my zook is running like crap

[chunkz]

okay well....
it happened again
i know what the problem is...

i take out the spark plug (closest too driver)
and its got oil and gunk in the gap and around it .ect .ect

clean it up... and she runs great
the fact that this has happened twice, means theres an internal problem
so does any one have any ideas?

["CANADA"]

okay well....
it happened again
i know what the problem is...

i take out the spark plug (closest too driver)
and its got oil and gunk in the gap and around it .ect .ect

clean it up... and she runs great
the fact that this has happened twice, means theres an internal problem
so does any one have any ideas?

are you doing it up tight enough?

[chunkz]

okay well....
it happened again
i know what the problem is...

i take out the spark plug (closest too driver)
and its got oil and gunk in the gap and around it .ect .ect

clean it up... and she runs great
the fact that this has happened twice, means theres an internal problem
so does any one have any ideas?

are you doing it up tight enough?

yes.
same across all of them

[beally]

This might sound random, but when you clean it get some petrol on it, a wire brush and what not, get a small flat screw driver and widen the gap on the sparkplug just a smidge. What i used to do on my old 2 stroke motorbikes when they fouled up (i tried leaner fuel harder riding different oils air fuel mixtures, everything.) but the only thing that worked was to use a different spark plug that went deeper into the head (longer thread) and never again did i even remotely have a problem. Either that or your rings are farked.

[mach.25]

You sound like you need new Distributor Cap and Leads and Plugs. I don't think you had said if you tried that. If that does not work your rings maybe stuffed.

[chunkz]

You sound like you need new Distributor Cap and Leads and Plugs. I don't think you had said if you tried that. If that does not work your rings maybe stuffed.

its not them

as once i clean out the gap in #1 plug...
she runs great again

(its only the 1 plug)

[Gwagensteve]

My guess is stem seals. These are a bit notorious as a cause of fouling/smoke.

It is unlikely that the rings will only go out on one cylinder badly enough to cause a foul, I think.

go and drive it down a long steep downhill, and look for smoke when you get to the bottom. I reckon that you will haev a bunch o smoke. IMHO this is caused by the oil in the rocker cover running forward and pooling around #1 cylinder , running down the stems and loading the cylinder up.

Stem seals themselves are cheap, but the labour can be abit exxy.

Steve.

[mach.25]

My guess is stem seals. These are a bit notorious as a cause of fouling/smoke.

Yes very likely, although cheaper and easier just to do the simple things. Electricity is a very strange beast, it may be fine but then under load beging to break down anywhere from the distributor cap to the plug. I am not a great mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, you only need to hear my Zook idle.
Try a cap leads and plugs that may cure it.

[chunkz]

My guess is stem seals. These are a bit notorious as a cause of fouling/smoke.

Yes very likely, although cheaper and easier just to do the simple things. Electricity is a very strange beast, it may be fine but then under load beging to break down anywhere from the distributor cap to the plug. I am not a great mechanic by any stretch of the imagination, you only need to hear my Zook idle.
Try a cap leads and plugs that may cure it.

but what do cap and leads have to do with oil getting in the gap of the plug...

the lead still sparks (trust me, haha)
and if i clean the gap out she runs perfect...
until oil n shit gets all over it again

[lay80n]

When valve stem seals leak, the oil is sucked past them down the valve stem by the vacum in the cylinder. This happens more when there is a high vacum in the nilet manifold/cylinder, i.e. low load sytuations like idle or downhill engine brakeing. To check for valve stem seals, let the car idle and warm up for a few minutes, then give the accelerator a few short sharp stabs, bringing the revs up to round three grand , watching the exhaust for any sign of blue smoke )oil smoke). If you get a puff of oil smoke that dissapears after you rev the car a few times, or you get oil smoke when engine braking for a while down a long hill, chances are that your valve stems seals are gone. Not a very complex job to replace, and will foul plugs (mine used to do it)
Layto....

[mach.25]

I’ve gotta stick with the simple things, I’m no expert. If the spark breaks down under load or is just not hot enough then the fuel etc will not burn at all or incompletely leaving oil/fuel residue on the plug only making matters worse. Every time you clean it, it runs better but then fouls up again because of incomplete combustion; or your valve stem seals are stuffed and there is just too much oil too burn as per the others posts. Try lay80n’s suggestions he knows a fair bit more than I ever will I reckon!
If not well try mine.

[chunkz]

okay well i was low on oil
and the car is running like its in its prime out of the factory...

i fill up the oil with
mobile "synth s" 10w 40 (book said its okay to use 10w40 and i have used it before)

so i put oil in it...
car runs like shit again, like first stated, i think we have found the problem
should i use a different type of oil, or its a bad batch or other?

cheers fellas

[christover1]

I have to use thicker oil in mine, as it is a worn engine.
I use Oil for older engines 25 60
Not a solution to problem, but hides it well.

A crook lead could be leaking spark away from the plug under load, but be fine when just lookin at it.

As stated, worn valve guides or seals can oil a plug, too.

christover

[Gwagensteve]

Filling a car up with fresh oil (or a different grade) has never in the history of engines made an engine run bad. I would say that (heaven forbid!) when the oil was low you were getting less oil to the top of the motor and there was less oil in the head to run down the valves and foul the plug(s).

Of course, you could run it low on oil all the time, but then you will have more than valve stems to worry about.

My $$$ still says stems.

All the ignition work is really a trick - It will make it run better, as there is stronger spark to resist fouling, but eventually the plug(s) will foul and it will run like junk. I have been there.

Steve.