Changed Spark Plugs, now car wont start

[ikeepblowingengines]

wed. night i picked up 'autolite' copper spark plugs from O'reilly's,

went home and changed the cylinder 1&3 plugs,
the plugs i removed were worn but normallly
then realized i didnt have a 3/8" u-joint so reconnected the spark plug wires to go get one

when i tried to start my car up it wouldnt start.. sometimes it turns over constantly sometimes even starts to start but nothing after..

i took out the plugs i'd just put in and they smelled like gas and were covered in dark, 'oily' fluid..

i put in the original plugs and still no start, pulled those plugs and got the same dark oil fluid on them

[Huffer]

Did you reconnect your sparkplug wires correctly to the coilpack? Sounds like you've flooded the cylinders.

[ikeepblowingengines]

i never took the wires off of the coilpack, only from off of the plug,

if i have flooded the cylinders an i pretty much screwed? and what wouldve caused that? i gpped the new plugs at .41

[httrdd]

Did you put the spark plug wire connector on the right plug according to the coil pack? I can get you cylinder numbers if you need them.

[ikeepblowingengines]

it is...

34
12

right? on both cylinder and coil? i reconnected everything the way i disconnected it

[Matty2Hotty]

My guess you have leaking oil valve covers, oil pured in once you took the plug out and the cylinder is now full of oil.

[ikeepblowingengines]

how do i go about undoing that

[httrdd]

Holy shit really? Makes sence.

[ikeepblowingengines]

google search says crank the car with plugs out.. good idea or bad?

[chuckthefuk]

Bad idea!

Cranking will just inject more fuel into the cyls... and cause more flooding...

If the plugs are soaked then there is no way the electrical "arch" will happen.. No arch.. no spark..

Take a propane torch and burn the fuel/oil off the plugs..

"Let the vehicle sit 15 to 20 minutes with the hood open to allow the excess fuel to evaporate. Next, try starting the vehicle again and do NOT!! pump the gas pedal."


Also it is not recommend to just change 2 spark plugs.... You should change all of them so they have the same wear and gap Over time the electrode gets worn down and starts to produce unwanted issues so why would you want half your engine running on fresh plugs and half running on garbage plugs..

And while your at it change your wires with OE equivalents, I think NGK makes OE wires for Subaru... why bother doing maintenance if your going to cheap out on items that directly affect your reliability.

Good luck
-Chuck

[ikeepblowingengines]

alright,

yeah i only changed 2 to get my car running again to go get the other socket from the store and come back to do the other two

so after getting the fuel/oil off of the plugs, what do i do if theres fuel or oil in the cylinder?

[02_Legacy]

It is ok to turn over the engine with the plugs out and that should push any oil out, but first disable the fuel system, as chuck said you don't want even more gas going in. Just pull the relay, that will be the easiest.
and also it is probable that this will happen when you take the other plugs out too so just take them all out when you do it. Its not real good for you to only have compression in 2 cylinders and not in the others anyway.

[chuckthefuk]

There is no reason why your motor should flood after the plugs/wires install. If it wont crank over within 5-6 seconds you may have a bigger gremlin then just the plugs..

If you still have oil on your plugs then most likely your valve cover seals are leaking. A simple gasket replacement will prevent oil from seeping into the spark plug chamber.

Its not a 20 minute job but it can be done by you with some simple tools and patients.. This is a common issue with older motors.. Seals go.. deal with it... Average price is $35 for the kit.. and remember.. if you don't buy OEM you "MAY" run into issues down the line... Quality comparison of course..

And like 02_Legacy said you can pull the "ALL" the plugs & fuel pump fuse and flush out the oil. But you will still need to let your car sit and wait till the fuel has evaporated.. I don't like doing this method personally but if the process that I posted above doesn't work then you can try this....

Also heres a plug diag
http://www.spark-plugs.co.uk/pages/tech ... gnosis.htm (http://www.spark-plugs.co.uk/pages/technical/diagnosis.htm)


-Chuck

[Matty2Hotty]

Either way he has plenty of oil in the cylinders, it's needs to burned out meaning the new plugs am sure will get fouled out pretty quick from all the oil that needs to get burnt off.

[LiCelsior]

u plug ur maf/afm back in?

[ikeepblowingengines]

yeah maf is all good

im thinking the reason it wasnt cranking within that 5-6 sec range is because of them being soaked

any link on how to replace valve cover gaskets? (or part #?)

[chuckthefuk]

download the factory service manual from the literature section and just go to the dealer... having the gasket p/n is not a huge issue unless you have no dealer in town..

-Chuck

[ikeepblowingengines]

oh, i got that, didnt think to look in there

anything else i should try before i dive into that?

[Matty2Hotty]

Umm get some new plugs in there and burn the crap out of the oil for a good 50miles, pull the plugs and replace them counting on what they look like and/or fouled out from all the oil/extra fuel. They are cheap plugs so spend the extra $20 if that to be safe.