HELP HELP HELP

[ksharp]

ight im sure we have all heard horror stories about spark plugfs being broke off inside engines, so the other day im putting the forth and fine plug into the engine everything was going smooth and as im snugging number 4 up i feel it slip .... so im like hmmm cant be good.... so i back it out and sure enough it comes out i inspect the plug and it seems find and like a idot..... i return to put the same plug into the engine why im not sure i had extras, but any way on the second snug up it slips again and this time when i go to back it out it isnt come uppp............. oh shit so i get the plug out or what i think is left of the plug and what do i see ............




SOOOOOOOOOOO... the thread let go completely off the spark plug, now i think there might be some thread still up left to grab on to and work it out whith a set of needle nose... maybe.... the only problem on an r1 there set soooooo fucken deep inside the engine and there is very little access to anything, so if any one has any true and tested tricks they would be appreated. thanks boys

[LukeM]

Well, that's interesting...never seen that before.

If the ground tang on the threaded portion is still there, you _may_ be able to slide an appropriate sized screwdriver inside the threaded portion, pressing up against the side of the tang, and _gently_ work it out.  It might be handy to spray in some PB Blaster or a similar penetrating oil, just to loosen up any stuck threads.

If, however, the threads are pressing the compression washer tightly, you may not be able to get it out.  At that point, you may be looking at a big and long screw extractor tool, something the same size as the insulator of the plug.  That might get expensive.

Perhaps one of the other members with more experience will chime in on this one.  Don't panic, though.  

Luke M

[TOOLS1]

Since it is hollow, I would get an easy out, and take it out. Then I would re-chase the threads.
TOOLS

[Peterwh]

You could get a piece of tube or round bar that will go through the hole, cut a slot in the end to accept the ground tang and try that in a modification of the screwdriver suggestion.  Good luck.

[shinyribs]

Dang! That is a first! I have heard of plugs blowing out but never seen it. We had a blower motor with 80 psi boost once and never pushed a plug out. I'm sure yours is a manufacturing defect. Thats crazy!

[ksharp]

yeah i think it might be a defect ima take it back to canadian tire and see what they say the problems is i know an easy out will work and the threads in the engine will be fine, but i need a universiel joint to get it out there, and no i also dont have a uni join or a easy out lol

[stillbuster]

Can't remember what year it is but Ford had a two piece spark plug that was factory spec!
Buddy of mine was changing plugs and what you have in your hand is what happened to him. Not once but three different plugs.
PBBlaster, let soak drilled the center out and used the largest EZ Out he had then inserted a 3"x3" square of clean cotton t shirt and pulled it up tight in the bottom 1/8" of the threads then chased the threads and used a shop vac with gas line taped to the nozzle to suck out the trash and pulled the cotton out with hemostats.

[Lucky 1]

Ford has a real serious problem now but it has nothing to do with this OP's problem.

The Fords with the Triton 5.4L v8s and some of the other engines (V-10's) had 1/2 inch reach spark plugs in their aluminum cylinder heads. Starting about 1996 up to 2004. These engines would literally blow the spark plugs right out of the engine and break the coil in the process.  The fix was a special 4 piece tool kit that cost almost $400.00 and it would rethread and prepare the cylinder head for a Tinesert.
A company called CAL-VAn made a better version that recut the threads with 2 tools and used a thicker wall insert. Many owners had more than one plug blow out.  It happened to my van. Ford said it would be $1700.00 to repair it and $7,200 for a new engine.
I thought of buying a V6 engine Ford van but found out you have to remove the intake manifold just to change the spark plugs. Forget that!

In 2004 Ford redesigned the cylinder head and had a special spark plug manufactured that had a metal shield that extended downward on the spark plug. But when it came time to change the spark plug it would break off in the cylinder head. Then Ford said you had to soak the spark plug in penetrant for one hour while the engine was still warm then remove the plug and hope it would not break off.
A special tool kit was designed to remove these special broken off spark plugs.

Now Ford says it will only replace the cylinder heads on the 1996-2004 engines but to do it they remove the entire truck body so they can have access to the engine.

When the spark plug blew out of my 1999 1 ton E350 ford van it was the #2 plug. There was a loud BANG then a flap...flap...flap noise. My OBDII confirmed a misfire on #2 cylinder. The plug was loose and the coil was broken off but because of the body and engine style I could not even get the plug out of the space it was loosely sitting in. I sold the van for scrap.

I bought a Chevy van .
Below is the special spark plug Ford had designed and a broken one.



The night it happened I stayed up all night reading similar stories by other owners.
Many other owners same problem. Plugs blowing out of cylinder heads.

Almost ALL other engines with aluminum cylinder heads have 3/4 inch reach plugs. Except Ford.

[shinyribs]

"I sold the van for scrap......I bought a Chevy van."

Donald,I'm trying to laugh at you.I hate that happened to you.But the way you worded that cracked me up! Tools' is not gonna like this one!lol

[Re-run]

Wow man, just wow. That is some terrible business practices. It really sounds like they designed things to break like that to drum up repair business.

[Lucky 1]

Ford has a serious problem and I do not know how they keep it out of the newspapers.
Oh thats right... not many newspapers anymore.

[shinyribs]

The news usually doesn't pick it up unless it a "safety concern". MalarkyA buddy of mine had a SHO Taurus (that car would FLY!!!) with an early set of the break away "safety" motor mounts. You know,the ones designed to let the engine fly loose from the car in the event of an accident???Umm...shrapnel??? Well,they broke away one day when he hit a speed bump in a parking lotThe engine fell on the steering and the mighty SHO was dead in the water. Could not be moved. The dealership said it was a recall,but not a warranty recall.Basically,they recognized it was an issue...but YOU had to pay to fix it. They claimed it was NOT a safety concern!!!!!Imagine that same scenario at freeway speeds!!!!Not a safety concern....right. This coming from the people who put the muffler too close to the right rear tire on the "Exploders" and packed it off on Firestone. One thing I will say about the current day Ford big wigs...theirs are apparently made of brass.

Oh,and the 6.0 Powerstrokes are known for stretching the head bolts to the point of shooting out head gaskets. I know because the dealership buys ARP head studs from our speed shop to perform the warranty claims on those. Luckily we have two 6.0s with no head bolt failures yet.*fingers crossed*Though starters seemed to last about 30,000 miles at best. My Duramax has 1/4 million miles on it with all factory accessories still intact.Starter,water pump...it'll die tomorrow now that I said that. Kudos to Isuzu for giving GM their first truly successful diesel engine. Can you believe GM went with an Isuzu diesel when Caterpillar wanted to build them one? Tell mr they wouldn't have sold like hot cakes! GM refused to put a CAT emblem on the fender so CAT pulled out.

Sorry,I'm all jacked up on caffeine tonight.

[ksharp]

man im sure if we know all the real problems that happen behind the cutain we all would wanna end our lives, which is why i laugh when people tell u how could u not pay attation, like i always say, we all got problems  

[rrgunslinger]

I would try something like an easy out. Be very gentile when doing it.  You only want to get the broken part out not damage the hole.  

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00960592000P?prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6

Good Luck.

[shinyribs]

gunslinger is right. I hate having to work on a spark plug hole. The fear of metal bits falling in the engine sucks. On the race cars,if we ever had to do a repair like this we keep one guy running a shop vac the whole time to help pick up shavings-if they occur-then follow up with vacuuming out the cylinder. A piece if vacuum line makes for a good vacuum attachment you can swirl around in the cylinder to clean up the best you can. Rings really dont like metal bits

[ksharp]

well boys lol i spend some time with the misstress today ! managed to get the fucker out lol and let me tell u was i happy about it look what i made to get it





long story short lol i got it out with a proper sized screw extractor and a lot of jerry rigging male to female connectos and diffrent size steps downs and universal bit, i know its not a cb but we can all share in the garage experience ;)

[LukeM]

Nicely done! I'm glad you got it out without too much drama. Let's just hope it was a fluke with the spark plug.  Normally, I'd recommend a bit of anti-seize for the threads. Hindsight for your original installation, I know:  sorry about that.

I hope the bike runs properly after all this.  It would suck to have to tear it all apart and heli-coil stuff.  Let's keep fingers crossed.

Luke M

[shinyribs]

Glad it worked out good for you. I was waiting to hear back on this one.Good jobNice tool collection. Not a CB????

[rrgunslinger]

I am so glad for you! I love garage experiences.  I have so many of them I could fill a book.

Anyway CB or not we are here to help or cheer you on!

[ksharp]

im still kinda sad i sold mine, but the threds were perfect i wipped that thing out and it was sketchy becasue i cant feel when the thing is biting and then all of a sudden u realize that its commung up your like SICK SICK SICK SICK ..................... MUAHAHAHAHAHAH wasnt bad at all no shavings what so ever that fucking plug had to be a defect i swear it, and its my 00 r1 that im putting back tougether, i would love to post a build thread but i feel like it would be a slap in the face lol, i have another cb comming tho ;)