01 with 63k miles. Hesitates a little and some knocking during acceleration. Tried fuel injection cleaner with techron , helped but not fixed. Decided to check spark plugs and found out that they are very hard to break free. Did not want to strip anything so I did not continue to apply pressure. The engine is at room temp. Has anyone experienced issues with stuck plugs? How did you resolve it?

I would believe that the plugs should only be torqued to around 10 pounds so I was wondering if letting the engine warm up would help free them.

Thanks,

 

Make sure your Vette engine is cold. Let it sit over night. I would try and spray some PB-Blaster around the plugs and let it work in for one hour.

Have never had to use it on plugs, but have used it to free bolts that I thought would never come loose.

Good Luck...Bill

 

It doesn't matter what a spark plug should be torqued to but your engine and everyone elses will mostly likely take alot more than 10 ft. lbs. of force to remove.

I have never had a problem removing warm spark plugs from an engine with aluminum heads but I have heard several people warn against it saying you'll most likely pull the threads out of the heads along with the plugs.

 

When you do get them out make sure you apply anti sieze to the threads of the new ones.

 

They're probably going to require a bit of torque to remove since they've been in there for 63K. That's one of the problems you run into with aluminum heads when plugs are left in for long periods of time, even if the mileage is low. Spray some anti-seize around the plugs after the engine is warm but make sure that it is the non-flammable type (no WD40) and let it soak for a least a full day. When you try and remove the plugs don't try and pull on the ratchet handle but try to give it a quick jerk instead. This should be enough to snap loose the plug. Prying on the handle to remove the plug is more likely to break the plug off. When they've broken loose, use compressed air around the plug to clean out any debris that might be there so it doesn't fall in when you remove the plug. Make sure the engines cold when you remove the plugs.

When you get them out I would suggest that you run a thread chaser through the holes to clean the threads and then vacuum out the area before re-installing the new plugs. Use some anti-seize compound on the threads of the new plugs but just a bit and don't get it on the last several threads as it can cause the plug to misfire if it gets on the center electrode or insulator. With the advent of the so called 100,000 mile (160,000kms) tune up I've seen more issues with plugs seized in heads that wound up being a lot costlier repair than if they had been replaced more often. Not to mention that fresh plugs will give you better gas mileage, less emissions and better performance.

Good Luck!

 

Thank you all for the replies. I got them free by holding pressure and tapping with a big hammer until they broke free. Once again thanks.

 

Thread chaser

How do you get the chips out of the cylinder?

I removed them from a 97 with about that many miles once, they squeeked all the way out but they cam out. Anti-seize going in.

I would do it with the engine cold, I am unfortunately one of the ones that had threads come out with the plug, but it was a Nissan many years ago.

 

[QUOTE=vettenuts]Thread chaser

Personally I prefer a beer chaser but they don't work as well.

How do you get the chips out of the cylinder?

Which one's, Lays or Dorito's?

It's not chips that you should get but more dirt. Besides, the aluminum specks that would get in will not damage the inside of the cylinder and will get blown out the exhaust once you start the car. Of course, you could hook up a remote start button to turn the engine over and blow the crap out if you really wanted to. A shop vac will do the job as well.

And of course, remember the anti-seize. Or is it the Alamo?