I have just purchased a 93 trooper. very nice looking vehicle. the mileage is 218,000. i noticed that when i changed the plugs and wires the old plugs and wires were covered with motor oil, not all of them, but 4 out of 6. other than that the truck runs very well. no smoke (none that i have detected anyway) i have noticed that when i leave for work which is a 30 min drive the engine sounds fine. its not until i drive 10 or 15 miles i begin to hear the engine tapping. any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

James, I think a compression check is in order. A leak-down test would be even better. That could identify a head gasket leak, bad piston ring or hole in piston, intake and exhaust valve leaks or cracked head. You may be sucking oil in thru the valve seals. In any case it won't be good news. Sorry.

 

I just reread your post. You say your wires are covered in oil? You mean the part of the spark plug wire that goes down the hole in the valve cover? If so, the round seals are leaking. You have to change your valve cover gasket sets.