Spark Plug Broke - HELP

J

Jason24

Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2012
Posts
30
Went to replace my spark plugs today and the #4 plug broke off upon removal. There is nothing left to grip onto. I really don’t want to have to remove the head. Any suggestions?

Jason
 
Are you saying the hex where the socket goes onto came out, but the part with the threads is still in the head?
 
Well, any way you look at it, the head has to be removed. :sadcry:

Even if you could get a drill in there, and then use a broken bolt removal tool and get it out, you'd end up with all sorts of metal & ceramic pieces down in the cylinder.

Just another reason to put a thin coating of anti-seize on the threads when installing plugs.....should be done at the factory too, IMO.

Too bad.
 
Easier than a transmission rebuild. Tougher than changing ten thermostats. Exhaust manifold and head bolts often break. Torquing head bolts properly is a challenge because they are "torque to yield" design bolts, and can't be re-used. I do all my own suspension work and I'd farm out a head project. Call some independent mechanics around you and get ideas of the cost. They might even say they would attempt to drill it out and then blast all the debris out with compressed air and perhaps use a borescope to inspect the cylinder for fragments. That could save you over $1000 with the risk of possible damage if it doesn't all come out. I don't know enough about the odds to make a recommendation, but it also depends how much you have in a repair fund and what value you put on vehicle downtime.
 
Jason24 said:
This is what came out.
View attachment 6264
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Never seen nothing like that. I thought that the hex part and the threads were one piece. Perhaps AC Delco would like to help with the repair bill, probably not but an inquiry would at least get you to where you are now.

good luck with this
 
After hours of thinking, tinkering and a few trips to the tool store I came up with a successful solution. I cleaned out the debris as best I could and made sure there were no obstructions above the porcelain center. Then I slowly turned the engine over until the cylinder's compression shot the core out. It came out with such force that it actually made a mark on the ceiling of my garage. After that is was pretty simple, used a #5 extractor (aka easy-out) to back the metal portion of the plug out. Upon further investigation it became evident that plug has either been broke for a very long time or was defective when installed at the factory. Most of the surface was corroded indicating it had been exposed for some time, very little of it appeared to be a fresh break.

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I certainly hope nobody else ever has to do this, but if they do maybe this info will help. Just be careful to not let anything fall into the combustion chamber.

Jason
 

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Glad you got it resolved. Hopefully no material fell inside the head :thumbsup:
 
:wootwoot: Some days it is better to be lucky than good. Today was one of yours. Congrats, this could have been so much worse.

By the way how did you miss the hood when you cannon fired the plug core out of the cylinder? :explode:
 
RedEnvoyDenali said:
:wootwoot: Some days it is better to be lucky than good. Today was one of yours. Congrats, this could have been so much worse.:
Click to expand...

I definitely agree it could have been much worse. As soon as I felt it break and give way I let loose more unpleasant verbal expressions than I have in a long time. At least it was the #4 plug and not #6. I've had plugs break before, but never where this one did. My guess it was either defective or over torqued when installed.

RedEnvoyDenali said:
:By the way how did you miss the hood when you cannon fired the plug core out of the cylinder? :explode:
Click to expand...

I took the hood off so I would have more room to get up in there and work. Good thing cause there may well have been a small dent in it now.
 
Congrats on the fix!!!!:thumbsup:
 
Congratulations! Man I would have been [censored] bricks.
 
Luck was on your side with that fix. With my luck, my day would of turned out with the head being pulled etc.
 
woody79 said:
Glad you got it resolved. Hopefully no material fell inside the head :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

:iagree:
 
Wow. Not sure how a stainless plug got stuck like that but glad you got it out. Only thing i can think of is a manufacturing fluke..or it was TTY!!
 
whooaa Man! Glad it turned out for your benefit! Like the guys said it could of been much worse! :thumbsup::thumbsup:! Now after getting it out, did you sit back have a beer and enjoy your success before installing the new plugs? :tongue:
 
Congratulations! I had the same issue last year but with #2. You definitely DO NOT NEED TO REMOVE THE HEAD to fix this. I used a competant mechanic that proved it was not a issue.

Pulling the head is a last resort fix.
 
glad to see everything went well man i would have :hissyfit: a brick also
 
Great job! Did you manually bar the engine over to get the center of the plug out?
 
Nice recovery :thumbsup:, some words would be said to my engine if that happeed. :yes:
 
Dshow said:
Great job! Did you manually bar the engine over to get the center of the plug out?
Click to expand...

Originally I had tried to, but eventually just I just used the starter to turn it over and kept it from actually starting.
 
The weakened state of the plug from corrosion could possibly be due to heavy rainwater filling the plug hole. If you park the vehicle on a slope nose down with a heavy rain, some rainwater drains directly onto the head and water fills spark plug holes and can cause misfires.
 
It was genius to use the compression to shoot out the center porcelain. I would have been dancing the happy dance :wootwoot:

And when re-installing the plugs, anti-seize is worth its weight in gold. I use it on everything.
 
Mooseman said:
It was genius to use the compression to shoot out the center porcelain. I would have been dancing the happy dance :wootwoot:

And when re-installing the plugs, anti-seize is worth its weight in gold. I use it on everything.
Click to expand...

The proper amount of torque should negate the use of anti-seize but I hear its not a bad idea. Just use sparingly.
 
Jason24 said:
....My guess it was either defective or over torqued when installed.......
Click to expand...

That's my guess.
 
Wow, i must give you a pat on the back for a job well done. I would have been sweating profusely if I was in your shoes. Again, well done. :thumbsup:
 
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