Spark plugs on 2002 Dodge Neon

Cincy10SSRS · 06-20-2011, 12:05 PM

As a small favor to a friend who's afraid of a wrench, I volunteered to swap out the spark plugs on his daughter's POS 2002 Dodge Neon yesterday. It has a 2.0 liter SOHC inline 4 cylinder engine in it. I had never run into this kind of engine before and was surprised to find that the spark plugs are recessed in "shafts" about six inches! I put an exclamation mark there just because I had never seen that set-up before and was lucky that I had an extension for my ratchet long enough to reach down in there.
BTW, at the bottom of the middle two and surrounding the spark plugs was a fair amount of oil, so that can't be a good thing. Any ideas what would be the cause of that on these engines???

derklug · 06-20-2011, 10:53 PM

Recessed plugs are nothing new, and the oil is coming from the valve cover gasket where it seals around the tubes. Simple fix, but make sure the valve cover gasket set includes the O-rings for the tubes.

KXRM · 06-20-2011, 11:08 PM

There is a reason why even Dodge now crushes these vehicles in their own commercials.

ffrcobra_65 · 06-21-2011, 12:47 AM

nothing new...oil in there means leaky valve cover gasket. this reminds me I need to change the vc gasket on my 95 bmw. Pain!

Cincy10SSRS · 06-21-2011, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by derklug

Recessed plugs are nothing new, and the oil is coming from the valve cover gasket where it seals around the tubes. Simple fix, but make sure the valve cover gasket set includes the O-rings for the tubes.

Hey, thanks (also to ffrcobra_65) for the heads up about the vc gasket. That's also what a guy at work told me yesterday but it almost sounded to "good" to be true. Should be relatively easy fix then.

06-20-2011, 12:05 PM	#1
Cincy10SSRS Drives: 2010 2SS RS M6 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Cincinnati area Posts: 1,522	Spark plugs on 2002 Dodge Neon As a small favor to a friend who's afraid of a wrench, I volunteered to swap out the spark plugs on his daughter's POS 2002 Dodge Neon yesterday. It has a 2.0 liter SOHC inline 4 cylinder engine in it. I had never run into this kind of engine before and was surprised to find that the spark plugs are recessed in "shafts" about six inches! I put an exclamation mark there just because I had never seen that set-up before and was lucky that I had an extension for my ratchet long enough to reach down in there. BTW, at the bottom of the middle two and surrounding the spark plugs was a fair amount of oil, so that can't be a good thing. Any ideas what would be the cause of that on these engines???

06-20-2011, 10:53 PM	#2
derklug Drives: 12 Boss 302 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Grand Rapids, Mi Posts: 1,369	Recessed plugs are nothing new, and the oil is coming from the valve cover gasket where it seals around the tubes. Simple fix, but make sure the valve cover gasket set includes the O-rings for the tubes. __________________ The biggest mistakes in life come when you know exactly what you are doing.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Best Spark Plugs?	Sarah	Mechanical Maintenance: Break-in / Oil & Fluids / Servicing	9	06-13-2011 04:10 PM
Changing spark plugs and wires - LS3?	IndeedSS1	Camaro V8 LS3 / L99 Engine, Exhaust, and Bolt-Ons	11	01-09-2011 02:46 PM
E3 Spark Plugs	barking tires	Tuning / Diagnostics -- engine and transmission	7	09-06-2010 10:31 AM
2009 Dodge Challenger Press Release (introducing model lineup)	Tran	General Automotive + Other Cars Discussion	8	03-20-2008 12:47 AM
Ontario to become home of the all-new 2008 Dodge Challenger	Mr. Wyndham	General Automotive + Other Cars Discussion	3	08-09-2007 02:54 AM

06-20-2011, 11:08 PM	#3
KXRM Drives: 2011 Mustang GT Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 168	There is a reason why even Dodge now crushes these vehicles in their own commercials.

06-21-2011, 12:47 AM	#4
ffrcobra_65 Account Suspended Drives: SuperCharged 2SS/RS IOM MN6 Join Date: May 2009 Location: CA Posts: 5,094	nothing new...oil in there means leaky valve cover gasket. this reminds me I need to change the vc gasket on my 95 bmw. Pain!