I have a '65 230SL that I had out the other day in our gorgeous 70+ degree summer weather here in Southern California (sorry East Coasters!).
First off I should say that I'm mechanically minded, but certainly no mechanic. The following story is stretching my diagnose/repair abilities to the limit, so I'd very much appreciate some input on this from Those Who Know.
The car decided to take this particular day to start running on five instead of six cylinders, so I examined the spark plugs first. When taking the spark plug wire off of #6, it pulled the metal core of the spark plug right out. Aha, I thought, I've found the problem.
After replacing that plug I got to #3. It was clearly fouled, black (not white at the spark like the other plugs) and covered in gasoline, as if it had been dipped in it. I should add that only the interior, metal part of the plug had gas on it, not the ceramic, outer part. I've since replaced all six plugs.
My question is this: was the gas coating plug #3 a cause or symptom?
In other words, was the gasoline on the plug due to the plug's failing and not firing, therefore not burning the gas away during combustion? Or was the gasoline coating likely due to some other bigger factor, in essence "drowning" the plug, thus causing it to fail? What could cause this?
Many thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Kris Salzer
