SPARK PLUGS OUT!!! Well.... Sort of....
03-09-2009, 02:55 AM
#1
SPARK PLUGS OUT!!! Well.... Sort of.... ****PICS**** Here's my original thread...
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...plugs-out.html
the whole point of pulling the plugs was to try and go through the list of elimination to try and find out why i'm having sputtering issues at WOT... so we started with the plugs...
well... me and a buddy went ahead and manned up... we started pulling the plugs today since it was my first day outa the house after being sick all week. We did what everyone said or suggested... Got the engine nice and hot, used some liquid wrench, and even got more leverage on the plugs to "break" them loose...
Well, at first, everything went pretty well on the driver side head... all the plugs came out and didn't seem to look too bad... here's a couple of them, the lightest and darkest out of the 4
so after that, we started pulling the plugs on the passenger side head... well, this is where things started going wrong
just to make the story short, I'll cut to the chase and say #2 and #4 plugs snapped off in my AFR's
which is exactly what I was afraid of happening... at that point we didn't even try pulling #6 and #8 out. Figured we would have to pull the head no matter what at this point, and we'd pull them out once we got the head out...
We got the head removed in about 4-5 hours start to finish... good news is, it gave me a chance to look over my internals for the first time, and everything looked great... Since I wasn't the original builder of my engine I was never able to see first hand how a lot of these upgraded internals looked. Let me just say, those AFR springs/retainers are purdy!
sorry, trying to keep my head up about the whole ordeal...
anyways, once we got the Passenger head out, we went ahead and successfully pulled #'s 6 and 8 with no issues... let me just say, all those spark plugs that were in there were TIGHT as ****!!!
So, tomorrow (well, it's like 1:50am now, so I guess today ) I'm gonna make some calls, see if I can find a machine shop to help get the bases out of my heads, order new parts, and hopefully we'll get a lot done...
without further ado... here's the money shot pics.... for those of you that said the spark plugs couldn't break off in the heads......
well, I beg to differ.....
the top 4 in a row are the driver side plugs... the bottom 2 are of course the passenger side....
I will be taking more pics during the daylight for you guys too... so stay tuned!
3/12/09 - UPDATE:
Here's pics of the spark plug bases broke off in my AFR's with only about 3k miles on them
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...plugs-out.html
the whole point of pulling the plugs was to try and go through the list of elimination to try and find out why i'm having sputtering issues at WOT... so we started with the plugs...
well... me and a buddy went ahead and manned up... we started pulling the plugs today since it was my first day outa the house after being sick all week. We did what everyone said or suggested... Got the engine nice and hot, used some liquid wrench, and even got more leverage on the plugs to "break" them loose...
Well, at first, everything went pretty well on the driver side head... all the plugs came out and didn't seem to look too bad... here's a couple of them, the lightest and darkest out of the 4
so after that, we started pulling the plugs on the passenger side head... well, this is where things started going wrong
just to make the story short, I'll cut to the chase and say #2 and #4 plugs snapped off in my AFR's
which is exactly what I was afraid of happening... at that point we didn't even try pulling #6 and #8 out. Figured we would have to pull the head no matter what at this point, and we'd pull them out once we got the head out...We got the head removed in about 4-5 hours start to finish... good news is, it gave me a chance to look over my internals for the first time, and everything looked great... Since I wasn't the original builder of my engine I was never able to see first hand how a lot of these upgraded internals looked. Let me just say, those AFR springs/retainers are purdy!
sorry, trying to keep my head up about the whole ordeal...
anyways, once we got the Passenger head out, we went ahead and successfully pulled #'s 6 and 8 with no issues... let me just say, all those spark plugs that were in there were TIGHT as ****!!!
So, tomorrow (well, it's like 1:50am now, so I guess today
) I'm gonna make some calls, see if I can find a machine shop to help get the bases out of my heads, order new parts, and hopefully we'll get a lot done...without further ado... here's the money shot pics.... for those of you that said the spark plugs couldn't break off in the heads......
well, I beg to differ.....
the top 4 in a row are the driver side plugs... the bottom 2 are of course the passenger side....
I will be taking more pics during the daylight for you guys too... so stay tuned!
3/12/09 - UPDATE:
Here's pics of the spark plug bases broke off in my AFR's with only about 3k miles on them
Last edited by Soul TKR; 03-12-2009 at 07:51 PM.
03-09-2009, 03:18 AM
#2
Pics Added: 3/16/09
cylinders in order #2, #4, #6, #8
as she's sitting right now till a few parts come in and I get some free time to work on it...
few questions guys.... can I reuse my header and head gaskets? both are GM MLS gaskets...
also, can I reuse my ARP Head Bolts (not studs)?
can I reuse my spark plugs? JK... all new TR55's are going in... with LOTS and LOTS of anti-seize on them!!!!! 
cylinders in order #2, #4, #6, #8
as she's sitting right now till a few parts come in and I get some free time to work on it...
few questions guys.... can I reuse my header and head gaskets? both are GM MLS gaskets...
also, can I reuse my ARP Head Bolts (not studs)?
can I reuse my spark plugs?
JK... all new TR55's are going in... with LOTS and LOTS of anti-seize on them!!!!! Last edited by Soul TKR; 03-16-2009 at 04:59 PM.
03-09-2009, 08:13 AM
#4
That sucks man, I have had that happen a couple times with iron heads. Reuse your header gasket, but GM MLS headgaskets are cheap so def replace them. I would run TR6 plugs if your compression ratio has been raised from stock.
03-09-2009, 09:07 AM
#5
TECH Addict
iTrader: (22)
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: tennessee
Posts: 2,639
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
the arp head bolts/studs are reuseable. if your heads aren't milled now would be a great time for alittle more scr/dcr with some milling while you're getting then checked out at the machine shop.
Trending Topics
03-09-2009, 10:03 AM
#9
Soul, your plugs look like they are in pretty good shape externally - rusted shell is typically what snaps them off.
It's too late now, but I'm certain your problem is a combination of:
1) no thread lubrication on initial install.
2) overtorqued.
3) removing them from a hot engine. Never remove plugs out of a hot aluminum cylinder head. As the heads heat up, they expand making the spark plug hole SMALLER.
Hope you get her together o.k.
It's too late now, but I'm certain your problem is a combination of:
1) no thread lubrication on initial install.
2) overtorqued.
3) removing them from a hot engine. Never remove plugs out of a hot aluminum cylinder head. As the heads heat up, they expand making the spark plug hole SMALLER.
Hope you get her together o.k.
03-09-2009, 01:33 PM
#12
Soul, your plugs look like they are in pretty good shape externally - rusted shell is typically what snaps them off.
It's too late now, but I'm certain your problem is a combination of:
1) no thread lubrication on initial install.
2) overtorqued.
3) removing them from a hot engine. Never remove plugs out of a hot aluminum cylinder head. As the heads heat up, they expand making the spark plug hole SMALLER.
Hope you get her together o.k.
It's too late now, but I'm certain your problem is a combination of:
1) no thread lubrication on initial install.
2) overtorqued.
3) removing them from a hot engine. Never remove plugs out of a hot aluminum cylinder head. As the heads heat up, they expand making the spark plug hole SMALLER.
Hope you get her together o.k.
03-09-2009, 11:03 PM
#17
03-09-2009, 11:05 PM
#18
just a pain in the *** that I gotta go through this time
Last edited by Soul TKR; 03-09-2009 at 11:21 PM.
03-10-2009, 12:16 AM
#19
Soul, your plugs look like they are in pretty good shape externally - rusted shell is typically what snaps them off.
It's too late now, but I'm certain your problem is a combination of:
1) no thread lubrication on initial install.
2) overtorqued.
3) removing them from a hot engine. Never remove plugs out of a hot aluminum cylinder head. As the heads heat up, they expand making the spark plug hole SMALLER.
Hope you get her together o.k.
It's too late now, but I'm certain your problem is a combination of:
1) no thread lubrication on initial install.
2) overtorqued.
3) removing them from a hot engine. Never remove plugs out of a hot aluminum cylinder head. As the heads heat up, they expand making the spark plug hole SMALLER.
Hope you get her together o.k.
Lets see a pic of you head with the spark plug threads in them. When you bring your head into a machine shop tell them you would like 2 more heli-coils installed lol!
03-10-2009, 12:31 AM
#20
^^yea... i was hoping to get some pics during the day today, but had to make a 2 hour drive each way to help a buddy sell his Z06 today. I have school tomorrow in the middle of the day of course, but I'm still gonna try and get pics tomorrow... if not, I'm off Wednesday and will totally get some more pics then... it's at my buddies house, so it's not like I can just go outside and snap a few lol