What to do!!!
08-15-2013, 07:40 PM
#2
Race Car
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Austin TX, drinking beer in the garage
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Chill man...Aluminum is soft, but a spark plug isnt exactly a hardened steel bolt either.. Pull the plug and shine a light down there, see how the threads look. Try reinstalling the spark plug correctly. It will probably go in just fine unless you torqued the **** out of it while it was cross threaded. You are probably fine. If you really did bugger the threads up, its still possible to fix it without pulling the head. Set the cylinder with the messed up threads to TDC, then carefully send a tap covered in heavy grease down. Make sure you follow the original threads and dont crossthread the tap. Then stick a strong shop vac with a small attachment down there and suck out all the metal shavings. Dont do this unless you completely buggered the threads in the head.
08-15-2013, 08:20 PM
#3
What to do
I tried reinstalling new and old sparkplug without success. Goes in about halfway them stops. I did crank on it the very first time I attempted installation. I thought it was in and needed to be tightened. It's the #1 rear most cylinder. I'm a novice so how do I turn the motor to TDC?
08-15-2013, 08:45 PM
#4
Race Car
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Stick a dowel in the spark plug hole and turn the crank clockwise until the dowel is at its highest point. That is TDC. Then find a tap with the correct thread, coat it in wheel bearing grease and send it down and try to save the threads. Do you know how to tap threads?
If you cant save it the head will have to come off.
If you cant save it the head will have to come off.
08-16-2013, 02:27 AM
#5
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Mar 2004
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1. there are thread restoring taps for spark plugs, they are cheap, buy one and use it.
2. if that doesn't work, there is a helicoil for spark plugs, buy the kit and use it. do what Dougs951s said about coating with wheel grease to minimize shavings in the cylinder. Aluminum won't do much harm and will burn/get blown out when you start the engine unless you are really unlucky.
2. if that doesn't work, there is a helicoil for spark plugs, buy the kit and use it. do what Dougs951s said about coating with wheel grease to minimize shavings in the cylinder. Aluminum won't do much harm and will burn/get blown out when you start the engine unless you are really unlucky.