Oily spark plugs

I just changed the spark plugs on my 1966 200 *** inline 6 and noticed oil on four of the spark plugs. Anyone have an idea what this suggests?  

stop taking short cuts through the la brea tar pits...

or...

you might have one of several problems...

when was the last time you had the valve cover off...  take a look through the oil filler cap... is there much sludge???  that might be preventing the oil from the rocker arms from draining back. causing the oil level to get up above the valve guides so that oil is pulled into the guide...

there are umbrella seals on the stems to shield the top of the guides from direct oil splash.. but when the area fills like a lake..  you get the idea...

how is your PCV valve working..    did it get replaced lately...    if you pull it out.. while its still attached to the hose.. or is yours threaded into the intake...   squeezing the hose to block the flow should drop the idle speed 50 to 70 RPMS..  if its sized correctly..   there have been issues of being incorrectly calibrated from some manufacturers./reboxers..


how is your choke working..  does it open properly????

how about your ignition system....

do you have points or electronic..??? if points.. when was the last time you changed the points and condenser..  there is an article on doing just that in the tech section above left..

feel like a coil output test????  positioning the cap end of the coil wire about 3/8 of an inch from the engine block.. so you are NOT HOLDING IT.. while somebody cranks the motor.. do you get a nice blue snappy spark?? or a weak orange spark..

do you own a digital volt meter..??  OHM the spark plug wires...   set the meter to 200K scale..  the wires should if good.. read less on the meter than their length in inches...
a 16 inch wire will display less than 16 on the digital volt meter...  16 should be between 7K or 10K ohms..  MAX is 1, 000 ohms per inch..

lastly.. have you done a compression test lately...  compression testers are cheep and there is probably a discount coupon in your print issue.. if you don't want to buy one.. most auto parts store chains have them in the loan a tool sections behind the counter.. check the parts counter mat with the tools on it...

hope this helps...  

It has been my experience that the Ford I6 engines seem to get a lot of valve cover leaks which allow the oil to trickle down thru the spark plug threads and burn.  It's usually pretty easy to figure this out as the external plug bodies and mounting hole recesses in the head are usually coated with oil. If its not an oil leak, typically it's a valve guide &/or seal wear out issue and lastly, possibly failure of the oil control rings on the piston.  Pulling a compression test will help identify if the rings are worn out or not.