Oil Leak into Spark Plug Tubes

[FreshSalt09]

Hey guys. My 2017 250hp 195 Open ID was loosing power a few weeks ago. The boat is new to me so I decided to change the spark plugs as I was unsure if they had ever been changed in the 75 hours on the motor. When I pulled the coil packs and the plugs I ended up finding oil in the tubes. It was maybe a 1/4" up the coil pack and not near the connection. Talking with my buddy, he said I've got a cylinder head gasket leak but looking through the service manual, appears its going to be the spark plug tubes.

Looking at the shop manual, it seems pretty easy to remove the cylinder head cover, replace the cylinder head gasket and the spark plug tubes. Does anyone have experience with this? Is it as easy as it seems? Where would be the best place to source the cylinder head gasket and spark plug tubes? I looked on BRP's parts site but they don't have my engine listed. 440000AFB

Thanks ahead of time!
-FS

 

[Winerocks]

You should not have to mess with the head gasket, but I’m pretty sure you just have the “lingo” wrong. The valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals should fix this leak. Not a difficult process as far as engine DIY’s go. You should not be losing power from this unless it is also causing a misfire.
It is also possible that the previous owner fogged the cylinders as part of the winterization process, which can leave light-colored oil in the tubes (depending on how it was performed). As a side note, fogging is not recommended for these engines.

 

[FreshSalt09]

You should not have to mess with the head gasket, but I’m pretty sure you just have the “lingo” wrong. The valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals should fix this leak. Not a difficult process as far as engine DIY’s go. You should not be losing power from this unless it is also causing a misfire.
It is also possible that the previous owner fogged the cylinders as part of the winterization process, which can leave light-colored oil in the tubes (depending on how it was performed). As a side note, fogging is not recommended for these engines.

I think I figured out it was bad gas. It was premium but it was purchased at a station I was unfamiliar with.

Regarding replacing the spark plug tube seals & "Valve Cover Gasket": are 440000AFA parts interchangeable with 440000AFB engines? Not sure what the A vs. B designations mean but seem that AFA parts are easy to source on Crowley Marine.

 

[Winerocks]

Not sure on the compatibility. Don’t know what the difference could be.