DAMN SPARK PLUG!!!!!! SOB!!!!!

[Matt G]

plug

Words can't explain how pissed off I am right now :(

[zlexiss]

Well, that was about a thousand words right there :D

(j/k, looks like you need some screw extractors)

[Matt G]

my brother is bringing over an extractor kit and I am going to punch out the porcelin spray it down with penetrating oil and try to get the extractor set in there.. It doesn't help that it is one of THE HARDEST plugs to get to and these f*cking manifolds that came on 98 & 99 camaros/firebirds don't make the suitation any easier either.

Its unbelieveable how something so simple can turn out to be somethign that is going to take hours to fix... assuming I will be able to get it out with an extractor set. If not it is going to cost a crapload of money because I am going to have to send the car to a shop so they can pull the head and get the damn thing out.

[CDNFB]

What make is that Plug? NGK, AC-Delco....??

[Matt G]

AC-Delco.. I was pulling them to install NGK TR-6's for my nitrous.. but no success there :(

I am really hoping this will pull out with an extractor set. I really do not want to pay to have a shop pull apart my head :(

[ February 02, 2006, 03:00 PM: Message edited by: Matt G ]

[Tyler]

ouch! goodluck with that

[Razzer]

put some anti-sieze on there before you install your new plugs. Good luck in getting it out.

[CDNFB]

Yeah, your in for some fun.

It would be best that before you attempt to "bust out" the porcelain that you try to get the piston in that cylinder to Top Dead Center (TDC), with both the intake and exhaust valves closed. This would lessen the exposure of the cylinder and valves to any debris.

We normally find TDC by feeling the air rushing out of the spark plug hole on the compression stroke when the engine is being turned over. When the air stops blowing out of the spark plug hole the piston is at the top of it's travel. But with your broken plug installed I'm not sure how you can do that. You could remove the valve cover and watch the rockers for that cylinder, but that's even more work that you don't need.

Any suggestions, anyone?

When you do get that damn thing out, make sure that you get all of the debris out of the cylinder as possible!

Good luck!

[Matt G]

Yea.. I feel helpless right now.. nothing I can do I called my brother(the foreman of a shop) and he has never handled a broken spark plug. I am praying that my dad has expeience pulling out a spark plug like this. If not it's going to cost a lot of $ to take it to a machine shop :(

[FunkZ]

Usually if a spark plug breaks the ceramic insulator upper half snaps off but the metal nut is still there to get a socket on and back it out. I have had that happen to me at least once. I have never seen a plug twist off between the threads and nut like that though. How long was that in there?

[Matt G]

not sure.. i bought my car with 47,000 miles on it and it now has 53,000.. what kind of plugs does a stock GM firebird come with?

The plug has to be in there good for the entire thing to snap off.. I am beginning to wonder how successful an extractor could be to a spark plug thats stuck like this one

[CDNFB]

My original plugs were AC-Delcos and I replaced them at 80,000 miles. I've never seen a plug fail like this.

Your going to need one big Easy-out or extractor that can grab hold of the plug's metal outer casing that is left in the head.

My biggest concern is removal of the ceramic and possible contamination of the engine.

Who knows, maybe you will be lucky. That ceramic insert in the plug casing might pull out with only a little force. If I'm not mistaken, during manufacture of the plug the ceramic is inserted into the outer metal case from the nut end of the casing, then the area above the nut is swagged to close up to the ceramic.

It depends on how fused the ceramic is to the outer case and we all know how tight it is in that area, but if you can get a grip on the ceramic, maybe...just maybe it can be yanked out leaving the casing.

To remove the plug casing, if you need to use heat do not heat the plug casing, but rather the head around the casing. If you heat the casing it will expand and tighten up into the head even more. If you heat up the head, the head will ever so slightly relax it's grip on the casing.

Just some thoughts.

[Matt G]

My step-dad will be home soon. My mom told me he ran his garage for over 20 years so he has probablly seen something like this before. So hopefully we can figure something out. I will tell him everything that you have suggested.

I called a speed shop and they told me my best bet was to get a flat punch, try to knock out the porcelin making sure none gets in the motor. Spray it really good with penetrating oil, heat it up with a torch then use the extractor set to pull out the metal.

my largest concern is how tight it is where this plug is. Its the easiest to get to out of the six.. but none of them are easy. I was having trouble getting a wrench on the plug to pull it.

[Matt G]

Just talked to my dad. He said my best bet right now would be to use an easy out and try to pull the metal in the plug. He told me I could run on 5 cylinders if I need to but when my brother brings over the extractor set we're going to try to get it out.

He said the reason it happened(don't know how accurate it is but he is a pretty good mechanic) was from changing the plugs while the motor was cold. He said the plug expands when it is cold and contracts when it is hot. He also told me there was probablly oxidization built up in the plug from the aluminum contacting the steel.

He told me if that doesn't work we're going to have to pull apart the head and take the plug out that way. vacuum the head out and hope we got all the pieces other wise the motors "f*cked"

[98Camaro3.8]

Originally posted by Matt G:

He said the reason it happened(don't know how accurate it is but he is a pretty good mechanic) was from changing the plugs while the motor was cold. He said the plug expands when it is cold and contracts when it is hot.

Laws of physics reversed?

Changing your plugs when the engine is cold isn't gonna do ****.

FWIW, removing a spark plug from an aluminum head (not us) when hot can damage the head. You want it to be cold.