Having one hell of a time finding a kit and/or proper tools to do this w/o taking the head off. Plug actually blew out of the hole, destroying the threads and frying the coilpack. Odd, very odd. Anyhoo, here's the deal.

Went to Napa and bought this:


The kit is for a 14-1.24mm sparkplug. Problem is the tap they provide is way too small. Can't weld it or liquid steel an extension. Tried that. You will also notice you have to tap the insert (not a helicoil in this case) with the long rod. I can make an extension for that.

Now the problem is getting a tap long enough. 14-1.25mm is the size of the plug thread (inside of the insert). I need a tap that's the same size as the outside of the insert (insert screws into the bigger hole you drill ie.. 5/8" drill bit size). Anyone done this with the head still installed? This is a very tight, strong engine. Would be a shame to take it apart (and spend another $300 on gaskets etc...) and put it back together.

Here is a picture of the long reach that's needed.


I know about the chips etc.. I plan to vaccuum the drill chips and use the grease on the tap trick to catch the big tap chips that come out.

I'm working with a speciality tool maker to get the big tap (ie.. 16-1.25mm or bigger) with an tap extension.

If anyone has done exactly this, chime in.

If I can find the right sized tap and tools, I can probably just return the kit. You can buy just the inserts (long reach is the size we need). But I need the kit for now to show whomever I'm dealing with for reference.

 

WTF did you do, Jeff?

 

I know you know your cars.Maybe you should just take it to a machine shop and have them install a helicoil.I have went through this same thing on an old grand am. The plug was stuck so bad that it broke off in the head and only the threads were left. I had a machine shop drill it out and install a helicoil.This was all done with the head still on the car. It ended up costing me a little under a $100.

 

Not sure if a machine shop would be willing to work on the threads with the head on.

 

I'll move this here (from the Gen forum). Hopefully an experienced mechanic type can chime in.

 

Perhaps the obvious solution is to show them the problem and ask them what they would recommend.

A local stealership told me they had to get a rear plug machined out of the head of a 4th Gen because they couldn't get it out after being in there for over 93K.

 

Consider this. Getting the car towed to the shop. $100. Then waiting for their reply or diagnostic charge. $80. Then if they want to remove the head, the estimate will probably be in the $500-$800 range. Or pay another $100 to have it towed back.

 

Having the problem resolved and not having to dwell on it ....priceless!

Perhaps you could start by discussing the problem with a reputable machine shop over the telephone, then you could show them some pictures. Alternatively, maybe someone would be receptive to dropping by your residence at the end of their shift to take a look at it.

You have a problem. Good luck!

 

Jeff,

No help here, but have you checked the compression to see if the valves are damaged since you'd end up having to remove the head anyways?

 

Alot of insurance companys offer road side rescue for a couple extra dollars a month.I have it thru my sprint phone. I pay $48 a year for it.I don't know how bad the threads are stripped but maybe you can screw the plug in and possibly secure the coil pack with a bracket to get it to the shop.
I don't see why they would charge a diagnostic charge. You already know the problem so all they need to do is install the helicoil.Call some of the shops and tell them that you need a helicoil installed. All they will need to know is if there is room for the tools and such. If it was the back bank then the head would probably need to be taken off. Since it's the front bank it's easy to get at and no need to remove the head.

 

the same $hit happen to me in maryland,boy i was pissed

 

What did you do to fix it?

 

We used kits similar to this at Touring Car. Volkswagon Vanagons had to get these things all the time.

The stuff we used had a re-tapping bolt to expand and re-tap the hole. Followed by a countersink to flush the insert. And a insert driver.

You need to drive them all with 3/8" socketed tap drivers.


edit: Just found it


Time-Sert





The kit shown isn't the spark plug repair, those are a little different.


http://www.timesert.com/

http://www.timesert.com/html/sparkplug.html

 

Thanks. I had a machine shop weld a hex extension bar to the end of the Napa tap to make it long enough. Wish me luck tonight.

 

Good luck dad.

 

He wouldn't want a son like you, but then who would, lol!

Good luck Jeff92SE. You don't want a 2003 Infiniti G35 just yet!

 

Well so far so good! Got it done and drove it home (15 miles) fine. Interesting to do though. Tap didn't engage any of the original threads (too many damaged) so I had to use a 5/8" drill bit with a reduced shank to fit our hand drill. Wasn't originally going to grease up this one but the machine dude said DEFINATELY grease it up. And with very good reason. Massive amounts of chips. After eyeballing the right angle as best as I could, I went ahead and started. Drill down about 1/8" and then clean all the greasy chips *repeat* about 5-6 times. Near the very end, the bit wanted to grab and thread vs drill so with a 1/16" lip I stopped. Then came the modded tap. The extension was a hex bar piece so a 9/16" socket fit perfect. I put a plug socket and extension on the plug right next to it and started the tap. Carefully trying to tap at the right angles. The extension gave me an angle reference to try to match. The tapping was actually very easy. Tap down 2-3 turns, then clean the tap (greased up) chips. Not nearly as much chips from the tap oddly enough. With that done, I cleaned up the hole as best I could. But I remembered a few chips falling down into the cylinder area. Blowing into the hole with compressed = nada. So what to do? So I decided to get a wire and bend the tip at a 45 deg angle. Then put a blob of grease on it. Stick in the hole and try to catch chips with it. Amazingly, I caught ALOT of chips this way. Quite a bit fell into the cylinder that I couldn't see from shining a light down there. So they were out of site. I just kept moving the wire with grease around the cylinder until I didn't catch any chips anymore. Worked great really.

Okay so with the hole and new threads cleaned from grease as best I could (shoved a rag with cleaner around there with a screwdriver), I put some red locktite on the insert and threaded onto the plug. Then screwed the plug in and bottomed it out flush with the original hole. Then you have to use the tool and "punch" the end of the insert to lock it into place. The last 3 threads on the insert are knurled so when it's expanded from the punch, it locks into the head. Again I had to make an extension to it would be long enough.

I really took my time so this was 3-4 hours of fiddling around and trying to do this right from the get go.

 

Good stuff! Are you good to go? Or where do you go from here?

 

Should be good to go. ie.. should be permanently fixed.

 

Nice, glad you got your car running again

 

Sounds like a lot of work, I am glad it wasnt me. But what caused it?

 

It was some work. But alot LESS work than the alternative. Cause? Dunno. But it seems like a loose plug was rattling around, slowly eroding the threads on the head. Until one day they were eroded to where it allowed the plug to just blow out. It didn't unscrew perse as the coil pack on top won't allow it to back out. But a loose plug would allow it to vibrate and just wear down the head threads. Steel threads on plug vs aluminum threads on head. Head loses.

BTW. So far so good. I think this is a permanent fix. I'll take pics of the tool I had made for .org's reference.