I just broken the spark plug during installation on the rear housing trailing plug. The plug broke at the base of the threads. I can't get vise grips to pull it out so any suggestions?

 

drill out screw extractor?

 

bolt and welder.

don't use a screw extractor as the porcelain will wind up inside the engine.

pretty much hosed though unless it is semi loose. engine has to come out of the car to properly get it out without likely causing more harm than good.

 

ok i dont wanna pull the engine out cuz i just swapped it 2 days ago. So ill try the weld method if i can get my hands on a welder.

 

if it has power steering or even A/C you will at least have to remove them completely to get some access.

problem is just getting in there to weld the bolt to the broken plug. it's a bit awkward even with the engine out.

build up a bead on the broken plug first to give you more room to weld the bolt onto it.

 

ok cool but so far its a negative on the welder. My brother just told me to try a screwdriver with JB weld.

 

jb weld will just shatter when you apply torque.

ive had this happen before, where the threads and front of the plug separated from the rest of the plug.

solution:
first i broke the rest of the metal part of the plug off. with that snapped, you can slide the ceramic out in one large chunk without fear of it falling into the engine.

second, i bought one of these guys.


this works better than the helical one because we can use the strange type of the rotary plug to our advantage. with the extractor inserted, push and turn till the teeth bite into the slots on the face of the spark plug. should be able to walk it right out.

worked for me anyway. didnt need much room to do it. didnt need power tools or welders or anything else.

 

get a dremel and cut a slot in the plug so u can try to use a flat head screw driver if you dont get a welder

 

ok a piece of the porcelain broke off too so ill try some needle nose to put the rest out. I can get some of these bolt extractors at my job when i go to work today.

 

what size bolt extractor should i buy?

 

Ok we got it out but when i tried to start it up it fukin locked up! So now Ima just going to open it up.

 

My mother in law is one of those with a saying for everything. One that applys here;

A lazy man does twice the work.

Karack's good advise "engine has to come out of the car to properly get it out without likely causing more harm than good." was an engine saving opportunity lost.

Sorry for your pain. Truely as I've been there and done that myself. But hopefully anyone that reads this thread will benefit.

 

I know it's a bit late now but if you use just a tad of some kind of anti seize on the plug threads that would never happen .. Plugs don't need to be that tight just nice and snug will do it ..

 

i can only guess that the electrode or a piece of porcelain made it inside the engine. unfortunately with the n/a exhaust port sleeves any little bits of debris have little chance of getting spit out the exhaust without catching on the seals.

when dealing with bits that can possibly wind up in the engine, this is why you have to be VERY careful.

 

+1

 

How often does this happen to people? How tight are you guys torquing those *******? More than FSM specs??

 

You know to be very honest I have never seen ANYONE torque spark plugs . I'm not saying they shouldn't I'm just saying I have never seen it .. I'm willing to bet that lots of guys and girls tighten the dam things like a big frigging bolt , metal in a aluminum hole needs some kind of lube or they just corrode and if they are corroding they been in there way to long without checking and cleaning ( my car runs like **** and can't figure out why, I have never touched it so it can't be something I did )

 

I've never seen the hex break off. Definitely a bummer.

Maybe it happens because people treat them like a bolt when removing them instead taking care and making sure they aren't side loading them too much?

 

I always thought it was hand tight, plus 1/2 turn with a ratchet

 

i've never broken one either and never torqued one in my life. must have removed and reinstalled at least several thousand rotary spark plugs on top of that. i've broken the porcelain on a few that were overtorqued however.

 

Sounds like a good guideline. I think I do less than 1/2 a turn after hand tight. More like 1/4.

 

I've never broken one either. My foreign body into the block moment came from not noticing one of the rags I'd poked into the intake holes had been knocked out just enough while replacing some injectors on an NA Vert I used to own. On starting the car after putting everything back together I remember thinking something like "Where the heck did that thing go...............oh ****!!" Fortunately I still had the block from my S4 Turbo swap, so wallet damage was minimized from that brain fart.

 

Maybe some people need to torque them to spec. I personally don't... I mentioned it because I figured tightening spark plugs was more of a "feel" sort of thing. And if this is happening... Then perhaps people should take more precautionary measures.


+1

 

Using a torque ratchet would prevent a lot of threads about spark plugs, water pumps and intake and exhaust manifolds.

 

well i did the swap with an engine that was sitting for 4 years and i think i used those spark plugs, plus another plug was cracked on the white part when i took it out. Ima try to crank it over by hand to see what's up.