After an engine wash a month ago, there has been water in the spark plug wells of my old Mazda 626.

This has caused rough running and several engine stops.

Today I removed the spark plugs, cleaned the wells, replaced the plugs and plug wires. Before putting in new plugs I cranked the engine to blow out any remaining water.

Problem is, after putting everything together and running the engine up to operating temp, there is water in the wells again. Actually in the #2 to #4 cylinders, for some reason the #1 cylinder is dry.

I think this is a gasket of some sort. A friend thinks cylinder head gasket. Ideas?