I have a 1989 Civic LX sedan and it burns oil -- not visibly, just have to add more every so often. When the oil starts burning away, I have this problem of one or two of my spark plug wires popping off and partially out (not entirely) of the engine block. The car, of course, then runs a little rough -- I'm surprised it runs at all. They also have oil on them and I already know I get oil on the spark plugs themselves, as I noticed that the last time they were changed. I'm guessing the increased heat with the lack of oil is causing some pressure build-up of some kind and that, in turn, is forcing the wires out of the engine. If they only pop off a little way, I have to pull them up with a *pop* in order to push them back down again and secure them. Anybody else experience this problem? Does it make any sense? What is wrong? How many $$ am I looking at for a repair? I'm going to take it into the shop, but I'd like to have an idea of what I am talking about and be able to understand what the mechanic's diagnosis is. I'm at 232,000 miles and the car runs like a champ, otherwise. Thanks.
i have never heard of that happening but one thing that comes to mind is a completly clogged PVC valve (lets gasses and expanding air out of the crankcase) PCV valves are cheep so it would be an easy fix if that is the problem (it is under the intake manifold, pull it out and shake it, if it dosnt rattle its gummed up and will need to be replaced anyway) the other thing that comes to mind is a bad vlave cover gaskit and that owuld be pretty cheep and easy to fix as well Andrew
================= Ronald, One guess: Plugs are loose and pressure is pressurizing the cavity where the wire goes in. POP! I've found spark plugs finger-tight. 'Curly' ================
The first thing I'd check is if the spark plugs are seated properly. They're not screwed in very tight so they depend on a built-in crush washer to make the seal and hold the plug in place. Screwing the plugs in too tight damages the washer so it won't work then next time the plugs are properly tightened. The oil seals near the plugs may be blown out. They're easy to replace but you should look for related problems if they're damaged. The PCV system could be plugged or your engine could be worn so badly that blow-by gas is generating too much pressure.
I've seen some aftermarket wires that just don't fit real well (and cost more that the stock wires) and keep popping off like that. I would replace all of the spark plug tube seals and check the PCV system. And if you have a cheapo set of wires, I'd buy the Honda wires.
