99 Infiniti i30, oil in spark plug hole?


I have a 99 Infiniti with about 70k miles. I was replacing the spark
plugs over the weekend and noticed the 1st one has oils in it. The
rest 5 of them looks clean.

Called one place, the owner said probably the O ring around the valve
opening needs to be replaced. About an hour of work, $100 plus parts.
Of course he said it all depends on what they see when they open it
up..

Called a different place, the guy said probably the valve tubes needs
to be replaced, and all 6 is about $400-$500, kind of a big job since
they need to open up the valve cover, etc. pretty involved as he puts
it.

Is this something that I can do? Searching online for "oil in spark
plug hole", I found quotes saying "it's simple and easy fix". but
looking at my Hays repair manual and the online instructions, it seems
more complicated than what I am comfortable with. (replacing the spark
plugs is about the most involved fix I've done, and all 6 took about
2 hours).

How serious is this problem?

I have one additional issue regarding this Infiniti which I recently
bought. Comparing to my 99 maxima SE, the Infiniti has a very subtle
and short vibration when I accelerate from a stop, for the 1st 1 or 2
seconds.

On the maxima the engine power seems very focused, acceleration is
smooth. On the infiniti, maybe around 50% of the time, there's a very
short humming type of vibration initially, and goes away very quickly.
The power isn't as focused as my maxima.

On highway driving, the Infiniti makes a subtle noise. Sounds like
"heheheheheh", say it as fast as you can and that's what it sounds
like. Again it's very sutble, I notice it, but my wife doesn't notice
either of the issue above when she sits in the passenger side.

Initially I thought it was the wheels that may be out of balance. I
did a road-force balance on a GSP 9700 on all 4 wheels, but the sound
seems to remain. I did:

- replaced engine oil with 5W-30 synthetic oil
- replaced all 6 spark plug with NCG OEM plugs.
- balanced all 4 wheels

could the above 2 sympton be attributed to the oil leak in the spark plug hole?

Thanks!

Raymond
.

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