super13pill

so i falied smog today that the previous owner should have paid for, and decided to check out the plugs. long story short, they look like they had never been changed, were tightened way too much, and had crazy amounts of buildup on the "head" (right term??) so we stripped plug #2 taking it out. my dad said theyre gonna have to drill it out and put something in (totally forget the name now) to fix the threads.

my question is, do i have to pull the head or do they have something that can do this with the head still on?

oh and the (expletive) who sold it to me put "as is" in the bill, so i cant really be mad at him can i?? lol im so frustrated right now; i should have had him smog it. im constantly amazed by people and their ability to screw other people over / not know wtf they're doing. i mean, he had a stepside chevy with a 383 stroker in his garage, i kinda figured he knew what he was doing.

ok enough venting, thanks in advance for any help guys. im gonna go drink a beer or 13.

-Andrew

dropzone

iTrader: (6)

Been a long time since i went through the stripped spark plug but I think it is called a helicoil or timesert.

If they are careful they should be able to do it without pulling the head. But they are cutting threads so some crap could fall into the engine..

http://www.popularmechanics.com/auto...o/4212608.html

91Toyota

Wow, that sucks. Yeah, I think its called a Heli coil. The problem is the shavings. Maybe get an extendable magnet and make sure the piston is at top (or very close to) and try to extract the metal shavings. Other than that I don't know what you will have to do. Good luck!

CyMoN

the head is aluminum so the magnet will not work I have used grease on the tap and taped a 3/8 or 1/4 inch hose to the shop vac and have someone hold it close to the tap and drill bit while tapping it.

91Toyota

Crap...thanks for fixing my mistake

Yeah, magnet idea is out...unless this is a cast iron head which is so unlikely it isn't even funny...lol

eyw

Recently had to re-tap one of my spark plug threads because the PO had cross-threaded it. In addition to using grease on the tap, I used a long neck funnel and stuck it on the end of a shop-vac to get into the spark plug hole and vac out what might have fallen in.

WSUWESTON

Not to be a pain, but why is it the P.O. fault that you stripped the thread? How did you strip it taking it out? I guess it could have been stripped when the PO put it in.

super13pill

well all ht eplugs were ridiculously hard to get out, we had to work them back and forth and use a lot of wd-40 for all. i mean, im the one who stripped it but if the guy had used anti seize, hadnt have torqued on them so hard, and changed them on a resonable basis i dont think it would have happened.*edit* my dad made a very good point about the PO working on chevys - they dont have aluminum blocks. =P

but yea, its a helicoil, and i actually went on google and looked around after posting this. you can buy the kit for like $50, and i guess the shavings just blow out the exhaust. but that grease tip is a great idea, and so is having the piston at tdc. and ill be sure to vacuum as much out as i can.

thanks for the help, ill let you know how it goes. and ill take some pics of the old spark plugs so you can see what i mean lol.

-Andrew

CJM

WD40 isnt lube, dont use it! You should have bought freeze off or pb blaster or even silicone spray.

INFINITY

i ALWAYS use high temp anti-seize on spark plugs especially on alum heads. this will cause them not to bind or pull threads from the head when the plug is removed.
i cant remeber what it is called but a few months back i saw a tapper that somehow came from the inside out without removing the head. but i cant remeber the specifics or anything but i do remember seeing it on tv. good luck

Nickle Eye

I would stray away from the heli coil and look for the threaded inserts instead. They install the same way but are way better. With Heli-coils you might have problems with them coming loose when you change plugs again. The inserts are a threaded sleeve so you have better threads.

Nickle Eye

super13pill

well i ended up using a "thread-saver" thing for spark plugs from napa thats made by heli-coil, but it is the insert as you said nickel eye. worked alright, trucks runs so amazing now that it has a fuel pump that doesnt leak and spark plugs that actually work! lololololol1
i dont know why i didnt do a tune up on her before i got her smogged. /shrug

oh if anyone around tracy, ca needs to do the same thing lemme know i now proudly own a thread saver tool that i will probably never have to use again! fsking 50 bux too!

Yahidiot

Wow, I know it's an old thread but the same !&*#@$€ thing just happened to me when I went to pull my old plugs. PO over tightened the old ones and when I went to put the new ones in the threads were stretched and stripped. Did your fix hold up? (just a shot in the dark)

ConSeann3ry

if that's all the PO left you with consider yourself lucky...leaking windshield, busted tie-rods, electrical gremlins...to name a few

peow130

These are all things that could have been inspected prior to buying the vehicle..
Just sayin

TinMan

Go to car quest or one of the other higher end parts stores and they can get you a spark plug retreading tool. This is very common on some of the ford models. It will be a little pricey but will save you a lot trouble in the long run. Or you could just have a fresh start on your new yota, pull the head, fix the plug threads, instal a new head gasket, timing chain, water pump, oil pump, and be good for another 100,000 miles. Good luck.

ConSeann3ry

Probably could have check the tie rods better but it steered fine at the time. Bought the truck in summer, no visible rust around the windshield and the electrical gremlins weren't around.

peow130

the way i see it, electrical gremlins dont just appear out of nowhere. something had to happen between the time you bought it and brought it home, and now.

ConSeann3ry

meanwhile that's the exact definition of an electrical gremlin, they come out of nowhere and are sporadic making them tough to diagnose.

Had one on my motorcycle for a long time, it would start up first try every time I had it in my garage. Every now and then it would leave me stranded, I would take it back home in my truck and the second it was in my garage it would start right back up again. Finally just started carrying a test light with me until it wouldn't start just long enough to track down the sporadic connection.

peow130

And the way i see it, 99% of the time, those electrical gremlins are in the EXACT spot that somebody did "some work".