2017 VW Golf - Spark Plug replacement - Oil in plug well #1

[OilBeBack]

Hi everyone,

I changed the plugs today in my 2017 Golf. Upon removing the coil on cylinder one, I noticed a more-than-usual amount of oil in the well. You'll have to forgive the not so great photo of the well. I was against the clock trying to get this done before I got heat stroke in my garage, and I was getting the shakes from being hunched over my engine for an hour...

Is this something I should be concerned about? When I was removing the old ones, they did not feel like they were torqued to spec (dealership did them last 4 years ago). Torque spec is 30NM, and these felt hand tight and "snugged down". It took very little effort to remove them, so I feel that may have something to do with it. The other 3 plugs look fine though, no issues there, but they didn't feel tight to remove either.

 

[IcarusLSC]

Cam cover needs to be resealed? Not a fun job on those from what I recall...

 

[Marcozi]

Valve cover gasket is leaking.

 

[RooflessVW]

https://www.shopdap.com/valve-cover-gasket-sealant-kit-for-18t-gen3-engine.html

Have fun!

 

[RooflessVW]

Valve cover gasket is leaking.

There's a valve cover gasket?

 

[rijndael]

Is this something I should be concerned about?

It will eventually cause a misfire, so yes, you'll need to address it.

 

[jsean]

Hi everyone,

I changed the plugs today in my 2017 Golf. Upon removing the coil on cylinder one, I noticed a more-than-usual amount of oil in the well. You'll have to forgive the not so great photo of the well. I was against the clock trying to get this done before I got heat stroke in my garage, and I was getting the shakes from being hunched over my engine for an hour...

Is this something I should be concerned about? When I was removing the old ones, they did not feel like they were torqued to spec (dealership did them last 4 years ago). Torque spec is 30NM, and these felt hand tight and "snugged down". It took very little effort to remove them, so I feel that may have something to do with it. The other 3 plugs look fine though, no issues there, but they didn't feel tight to remove either.


View attachment 296887

View attachment 296886

Time for a cam cover reseal. Those 1.8 Gen3 EA888s didn’t have an actual gasket, just the anaerobic sealant.

This guy has a 3 part video on YT that covered this repair in great detail.
Gen3 EA888 cam cover reseal

 

[OilBeBack]

Cam cover needs to be resealed? Not a fun job on those from what I recall...

Ughhhh. It's not causing any issues yet. I get more misfires from cylinder 2 and that one was bone dry.

https://www.shopdap.com/valve-cover-gasket-sealant-kit-for-18t-gen3-engine.html

Have fun!

It will eventually cause a misfire, so yes, you'll need to address it.

It's not causing any issues yet. I have OBDEleven and I checked and while it did have 1 misfire in my 15 minute spirited driving test, cylinder 2 had 7 misfires for whatever reason. I'll keep an eye out for it though.

Time for a cam cover reseal. Those 1.8 Gen3 EA888s didn’t have an actual gasket, just the anaerobic sealant.

This guy has a 3 part video on YT that covered this repair in great detail.
Gen3 EA888 cam cover reseal

Yeah I'm probably just going to pay someone to do this. I'm gonna let it ride for now until it starts causing issues. My car is only at 60,000 miles too.

 

[berniedd]

I suggest do it now while it's still a small leak.

 

[The Critic]

Time for a cam cover reseal. Those 1.8 Gen3 EA888s didn’t have an actual gasket, just the anaerobic sealant.

This guy has a 3 part video on YT that covered this repair in great detail.
Gen3 EA888 cam cover reseal

The newer ones switched to RTV. I resealed a EA888.3 60K ago with RTV and it is still bone dry.

Resealing it without removing the timing chain is pretty dicey but it can be done.