Busted Spark Plug? There is still hope.

[drew999999]

Just wanted to give some hope to anybody that may bust a spark plug off flush with the head. Did a plug change this weekend and on the third one, SNAP! Busted the hex part of the plug right off. The ceramic also came out clean. There was a ton of rust build up around the lower portion of the plug where it meets the head.... Here's my step by step of how I got that sucker out...

1. Cussed alot! Panicked! Cussed more. Hid from wife while doing said cussing and panicking.

2. Broke out the Blaster spray.

3. Went to Autozone and got a few different sized extractors. (The one's that look like reverse drill bits.)

4. Prayed alot. Removed inner fender to get more room to play.

5. Found the best size extractor for the plug and tried to loosen it. No go. Broke a craftsman ratchet in the process. Spent about 6 hours at this step. Lots of rust.

6. Wished I bought a dodge.

7. Came back to my senses.

8. Hammer and long flat blade screwdriver. Chipped rust away from plug. Still no go with extractor.

9. Used screwdriver and hammer to wedge between head and plug. Broke the seal of the rust.

10. Tried extractor again and it worked.

11. Jerry-rigged up my shop vac to a 1/4 in vacuum tubing and sucked up any penetrating oil and shavings that fell into the cylinder. Brought the cylinder to TDC and re-vacuumed.

12. Did all of the other plugs and wires and fired her up.

Total time of cussing, praying, panicking, and getting the stupid thing out = 9 hours. These were the factory plugs with about 100k on them. What a mess. End result is that it came out with no damage to the head or the threads, so I guess it was mission accomplished.

 

[gluvsave35]

i like step 1!!!!!
glad it worked out for u!!!

 

[onecrazyfuq]

"wish i bought a dodge" lmao

 

[Dan Whitaker]

Just wanted to give some hope to anybody that may bust a spark plug off flush with the head. Did a plug change this weekend and on the third one, SNAP! Busted the hex part of the plug right off. The ceramic also came out clean. There was a ton of rust build up around the lower portion of the plug where it meets the head.... Here's my step by step of how I got that sucker out...

1. Cussed alot! Panicked! Cussed more. Hid from wife while doing said cussing and panicking.

2. Broke out the Blaster spray.

3. Went to Autozone and got a few different sized extractors. (The one's that look like reverse drill bits.)

4. Prayed alot. Removed inner fender to get more room to play.

5. Found the best size extractor for the plug and tried to loosen it. No go. Broke a craftsman ratchet in the process. Spent about 6 hours at this step. Lots of rust.

6. Wished I bought a dodge.

7. Came back to my senses.

8. Hammer and long flat blade screwdriver. Chipped rust away from plug. Still no go with extractor.

9. Used screwdriver and hammer to wedge between head and plug. Broke the seal of the rust.

10. Tried extractor again and it worked.

11. Jerry-rigged up my shop vac to a 1/4 in vacuum tubing and sucked up any penetrating oil and shavings that fell into the cylinder. Brought the cylinder to TDC and re-vacuumed.

12. Did all of the other plugs and wires and fired her up.

Total time of cussing, praying, panicking, and getting the stupid thing out = 9 hours. These were the factory plugs with about 100k on them. What a mess. End result is that it came out with no damage to the head or the threads, so I guess it was mission accomplished.

I hope you used some antiseze on the new plugs.

 

[BrooklynBay]

I always use anti seize on the plugs, and tune up grease on the rubber boots.

 

[drew999999]

I hope you used some antiseze on the new plugs.

Oh yeah I did. Never forget the stuff. I just wish the factory would have done the same though. Would have made life much easier.

I also use dielectric grease on the plugs and coil pack connections.