Today.....was not a good day (pics)

[96-1500]

Went to pull a couple spark plugs to check them out today. I'm not sure how old the plugs are, but you could tell somebody had them out in the not too distant past (socket marks on plugs).

Pulled plug on cylinder 1. Cracked porcelain part, no big deal, I figure I'm going to just replace them with a new set of delcos:

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Went to pull plug in cylinder 3. Needed some "umph", wasn't so much rust, more like it was in there really, really tight, it wasn't like there was a clear break in the "rust weld" that usually happens with spark plugs. Came out extremely hard for the first few turns. Then got easy.

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Isn't that just beautiful.

Took a junk spark plug and screwed it in as far as I could, wouldn't go in all the way. Took it back out, threads ruined. Took another one, did the same thing, got it in a little further. Took it back out, did that process with about 5 plugs and finally I can get a plug to stay in there snug...we'll see how that works out. Putting a head on the truck isn't something I would really look forward to, with no shop, in the cold. Anybody ever tried cleaning up the threads with a tap? Not a set of tools I have, but I would certainly try it before putting a head on.


Moral of the story, don't overtighten your spark plugs. I'm talking to you, Mr. Previous Owner.

 

[jdyates]

Went to pull a couple spark plugs to check them out today. I'm not sure how old the plugs are, but you could tell somebody had them out in the not too distant past (socket marks on plugs).

Pulled plug on cylinder 1. Cracked porcelain part, no big deal, I figure I'm going to just replace them with a new set of delcos:

You must be registered for see images attach

Went to pull plug in cylinder 3. Needed some "umph", wasn't so much rust, more like it was in there really, really tight, it wasn't like there was a clear break in the "rust weld" that usually happens with spark plugs. Came out extremely hard for the first few turns. Then got easy.

You must be registered for see images attach

You must be registered for see images attach

Isn't that just beautiful.

Took a junk spark plug and screwed it in as far as I could, wouldn't go in all the way. Took it back out, threads ruined. Took another one, did the same thing, got it in a little further. Took it back out, did that process with about 5 plugs and finally I can get a plug to stay in there snug...we'll see how that works out. Putting a head on the truck isn't something I would really look forward to, with no shop, in the cold. Anybody ever tried cleaning up the threads with a tap? Not a set of tools I have, but I would certainly try it before putting a head on.


Moral of the story, don't overtighten your spark plugs. I'm talking to you, Mr. Previous Owner.

Even if you drill new threads, wouldn't metal shavings get into the cylinder and FSU?

 

[96-1500]

Even if you drill new threads, wouldn't metal shavings get into the cylinder and FSU?

Kind of what I was thinking, yes.

 

[jdyates]

So basically you'll have to pull the head either way if it doesn't work as it sits. Sorry, man. That sucks.

 

[96-1500]

So basically you'll have to pull the head either way if it doesn't work as it sits. Sorry, man. That sucks.

Yup. We'll see. At least I've got lots of spare parts.

 

[jdyates]

Yup. We'll see. At least I've got lots of spare parts.

That helps! I've got a lot piling up in my room lol (no garage).

 

[dcZ71]

you did it five times? thats a lot metal shavings introduced into the motor

 

[dcZ71]

If it was high mile anyway, it would probably piss me off enough to just pull the motor and rebuild the whole thing.

 

[superdave]

You can get a tap or thread chaser specifically for spark plugs. You use some grease on it so it holds the shavings instead of dumping them in the cylinder. I've done this before to spruce up hard to install plugs because of bad threads.

 

[jcoatswo]

You can get a tap or thread chaser specifically for spark plugs. You use some grease on it so it holds the shavings instead of dumping them in the cylinder. I've done this before to spruce up hard to install plugs because of bad threads.

2x Vasoline works well too