I have a 94 Accord EX with almost 225K miles on it. I forgot to change out my spark plugs at the 200K (they were changed at 100K), and now one of them appears to be stuck. I'm trying to figure out whether I should have a mechanic attempt to remove the stuck plug, or should I just replace the plugs that came out easily and worry about the last plug later. If I have a mechanic attempt to remove the plug, what are the risks if the plug breaks? Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

what efforts have you made in attempt to remove it?

at a minimum, apply a liberal amount of penetrating oil and try again after letting it soak. if this doesn't help and your wrenching confidence is not high, letting an experienced Honda or import specialist have a go isn't a bad idea. the risk of cylinder head damage is real and a decent mechanic will know how much force is too much so they can avoid doing damage.

either way, don't forget anti-seize on the threads when the new ones go in.

 

It also helps if the engine is warm when trying to remove them. Trying to remove plugs from a cold engine is difficult.

 

I agree with the penetrating oil, but not so sure about a warm engine. Aluminum heats and expands differently than steel, which can make it actually harder to remove and easier to damage your threads (as they are softer) trying to get it out, if it’s stuck or seized. That being said, I have replaced them on a warm engine before... I broke the top half off of one in my Integra one time (engine was cold), and was able to drive a large fairly heavy duty flathead screwdriver down into the body of the plug with a hammer (everything above the threaded part has snapped off), and used channel-locks to turn the screwdriver to back it out. If it’s still intact, use some PB Blaster or similar, and only try the hot engine as a last resort. Perhaps you could run it for just a 30sec - 60sec to get the plugs hot, but not allow the engine to completely warm up, which might give you a little extra clearance between the different metals... Make sure you put plenty of anti-seize on the new ones, so you don’t have to deal with this next time!

 

run the engine till operating temp then remove it it works for me every time hopefully this helps u