Oil Fouled plugs question

[Sotestar]

I have a 200hp mariner 6 cyl. and while changing my plugs today the top 4 had quite a bit of oil on the gapless plugs, Is this common? Should I have any oil on them? It has been running good on the water and doesn't sound bad at all, been getting about 50mph @ 5200-5400 rpms's and good fuel mileage. Any suggestions on preventative maint or should I keep running it as long as it runs nicely w/ no performance problems. Could it be running rich though? Any help is appreciated.

 

[andy6374]

Re: Oil Fouled plugs question

They normally have a thin coating on them. If they are really bad your tstats could be stuck open.

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Oil Fouled plugs question

I have always had oil and black tracks across my surface gaps and engine still runs fine.

As a matter of fact, in my last engine, a 115 hp tower, I had it from '89 to '97 and NEVER changed the plugs.....L77 (as I recall) surface gaps.

Mark