I pulled the plugs for the first time on my new Goodwrench 350 crate motor a few weeks ago (it had 3000 miles on it at the time) and was concerned about seeing a small amount of oil on the threads on the #1,2,3,5 and 7 cylinders. #3 looked the worst (see photo) There's no leaks from the valve covers. I cleaned everything and put new plugs in it, AC R44TS (I switched from R44TSX). Today (200 miles later) I pulled the #1,2 and 3 plugs. The #1 and #2 looked fine but still with a tiny amount of oil on the threads and the #3 had oil even on the center electrode ceramic insulator. The motor runs strong and healthy (no smoke) but this can't be normal for a brand new motor. It seems to have used about a 1/3 of a quart of oil in only 1000 miles. Should I switch to hotter plugs and forget about it? Or do I have an oil burner down the line? Could it have anything to do with switching to 15W-40 diesel oil?....Thanks for any advice.

#3 plug after the first pull....

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/1970/3cylinderqs8.jpg

I don't think the rings are seated. The "old" fix for this was to start the motor, hold it at about 2500 rpms, and pour Bonami ( http://www.bonami.com/ ) down the intake to seat the rings.

Before you do that check with the company you bought the engine from to see what their warranty is.