"jim beam" <nospam@example.net> wrote
> Elle wrote:
> <snip>
> > As for the oil in the spark plug tubes, your Accord has
two
> > seals per spark plug tube that could be leaking. Given
your
> > car's age, I would suspect the four O-rings that are
lower
> > in the tubes have hardened and no longer seal properly.
>
> elle, you keep saying that, but i seriously doubt it to be
true.

Jim, it cured the problem on my 91 Civic, whereas new valve
cover spark plug tube gaskets did not. By my estimate, the
oil leakage did get steadily worse over a roughly two-year,
20k mile period. Here's my data:

Feb 04, 151k miles: Replaced spark plugs as part of
scheduled maintenance. My notes say two of the plugs had wet
oil on them, which did concern me at the time. (Not sure if
I observed oil in the tube or not. I didn't know to pay
close attention. I was a bit boggled by the oil on the
plugs. Never saw that before, and only once has someone else
done the plugs on my car.)

Feb O4: Replaced upper tube gaskets (probably after reading
here). I can't remember for sure if I used OEM gaskets or
not, but I don't think I did.

Subsequently, from Mar 2004-Aug 2005: Had the valve cover
off twice.

Sep O5, 170k miles: Inspected spark plug tubes. Two had oil
in them--more than I'd ever noticed before. Wiped out.

Oct 05: Saw posts by Eric and Tegger troubleshooting another
guy's oil-in-spark-plug-tubes problem. Probably checked
tubes again in next week or so. Oily. Mopped out.
Groups.googled on subject

Oct 05: Replaced lower O-rings.

Nov 05: Various little stuff, like cleaning distributor
area, checking ignition timing, replacing valve cover gasket
(but not upper seals). Tubes appear oil free. With long
needle nose pliers, I stick a Q-tip down there to check.

The old O-rings I took out this past Fall were in fact quite
hard compared to the new ones. They "break" as opposed to
tear, brittle-like instead of rubber like. I doubt they were
sealing.

Others have reported on these lower seals before here.

> the
> seals that typically leak are the upper ones.
> they are the ones that
> get disturbed every time the rocker cover comes off

Here is the guideline that I think should be used upon
seeing oil in the plug tubes:

First, the Honda owner should replace the upper gaskets.
These are in the valve cover and so are a pretty easy DIY
job. Monitor the tubes for oil accumulation once a week or
so, depending on how much was originally seen in the tubes,
for a couple of months, especially if the car has over 120k
miles on it. Mop out every time. If oil continues to
accumulate, check that your year and model of Honda has the
lower O-rings (some Hondas do not), and replace these.