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Stuck Spark plug?

exploration1997

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Joined
August 23, 2012
Messages
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City, State
Manchester, NH
Year, Model & Trim Level
1997 Ford Explorer XLT
My dad made time to help me change my spark plugs n wires. He was able to do 3 plugs and 4 wires (he'll do the other 4 sometime this week), but spark plug #3 is stuck. We're afraid of prying it out in case it shatters. We tried a few different spark plug sockets, but none of them could get it. We think it's stripped. Is there any way to pull it out without harming the engine?

BTW, it's a 97 with the 5.0 V8, and the spark plugs/wires were never changed.
 



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You should be able to get a flashlight and look to see exactly what your up against. I have a 5.0 I bought used and there was rust all around the plug and had to blow it out before I cold get a socket on the plug
 






You can also try a "too tight" socket and pound it down onto the plug, or, in some cases lining a socket with duct tape will get it tight enough to grip.

You did remove the stupid heat shield tube I assume?
 






You can also try a "too tight" socket and pound it down onto the plug, or, in some cases lining a socket with duct tape will get it tight enough to grip.

You did remove the stupid heat shield tube I assume?

No. Is removing that crucial to getting the plug out?
 






Use lots of PB Blaster overnight. The plug will break if forced and that will be a PITA. original Ford plugs are garbage - I broke 3 of them and had to use and extractor on the leftover.

s3.png

s4.png

P1020124.png
 






Use lots of PB Blaster overnight. The plug will break if forced and that will be a PITA. original Ford plugs are garbage - I broke 3 of them and had to use and extractor on the leftover.

P1020124.png

That looked like a whole lot of fun !

When I got my latest explorer I had to soak a few plugs in PB blaster thanks to a nice coat of rust around them. Give that a shot, and then try again. Hopefully you don't have to end up extracting them out.
 






Use lots of PB Blaster overnight. The plug will break if forced and that will be a PITA. original Ford plugs are garbage - I broke 3 of them and had to use and extractor on the leftover.

s3.png

s4.png

P1020124.png

Thanks a bunch!! And what exactly do you mean by "extracting" the rest? Do you mean cleaning up bits that broke off?
 






Extract the porcelain left over. This for me meant to rotate the engine with the starter - the compression blew it out.
Then the extractor tool shown in the last picture will have to unthread the leftover part from engine block.
That's not the best tool, the best is like a flute.
 






I did my plugs recently, lots of PB is key. You can get around the heat shield by lining up the socket and gently tapping it in a bit, but maybe that's not great advice. I'm sure the shields can't be too tough to take out/put in.

I had some that were really stuck, not sure if I had to use the breaker bar, but 1/2" drive for sure. Using a knuckle extension, I was really careful to keep the twist as straight as possible - not too tough when you go through the fender well.

Good luck!
 






Extract the porcelain left over. This for me meant to rotate the engine with the starter - the compression blew it out.
Then the extractor tool shown in the last picture will have to unthread the leftover part from engine block.
That's not the best tool, the best is like a flute.

That sounds very bad for the engine. Is it one of those things you have to do extremely careful?
 






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