Hello, I have a 2003 Accent. 1.6
I'm losing at least a litre of oil per week. No oil under car (checked multiple times)
When replacing plugs the other day I noticed before I pulled off the one wire that the hole the plug and wire are in was completely full of oil. I used a shop towel to soak it up before removing the plug. Since then I have checked a few times to see if there was oil there again, and every time I do it is right full again. Also there is sometimes a lot of smoke from the exhaust when first started and the tip of my tailpipe is BLACK.
Any help on how the oil is getting in and a possible solution would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.

Update: From the research i have done it looks like it is probably a simple valve cover/plug tube gasket replacement. Hopefully pick up the gasket kit sometime this week. Though I'm not sure that this would cause the oil to actually be burnt by the engine and sent through the exhaust since it looks like the wire seals themselves are seating properly. Not to mention the oil would then have to find it's way through the plug treads. Unless I am mistaken, there must be something else going on here as well.

 

I have a 98 Accent 1.5L that also loses a lot of oil in a short period of time. No oil under the car, either. I've also had troubles with it misfiring when it's damp outside. If my car idles for a a short period of time, it blows smoke out of the exhaust. My tailpipe is also black. As far as the Spark Plugs being covered in oil, I'm not sure about that.

Anybody have any suggestions??

 

@ Subordinate: I think you may have two problems going on here. The first - oil around the outside of the plug socket - is definitely a valve cover gasket. My '02 Accent had an identical problem. The oil from the gasket finds its way to your hot exhaust manifold, and you get a good whiff of burnt oil, and sometimes smoke. The gasket replacement is simple, and will solve problem #1.

Problem #2, there's something else going on. I have the same problem too! My '02 Accent has 174,000 miles on it. My exhaust pipe is NOT black, but I am burning a quart of oil every 3,000 miles ( 1 liter every 4,800 km ). No oil on the floor or under the car. I'm attributing it to engine wear. My car still runs excellent.