#7 plug hole stripped
Le Mans Master
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 6,993
Likes: 25
WOW what a difference...the thread chaser worked!!! i disconnected the egr air tube and gained all the clearance i needed. with a tiny mirror i got the chaser started perfectly with a bit of grease on it. Since it was only the initial few threads i stopped as soon as the chaser became easy to turn. backed it off, blew out the shavings with an air gun, put the anti-seize on the new plug and got it to grab on the 2nd try. it started slow but then became real easy and turned all the way in with no issues at all. coneected the plug wires, put the egr back together, and started it up!!! no issues....idles a whole lot better and didnt throw any codes after letting it warm up a bit.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. what started out as a head ache and my worst nightmare turned into a 30 min easy fix...even being the #7 cylinder....it really wasnt too bad.
I can NOT say thank you enough for all your responses...
Don
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. what started out as a head ache and my worst nightmare turned into a 30 min easy fix...even being the #7 cylinder....it really wasnt too bad.
I can NOT say thank you enough for all your responses...
Don
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 50,808
Likes: 8
From: Buy USA products! Check the label! Employ Americans
when I can't see something clearly I get my little flat digital camera and take a few pictures. The I can see everything. on the computer. The best advice you got here is walk away! When things go bad for me I leave and return and it usually is no problem later with a new attitude. I think you hands learn a bad move and if you return it loses the memory and things go in.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 8,700
Likes: 298
From: Ft. Lauderdale Fl
when I can't see something clearly I get my little flat digital camera and take a few pictures. The I can see everything. on the computer. The best advice you got here is walk away! When things go bad for me I leave and return and it usually is no problem later with a new attitude. I think you hands learn a bad move and if you return it loses the memory and things go in.
VERY good advice.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2009
Posts: 218
Likes: 11
From: Portland Maine
I used compressed air from an air tank...with a nozel on the end... (i said air gun...didnt mean like an impact gun or anything) and yes....antisieze on all threads...
surely comming back a few hours later did the trick...I calmed down ALOT
got the right angle after cleaning up the threads and it was no problem....
surely comming back a few hours later did the trick...I calmed down ALOT
got the right angle after cleaning up the threads and it was no problem....
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 19,240
Likes: 1,091
From: Dyer, IN
Right. Not trying to pick, but if you have loose shavings of metal, the last thing you want to do, it take of chance of blowing them into the cylinder. That's why a vacuum is a better method.
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Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 10,962
Likes: 29
From: Van Buren Arkansas
Wounded Warrior Escort '11
If the intake valve is open, you could blow shavings back up into the intake, then they can go anywhere. Also, a shaving could get lodged somewhere there in the cylinder and become a larger problem. I have to agree with Lucky on this for sure..vacuum is always best.
great. the nightmare continues.....
Tech Contributor
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 3,100
Likes: 17
From: Somers, CT and Clermont, FL
St. Jude Donor '09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
Finally, after a good vacuuming, I would have left the #7 plug out, and cranked the engine a few revolutions (without starting of course) to be sure no shavings remained in the cylinder.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 6,366
Likes: 249
From: Fort Lauderdale, Florida
I'm sure that if you got a few shavings accidentally into the cylinder, once you successfully ran the engine they wouldn't have been enough to do any serious damage. They were probably small enough to get run out of the cylinder. Congrats on your successful repair!
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
Posts: 87,294
Likes: 1,579
From: Western NY
Therefore, if any metal was displaced by the thread chaser, I think it would be tiny....
Burning Brakes
Joined: Aug 2010
Posts: 1,051
Likes: 54
From: Raleigh NC
Great thread guys! I would recommend anyone with used heads get a tread chaser and clean the plugs thread up. Its AMAZING how much stuff cme out when I cleaned the up!
The one hole I was having problems with I just started from the valve side of the head and went all the way through. The others I just cleaned up. But man what a difference. The plugs screw in butter soft now like they should!
The one hole I was having problems with I just started from the valve side of the head and went all the way through. The others I just cleaned up. But man what a difference. The plugs screw in butter soft now like they should!
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,321
Likes: 237
From: Missi'ppi... no mo' MO for me!!
I know this is resolved (and ooold), but I thought I'd mention a technique I use whenever I have to thread something like this. I haven't seen it mentioned yet...
Whether I'm threading into a place I can see or not, I always start the bolt/plug/machine screw by turning it counter-clockwise (or in the "unscrew" direction) until I can feel it 'click' a few times, confirming that my screw threads have mated with the beginning of the threaded hole. Only then will I turn into the hole; when I hear/feel the click, I'll keep turning counter-clockwise for about 1/8th of a turn more and then commence to turn into the hole. Especially with spark plugs (which I always coat liberally with anti-seize), if I can't feel a 'click' I know the angle's wrong. I've had to "force" a plug when it resists past the second full turn, but it's always worked fine because I'm only using finger strength and nothing else until I get the plug bottomed into the hole (with finger strength only).
Whether I'm threading into a place I can see or not, I always start the bolt/plug/machine screw by turning it counter-clockwise (or in the "unscrew" direction) until I can feel it 'click' a few times, confirming that my screw threads have mated with the beginning of the threaded hole. Only then will I turn into the hole; when I hear/feel the click, I'll keep turning counter-clockwise for about 1/8th of a turn more and then commence to turn into the hole. Especially with spark plugs (which I always coat liberally with anti-seize), if I can't feel a 'click' I know the angle's wrong. I've had to "force" a plug when it resists past the second full turn, but it's always worked fine because I'm only using finger strength and nothing else until I get the plug bottomed into the hole (with finger strength only).
Last edited by dork; Oct 30, 2013 at 11:47 PM.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jun 2009
Posts: 6,528
Likes: 752
From: South Dakota
I know this is resolved (and ooold), but I thought I'd mention a technique I use whenever I have to thread something like this. I haven't seen it mentioned yet...
Whether I'm threading into a place I can see or not, I always start the bolt/plug/machine screw by turning it counter-clockwise (or in the "unscrew" direction) until I can feel it 'click' a few times, confirming that my screw threads have mated with the beginning of the threaded hole. Only then will I turn into the hole; when I hear/feel the click, I'll keep turning counter-clockwise for about 1/8th of a turn more and then commence to turn into the hole. Especially with spark plugs (which I always coat liberally with anti-seize), if I can't feel a 'click' I know the angle's wrong. I've had to "force" a plug when it resists past the second full turn, but it's always worked fine because I'm only using finger strength and nothing else until I get the plug bottomed into the hole (with finger strength only).
Whether I'm threading into a place I can see or not, I always start the bolt/plug/machine screw by turning it counter-clockwise (or in the "unscrew" direction) until I can feel it 'click' a few times, confirming that my screw threads have mated with the beginning of the threaded hole. Only then will I turn into the hole; when I hear/feel the click, I'll keep turning counter-clockwise for about 1/8th of a turn more and then commence to turn into the hole. Especially with spark plugs (which I always coat liberally with anti-seize), if I can't feel a 'click' I know the angle's wrong. I've had to "force" a plug when it resists past the second full turn, but it's always worked fine because I'm only using finger strength and nothing else until I get the plug bottomed into the hole (with finger strength only).
I use that method also. And on more than just plugs.
Especially on plastic parts it is so easy to strip or cross thread things. Using this method has never failed even on the soft plastic.
