exactly the same! This appears to be a regular outcome of changing the plugs as RVFR explained.
2005 vfr800 with 8k miles I went to change the plugs on my 05 VFR today but I was surprised when I had oil on all 4 plugs. This can't be normal the bike has only 8k miles .
After 10-11 years it's understandable to have a small amount of seepage around the plug tubes. Plug tubes through the valve covers is pretty common among engines (bikes and cages.) As long as there is not enough oil to puddle inside the tube your good. If there is a coat of oil on the hex shaped part of the plug base or on your plug socket when you pull the plugs then it is time to start thinking about getting a valve cover seal kit. The seal kit usually includes seals/ gaskets for the valve cover ,plug tubes, and any bolts that go through the inside of the cover.
Andy, According to NGK, do not use anti-seize on your threads. They go in dry. You will over torque the plugs. They have a release agent on the threads. I was just checking their site for iridium plugs for my bike yesterday and read their instructions. Just so you will know. Clean the threads in the head before installing new plugs too. Too many people overthink things like this and end up screwing up big time. Ed
