Broken spark plug....

[Dozer11B]

Hey guys looks like the threads on the spark plug for #3 cylinder was seized in the head. When I tried to take it out, it snapped and I got the plug out except for the thraded portion.

 

Any ideas on how to get this out without removing the head???

[sinkrun]

Had the same happen used a MAC brand easy out 1/2 rachet and ext bar, but first we found a rod that fit over the broke piece not into it and hit it a few times to "bump" if loose. Once we did this it came right out with the easyout. Keep everything lined up well no odd twist or jerks nice even and take your time. I was supprised mine came out as easy as it did.

[Dozer11B]

Here's what I'm working with:

 

 

Obviously the one on the right.........

[Geonovast]

Be careful with an easy out. If they don't bite right away, it'll just shave down what you've got... and you don't want that crap in the cylinder.

 

I would spray it down, like, a lot, with PB for a few days before you try anything. I'm hoping you didn't already do an oil change.

[Darren]

Put some Elmers glue on it and stick it back in.

[JACKED88]

Hot damn son. Are those tha OEM spark plugs??? :rotf: How long's it been since ya changed them thangs??? LMAO!!!

 

An easy-out is you best bet without removing tha head. First do as suggested and spray it with penetrating oil several times allowing it to sit for as long as you have patients. (By tha looks of that OEM spark plug your apparently a very patient person) LOL!!!

Stick the easy-out in whats left of your OEM spark plug. Be sure its straight and tap it in with a hammer. Now slowly turn it while applying downward pressure at tha same time. The easy out should bite into the inner walls of what left of your OEM spark plug and unscrew it.

Before you install a nice new non OEM spark plug, start the motor without a spark plug installed in that cylinder. That will help blow out anything that may have fallen into tha cylinder. You'll only need to run it for about 5-10 seconds. No, it won't hurt it although it will be pretty loud.

Now install tha new non OEM spark plug and your done.

 

I'm just messin with ya about tha OEM plugs. ;)

 

I've seen worst when I was turnin wrenches on boats. Ya ever seen an oil pan rust all tha way through with oil still in it? That was in a big twin v-8 cabin cruiser. Tha man couldnt figure out where all his oil was going. Yet every time he'd turned on his bilge pump he'd put a huge oil slick on tha water. :hmm:

It rusted out because of all tha salt water that collected in his bilge all tha time. Hence tha reason for his automatic bilge pumps that didnt work and he didnt bother to repair. Over $1000 bucks later having to remove his engine out of his boat he had me repair um.

Moral to tha story, preventative maintenance. :thumbsup:

[Dozer11B]

Haha- thanks Jacked. I just bought this truck about a week or so ago. You should see te exhaust manifolds......... Shouldn't be too much fun to swap out when my edelbrock headers get here :mad:

[Dozer11B]

Alright- EZ out and pb hasn't worked so far. Gonna get a small torch and try to heat it up......... :brows:

[jimoshel]

Your on the right track. Main thing is don't rush it and snap a EZ out of in the hole. Certainly hope you have better luck than I did once. 1959 I was in Spain. Had a '52 Mercury I foolishly took to Spanish garage for a tune up. They twisted a plug off. After they got thru trying to get the stub out I needed a new head. 2 weeks of searching I finally found one in Germany. Had it shipped to Torrejon AFB in Madrid. It was supposed to be picked up by the courier and brought up to Elizondo for me. Unfortunately the Lt didn't get the word and when he saw it he trash canned it. Call to Torrejon and 3 days later they called me and said they had found it and was sending it up by bus. 5 days later my car was running again and I immediately sold it and got a VW. Jim :doh:

[JACKED88]

Alright- EZ out and pb hasn't worked so far. Gonna get a small torch and try to heat it up......... :brows:

Keep in mind heat is going to make tha plug expand. You might aughta try what 'sinkrun" suggested and hit it a couple of times to break it loose.

If that doesnt work then try applying heat, hit it again and allow to cool/contract before trying to remove it. Your pb aughta cool it down pretty quickly in which should be a good thing. The expansion from the heat and quick contraction of being cooled should break tha rust loose.

If that doesnt work ...... then try it while hot. I personally don't like tha hot idea because it'll be dry having burnt off all your pb.

What kind of EZ-out are you using? One of the old school long ones or one of those new stubby jobbers? Those new stubby ones work pretty good but I've only seen um sold in sets. $$$

[BORDENCOMANCHE]

Me personally ,the head would be coming off, and a new head gasket would be going.

[Dozer11B]

Wouldn't be the firt time an LT stepped in it, huh?? That's one of those good ole stories from way back when.......

 

Well today I made minor progress. First I met a major setback. Snapped an EZ-out off in there, but we bumped it out with the engine pretty easily.

 

Got the torch to it then, and between PB blaster and then torching I may have backed it out a hair. Either that or I cleaned the rusted crud around it. Been placing screwdrivers in there and tapping and prying...... I'm letting it soak in PB again overnight to let it seep into more of the rust crud since I am not close to the threads yet.

[Dozer11B]

Oh also got the arched MJ leaves in from Tom at Hell Creek. I've been hitting all the hardware on the rear suspension with PB blaster the past two days in prep for the installation.

 

They have great customer service and he's quick.

 

If you don't hear from me by phone Tom, thanks again! :clapping:

[Dozer11B]

This is the portion that is stuck in:

 

 

So if you notice the portion UNDER the threads is what I am tyrying to break loose at this point. It looks to be pretty well rusted in there and that is the stuff I am soaking/cleaning around/prying on/torching.

 

I am gonna try torching then the PB to shrink it. It seems soaking it has made it easier to bust some of the crud loose. This will be a trial in patience for sure.

[bigalpha]

I hear an acetone+trans fluid mixture is better than PB.

[Dozer11B]

Hey Big Alpha- good to see you over here. We've talked on NAXJA.

 

What ratio would you reccommend for that formula?? I'm gonna have to give that a shot if this overnight soak doesn't help.

 

I've made progess in busting the rust crud out from around the remainder of the plug, we'll see how this overnight soak in PB does.

[bigalpha]

Not sure, there was a thread in the SEC chapter forum I believe.

[mythreesons]

Dozer, I use a 50/50 mix of Acetone & ATF. I put the mix in a old gear lube bottle that the spout had been trimmed just a little. The mix is very thin. Skake up the mix before using, it likes to separate.

 

It had seemed to work well the few times that I have used it. I have even put some in a mason jar to soak small parts in to ease clean up.

 

Good Luck!

 

Scott

[Dozer11B]

Hey Threesons thanks. I'll give it a shot. Stay tuned.........

[jimoshel]

I don't think it's a good idea to mix solutions in the middle of a job unless you're absolutely sure of their make up and reaction with each other 99.9% of the time probably harmless. That other .1% who knows? Besides 'The Shadow.' Not gonna gain much if you start off with one solution and then change to another one that neutralizes the first. or has some adverse chemical reaction.

[bigalpha]

"The Shadow"?

[jimoshel]

A old time radio show, starring Lamont Cranston as 'The Shadow'

Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men

The Shadow knows

HEHEEHEEHAWW

[JACKED88]

Do you have a Dremel tool? If nothing else is working for you (short of removing tha head) and if you can git to tha plug with a dremal, using a cut off wheel try cutting a narrow slot in each side of the plug and use a BIG flat screw driver to unscrew it. Although I havent done that on a spark plug I have done it on broken bolts.

Before you start grinding, stick a small pc if tissue in the plug to keep debris from going into tha cylinder.

[Dozer11B]

So this is what it looked like:

 

The arrow denotes up in the first shot.

 

 

 

 

So I got a hold of my buddy and explained the situation, and what all I had done to try and break this thing free. He told me to get a small hacksaw blade that will fit inside the hole and saw it out from the inside out.

 

I bought some "midget" hacksaw blades from Home Depot, snapped them in half, and pinched them in needle nose vise grips:

 

So I sawed in two spots about a quarter of an inch apart and eventually I was able to hammer that piece out with a screwdriver:

 

 

The I sawed another spot opposite of the chunk I took out. After sawing partway through (which left a weak spot in the rest of it), I beat a screwdriver in around the remainder of the spark plug until it loosened up and I could run it out with the EZ out:

 

 

Then I used this to vacuum the area around the hole as well as down into the cylinder:

 

 

It is an attachment on the wife's Kirby. I had a piece of rubber hose that I put o there and ran down into the cylinder. I also bumped the cylinder to the top to vacuum that. When I thought I was good, I left the plug out and ran it a couple of times for 10-15 secind each to clear anything else out.

 

This was killing me as I spent nearly a week working on this (I did keep busy with other projects when I couldn't make forward progress on this issue).

 

I really hope this helps someone who may end up in a situation like this.

[jimoshel]

CONGRATS ! Glad to see ya got it out without ruining the head.

:cheers: