Oil in Cylinders, Failing to cold start

[Snigle]

Hi all,

I have a 2007 Ford Focus SE 2.0L with 79K miles.

I have been having some issues that started about two weeks ago. My engine would fail to cold start, unless you tried multiple times and gave it gas when turning over.

I do live in Milwaukee, WI so the weather has been below freezing.

Once that car was started you could turn it on/off again and again without problems, runs fine on the road, does not blow smoke, and I have not noticed any significant power loss. The problems would start again if you let it sit for several hours.

To troubleshoot this issue I've:
- Replaced The Battery
- Ran seafoam through the fuel system
- Cleaned out the throttle body
- Changed all 4 spark plugs

When I took out the two middle spark plugs I was horrified. Both were covered in un-burnt oil.. and when looking down into the middle two cylinders i could see oil pooled. The outside two cylinders were fine.

My cold start issues remain.

What could be causing the cold start issues? How can I diagnose the oil issue? How do I know if the middle cylinders are even running? What are my long term risks if I do not fix the oil issue?

Thanks for any advice or insight.

[Sponsor]