Oil in one of the cylinders from spark plug replacement

[Wheelin]

Hi folks,

My 2016 S 10 has had trouble starting on a cold start when the temps are down in the 40s (hey, that’s cold by Southern California standards!). Yes, I know hard starts have been covered ad nauseam on this form, but bear with me while I follow up with further context:

So I’ve pulled out the old spark plugs as they were well past their replacement time per the usual manual, and was discouraged to see that those plugs really didn’t look to be in that bad of shape. Fair enough… I ripped this far into the bike, so I might as well put the new plugs in.

What I DID Notice on one of these spark plugs that I pulled was that my wrench came away with just a little bit of oil on the bottom of the wrench socket from one of the cylinders. It makes me wonder if the esteemed mechanics who did my valve job might have had anything to do with it, but I’m not technical enough to know that, so I can’t really point any fingers at this juncture in time.

Thoughts?

 

[holligl]

Please indicate the bike's mileage.
#1 on slow starts is the age and condition of the battery. The OEM YTZ12S battery is best upgraded to a 14S. The big girl likes higher CCAs.

Related to the valve job, it could be one of the donut gaskets was not seated properly. Did they replace all the gaskets? Also verify the breather hose is connected properly.



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[~TABASCO~]

Round gaskets at the top of the valve cover around each plug. Take a mirror and flashlight and inspect each hole. Look more carefully at the hole with the oil. Pretty easy fix, but takes time.

 

[Wheelin]

Please indicate the bike's mileage.
#1 on slow starts is the age and condition of the battery. The OEM YTZ12S battery is best upgraded to a 14S. The big girl likes higher CCAs.

Related to the valve job, it could be one of the donut gaskets was not seated properly. Did they replace all the gaskets? Also verify the breather hose is connected properly.



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The bike has 78,000 miles on it. The breather hose was connected properly.
After replacing the spark plugs, I cranked the big girl up in the cranking – at least to my ear—seems like it could have more pep.
I will follow up on the recommendation regarding the battery. Thanks.

given the 6+ weeks that they made me wait for the parts, I’m assuming that the mechanics replaced all the gaskets. The shop came highly recommended, despite my gripes about it, taking so long, which is most likely due to the supply chain crunch.

 

[Wheelin]

Round gaskets at the top of the valve cover around each plug. Take a mirror and flashlight and inspect each hole. Look more carefully at the hole with the oil. Pretty easy fix, but takes time.

I also find myself questioning, whether or not I tightened the spark plugs properly last time. Anyway, I didn’t see anything amiss.

 

[Jlq1969]

I also find myself questioning, whether or not I tightened the spark plugs properly last time. Anyway, I didn’t see anything amiss.

Reread Tabasco's message...And check the tightness of the valve cover bolts

 

[Wheelin]

Reread Tabasco's message...And check the tightness of the valve cover bolts
View attachment 97637

Thanks for the pic. As I age, I don’t read as thoroughly as I used to. Of course, the bike is back together now, but I’ll rip it down to the valve cover again.…and take out the spark plugs if I can’t see the round gaskets at the top of the valve cover.

 

[holligl]

Thanks for the pic. As I age, I don’t read as thoroughly as I used to. Of course, the bike is back together now, but I’ll rip it down to the valve cover again.…and take out the spark plugs if I can’t see the round gaskets at the top of the valve cover.

The gasket will be in the BOTTOM of the plug hole. That's why ~Tabasco~ indicated you would need a mirror and light.

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[Wheelin]

The gasket will be in the BOTTOM of the plug hole. That's why ~Tabasco~ indicated you would need a mirror and light.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

Sounds like the best solution is to tear the whole bike apart. Looking forward to truly getting into the innards of this awesome machine. What great fun this will be! Yay!