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[omegaman1973]

Hi All,
sorry for not being in here lattely but stupid internet packed up :-/. Anyway, got oil in the plugs well ,
a lot of it, now i know what it is, my question is is it dangerous to drive ? any reply appreciated.

[Del Boy]

Mine was driven like it for ages but it was ok, then started mis-fireing when it was taken on a long run, so new plugs and leads sorted that 

[ffcgary1]

The oil can catch fire so it is in your intrest to not drive it untill you have changed the gaskets. If you do drive it you will fry your plug leads and this can also fubar your dis pac.

[bob.dent]

I drove my previous Omega with leaking rocker cover gaskets for ages (mostly because I wasn't sure what the problem was until I joined OOF). One thing you will notice is the godawful smell of burning oil that creeps into the passenger compartment (especially when stationary) and of course you will be topping the oil up frequently.

[hubbardybubbardy]

I recently have had a problem with oil in the plug wells on my V6. 
As already said  if you continue to use it you will have to live with the awful smell of burning oil when driving and sat in traffic, not to mention the risk of possible fire. 
Pound to a penny if you have got oil in the wells it will be leaking out elsewhere, if not now it wont be long.  This means running down the side of the engine, onto manifolds, alternator, starter and other components. 
If the oil is leaking, the cause could be blocked breather pipes which can cause other problems like stalling and bad starts etc which will get worse.

My advice is to get the rocker covers changed.

I did these myself following a failed and costly attempt after sending my car to a local non Vauxhall garage due to having time constraints.  A simple job they said after diagnosing it.  The trouble was they let the junior mechanic have a go and from what I assessed instead of taking the plastic cover off the wiring loom to allow room to remove the n/s rocker cover he forced it off through the obstructions.  This resulted in cracking the cover and breaking the gasket lips.  What he did then was refit the cracked cover after trying to fill the crack wilth sealant and then force it back into place. 

I had the car back and needless to say the cover still leaked.  I ended up deciding to do the job myself, properly, thats when i found the cracked cover which set me back £80 plus new gaskets.  When doing the one bank I did the other rocker gasket while the plenum etc was off as that would no doubt go too at some point and guess what there was oil in the wells too.

My advice again, get it done before things get worse, you may as well do both rocker gaskets, and if you can do it yourself, it takes a bit of time and messing but at least it gets done right at a great saving, if not use a trusted garage.