Spark plug dilemma
 

I was doing a tune up on my 91 3.0 today, and I am having problems getting the #4 plug out of the head. It turned several times, and all of a sudden locked up. I hit it a couple of times with some WD 40, and it turned a few more times. I really had to crank on it to get it to move. And no, my dumba$$ didnt use never sieze when I put this set of plugs in. My question is this, if the plug was threaded correctly going in, what are the chances of it cross-threading/stripping coming out? When it got to a point where it was really tough to move, it wasn't too difficult to thread back in. I'll get a can of blaster tommorrow and work on it some more. If the head is already stripped, how difficult is it to put an insert in?

Try it while the engine is warm,it might help......maybe ....i dunno

Be very careful because if the threads strip out you may need to pull the head to repair the damage. They have helicoil inserts to repair stripped threads but that type of repair is best done by a machine shop to ensure it is permanent. Make sure to use anti-seize next time. :bigok:

FYI guys, the Blaster worked and I removed the plug w/o any damage.

glad the blaster worked... normally if it starts crossthreading to begin with, you are screwed ;)

Always, always, always, always use Anti-Sieze on spark plugs. You can Heli-coil spark plug threads but it is best done with the head removed so no metal shavings get inside the cylinder.

And one more thing; Always use Anti-Sieze on spark plugs.

lol crap, i just put my spark plugs in TODAY and heard nothing about anti sieze until 2am. so what, go to the nearest pep boys or walmart and buy some anti sieze, take out plugs tomorrow and put anti sieze on them? obviously it helps the plugs to not sieze to the inner engine. does it do anything else?

nope.... just prevents the plugs to not sieze to the head over time.... it also prevents crossthreading due to that same reason

crud, better take them back out asap. oh well, it wont take as long this time :)

Hey Fever, you did It yourself Huh? Congrats Bud!! It's like a rite of passage, ...you are now officially a "Car Guy" Did you swap out the cap and rotor too?

Va, sounds like you dodged a bullet on that one. I just had my engine rebuilt and they had to helicoil 5 of the plug ports. Needless to say the last guy who did the tune up was an idiot. (not me I swear) I have been overseas for almost 2 years now so I never get to do my own work on this rig. I miss it.

THanks Sham! I love your 4runner btw, ever since you joined. anyway yes i did it myself. What was i worried about. I went into this never even changing my oil before and not knowing much. The only mess up was a broken plug and not putting Anti Sieze on them. Gotta take them back out tomorrow and put that on there, as well as finish the #5 plug. I replaced the Cap, Wires and Plugs. I was happy when the vehicle started!!

I asked around at the local stealerships and some of the head techs say they never put anti-seize on the plugs.. they think it's not neccessary... just another reason to "do it yourself."

Unless you have aluminum heads there shouldn’t be a problem or need for anti-seize...

I have never used any, don’t know anyone who has used any and also don’t know of anyone who has ever had a problem with a stuck plug. :dunno:


But if you have aluminum heads it is a must

most of toyota's heads are aluminum (acutally I think they all are, especially since the late 80s / early 90s) please correct me if I am wrong..

I have no idea, but just in case, i am taking them all out later today and putting anti sneeze on them.

I'm really not sure about what ones have aluminum heads, Should be able to tell by looking at them,

Does anyone know??