ed's85irocz28

Most of the plugs were complely black and oily. I think they were the same plugs that were always in the car. They were all gapped over 40. I replaced them all with AC delco plugs that were gapped to 35

What does that tell if the plugs are oily?

IROC-T

Your burnning oil!



Could be rings,or it could be valve seals/guides. You need to run a compression test.

Pneumatic_Tire

Your plugs are suppose to be gapped at .045. (Unless you have a TPI, I'm not sure about those.)

Also, PLUGS MAY SAY THEY ARE PRE GAPPED, BUT THEY AINT. Just check them and see.

If your plugs have oil on them, assuming you arn't mistaking carbon buildup for oil, then most likely you have problems with your piston rings. Scored cylinder walls, or badly worn rings are allowing oil to get passed the rings and into the combustion chamber.

EDIT: Just read your sig, and you have a TPI. Make sure the plug gap is suppose to be .035. It should say under your hood somewhere on a sticker.

aklim

Run a leakdown test and see where it is leaking at and how much. It could be rings sealing or the valve seals.

ed's85irocz28

the plugs that were it in were gapped to about 40, the new ones were all about 35. I'll probably try to get some new rings.

aklim

35 or 40 won't make that much of a difference as to making oil appear on the plugs.

If you are going with new rings, you might as well hone the block and change the bearings while you are at it.

ed's85irocz28

how much do you think it would cost for all that total?

i'm new to all this and dont know any prices

aklim

You'd have to take it to a machine shop. They might tell you that you could get away with honing the bores or they might tell you to refresh the entire engine with new oversized pistons. Hard to say at this point.