Hey,

Ok, I'm in a bit of a predicament. I need my car to get to work but I have kinda a big problem with it. One of the spark plug holes are stripped. I've talked to some friends about what can be done and here's what I've found out.

We where going to try and re-tap that hole hoping that there is enough material to re-tap into. If that doesn't work we where going to try and do an "heli-coil" (and I'm not exactly sure what that is, but it was explained as a process where you bore out a bigger hole then the plug and then insert a new threading in place). What my concern is that everyone says not to take the head off if possible, but what about all the grinds getting into my cylinder? The other concern is I'm not sure if it's even worth fixing as the engine is almost at 170k and I'm affraid I'm going to fix this and the engines going to go out. I was also debating on just getting a new head, but am not sure how much they go for. Here's my post in the classified section, if you have a head or have a suggestion on what I could do I'd really appricate it.

Has anyone else run into this problem? And if I was to take it to a shop just to retap how much does that usually run?

Thanks!


Modified by psycheus at 1:00 PM 9/4/2004

 

it happend to me 6 months ago when i was changing my plugs whoever had the motor before me did not put the spark plugs in right and cross threaded it, i had to take the head off then take it to a machine shop to get it helicoiled and it cost me $78. labor is a bitch. but **** my car runs cool now.

 

Yeah I know what ur up against, you should do the HELI COIL
heres what I had to do, to save my buddy's gsr
Drop a long screwdriver into the cylinder and bring that piston all the way to the top, then tap the helicoil after that disconnect your header drop some gas in the cylinder and blow it out with a air nossle. make sure your exhaust valves are opened up.

It worked in my case and jeff never had any more problems. I really think the best way is to have the head off. but that imposes a lot more labor, and cost!

Good Luck MAN
by the way the helicoil kit wasn't cheap like 70 bucks

 

I think the heli-coil option is going to be your best bet.

This is a prime example of why you should tighten down your spark plugs as for as you can by hand before putting a ratchet on it...

 

^^Bump..

So I'm stuck between a rock and a hard spot and am not totally sure what to do.. I was told that the head is not super easy to get off... is that true? How many hours does it usually take (including taking off the intake manifold). My only concern with Heli-Coil is it's really only a temp fix and considering that my car already has close to 170k I'm not sure it's even worth bothering with. I'm just considering doing a swap with a freah D16 motor.

 

Correction head isn't that hard to take off if u know what ur doing and have a new head gasket new studs and some hondabond for the valvecover seal.. u could have it done in half a day easy. Now Second correction HELICOIL is NOT a temporary fix its the only way to fix it without over tapping for a bigger plug..{not even sure if u can do that} or welding and retapping... any shop will tell u the only way is a helicoil. Hope this helps and good luck!

 

Before going the heli-coil route you might want to simply stop by Sears or your local auto parts shop and pick up a tap of the right diameter and pitch (make sure it's not a blind-hole tap). Then carefully attempt to thread the tap in there. If you're lucky, it may grab hold of some intact threads and enable you to restore the damaged ones. I've done this a few times on various projects with pretty good success and it's a good deal cheaper than a heli-coil kit. I'd advise caution though as incorrectly starting the tap could have the opposite effect and destroy the remaining threads.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DSeriesBKilla &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I think the heli-coil option is going to be your best bet.

This is a prime example of why you should tighten down your spark plugs as for as you can by hand before putting a ratchet on it...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Pardon my newbness but how the **** do you hand tighten a spark plug........? Does that long *** tube where the wires go come off???

 

If you have a long extension you can turn the spark plug with that until it becomes tight, then torque it down with the ratchet.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ****** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you have a long extension you can turn the spark plug with that until it becomes tight, then torque it down with the ratchet. </TD></TR></TABLE>

When I think of hand tightening, I think of using my hands not an extension Oh well

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by ****** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">If you have a long extension you can turn the spark plug with that until it becomes tight, then torque it down with the ratchet. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks for the suggestion, however that hole has NO starting threads.. ie there's nothing to screw it into. Any other ideas? Maybe it's engine swap time

 

sounds like you're lookin for a reason to do a swap...go ahead, hit it up.