Valve cover gasket replacing tips

Hello people
I have a 92 honda Accord LX 4dr with like 120k miles on it. It is a very nice car, but when I was going to pick up my girlfriend from the Airport it refused to start! I checked the spark plugs and there was oil in the spark plug chambers It seems like that the Valve cover gaskets have blown After a lot of advice from my neighbour (who used to a mechanic but now is pretty old) he said that could be the problem. Please could someone tell me how to go about replacing the valve cover gasket and also if I would also go ahead and replace the spark plugs also?? Please any help in this matter will be deeply appreciated.

 

Did you get it running again? Did you actually pull the plugs and observe fouling on the plug or was the oil only on the otuside? As far as replacing the gasket that's pretty easy, but it almost sounds like you might have bigger problems.

 

i agree with country, valve cover gasket is easy to replace...so you mean you
saw some oil leaking from the gasket and then going down to the spark plugs ? or did you actually take one plug out and notice oil on the tip of it ?
if you have oil going to the combustion chamber you definetely have bigger problems.

 

Two things that don't mix, newer cars and a pretty old guy that use to be mechanic. Not knocking your neighbor but I highly doubt a leaking valve cover gasket will cause a no start situation.

 

how much oil is in the plug tubes. if it is just a little, it probably won't cause a no-start. if the spark plug boot is soaked to the point of swelling the rubber, it could cause problems.

 

I own 90 Honda Accord LX since new. I got this same problem a year ago. The oil gets into plug hole is due to the O-ring of plug. This car has four cynlinder and it has 4 O-rings for each plug. Open valve cover and you will see what I am talking about. Don't forget to replace your valve gasket, too. This parts are cheap and easy to DIY. In terms of not start, I got hard to start when engine is hot. It is due to the main relay failure. This model of Honda Accord has bad main replay design. When temperature gets hot around main relay, the main relay will malfunction. Leave door and/or window open for about 5-10 minutes and you will be able to start it again. I change a new main relay and it fixes it. I also heard one person from internet, he lower a little bit of main relay's location and also change a new relay. I don't know lower a little bit of location will fix it or not, but you may want to try first to save around $50. The main relay location is under desh and above cruise control module. It has "main" or "main relay" printed on it. You will need to take off cruise control module before you can see it. Good Luck!

 

I agree with the others. There may be more than one problem. Diagnostics should be straightforward. Clean the oil and replace the valve cover gaskets. If the problem doesn't go away, then the problem is elsewhere (e.g., plugs, ign wires, fuel filter). It sounds like you've never done work on cars before..... time to start.

 

Thanks for the advice, I have checked the Main Relay Switch it is not that, it is definetly the oil and yeah the oil was leaking a little bit on the outside and that is how I discovered the problem. I am agreeing with DIYMAN coz somebody else also told me that this happens in Honda Accords. I will replace the gaskets, clean the oil and then get back to you all. Thanks once again

 

90-93 Accords had problems with both the main relay and the ignitor. Any one of those can cause a no start condition (no spark). Do you have spark? I've never seen a car not start because of oil in the spark plug "chambers".

Generally if the ignitor is the problem you'll have to replace the whole distribuitor. If the main relay functions but you still don't have spark the ignitor is the most likely cause. There is a test procedure to verify it, I think even Chilton's has it.