Spark plugs are wet with gasoline

[Mina Rofael]

Hi, my 2003 Nissan Sentra 1.8 didn’t start this morning. I remove all the 4 spark plugs and there are all wet with gasoline. I need to know what do I need to replace and how to check it.
Thanks

Topic

[dan]

well a extremely rich condition that probably washed out the rings and caused a no start because the engine is more than likely flooded caused your no start, leaky fuel injector in a single cylinder could cause this, but for every cylinder is doubtful… are there any codes?

[Mina Rofael]

Yeah. I have P0303 and P0302

[Gary]

[quote=”mina rofael” post=152630]Yeah. I have P0303 and P0302[/quote] Those are both misfire codes. One for cylinder 2 and one for cylinder 3. Since they are adjacent, I would start looking there. How does your oil look? does it smell like gasoline?

[Mina Rofael]

Yes it does smell gasoline.

[Gary]

[quote=”mina rofael” post=152642]Yes it does smell gasoline.[/quote]
This means that as Ace suggested that you are running too rich. This can be for multiple reasons. Are the plugs for 2 and 3 worse than the others?

What concerns me is that you have confirmed that the engine oil smells like gasoline. This thins the oil out dramatically and causes excessive wear in just about every part of the engine. If you run it long enough in this shape your engine will fail.

So we are looking at a few things here:
Loss of compression
Worn out or malfunctioning ignition system
Lack of incoming air
Leaky injectors(it would have to be multiple)

Of course, O2 sensors giving a false lean reading could also do this, but there would usually be O2 sensor codes such as “bank 1 too lean” or the like.

The fact the oil has fuel in it means that fuel is either not being burned, or it is leaking in. The oil alone could be fouling the plugs, causing a misfire etc.

[Mina Rofael]

Actually, I just replaced my 4 spark plugs 3 days ago, but all of them are wet of gasoline now. I put a piece of napkin after I remove my plugs and it captured too much gas.
Also, my coolant smells gasoline.

[Donald]

Popped headgasket going into the coolant.

[EricTheCarGuy]

I’ve seen injectors go bad and stay open causing that condition. It usually only happens on one cylinder however.

Before you go there, I recommend you check for spark. If you don’t have spark, this can also cause that condition. I recommend checking for spark before you go further as that may be the root of the problem.

If you do have spark, then you need to determine what’s causing the excessive fuel. For now, just focus on finding out if you have spark or not.

More info on diagnosing no start issues here.

http://www.ericthecarguy.com/faq/solving-automotive-no-start-problems

Good luck and please keep us updated.

[Bluesnut]

I would suspect a leaking fuel pressure regulator, lack of spark, or less likely a head gasket breach.

Once running properly you need to change the engine oil and filter. Diluted engine oil will ruin an engine very quickly by washing out the crankshaft bearings, damaging valve train components and piston rings, etc.

[Author]

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