spazmatt527

I'm fixing this vehicle for someone else and was going to use a spark plug thread repair kit (essentially a helicoil). The tap that comes with this kit relies on the original threads being somewhat still there because it pulls the tap into the hole where the wider diameter threads further up the tap can then begin doing their work.

Unfortunately, after shining a flashlight down a known-good spark plug tube, it looks like the OEM insert at the base of the spark plug tube is completely MIA. This means that my tap has nothing to grip onto and pull itself in to its larger threads.

So it looks like I'll be needing to pull off the intake, manifold, valve cover and remove the spark plug tube. So the question is: are these tubes pressed in and essentially unremoveable? Or is there a way to remove and replace the tubes? Further, are the threads part of the tube or are they part of the head? If they're part of the head, then does the fact that the threads simply aren't there mean it's time for a whole new head?