Changing plugs in 2.7, plug broke off

I may try the valve cover and tube. So I don't see a definite answer on how the tube comes out. Does it screw out or just pull up?

 

Probably will take a little of both as you work it free. Friction fit as I see it. A $7ish seal on the head side of the tube. be careful not to disturb it if you can,,if it falls apart, it was time for that one,,and the rest with your mileage.

You can remove a stuck tube by drilling a hole thru both sides of the tube and then insert long screwdriver. Now your down a tube and possibly a seal. All possibilites, but not set in stone. The seal or seals, should be replaced. Junkyard for the tube..seals also for that matter if you find a good one.

 

if it's like my old Camry, they screw out. Lefty loosey.

 

For God's sake,,don't roll the motor over. Disconnect your battery from the system. That ez out is into the comb chamber and unknown amount and you probably pushed the ground strap on the plug body straight out/down as the ez out worked it's way in. Dissasemble as it sits if you go that route.

If you get it out (both pieces), then stick a clean magnet down the hole and swirl it around,,to pick up leftovers from the work.

 

Haha yeah I am not touching the crank to turn the motor over. I guess I will give this a try, couldn't hurt it at this point right? I already miss having it to drive, my turbo mustang is not the best DD

 

You're going to get it. Your truck didn't make it 300K miles only to have its guts spilled by the shell of an old spark plug. I hope you've been drowning that mofo in penetrating oil over the last couple of days - literally put a small pool in the plug well.

Also, this as desperate as a measure as this is, try smacking the block or head near the spark plug hole with a rubber mallet. The sound/shock waves generated my cause momentary microscopic gaps between the plug and threads, allowing the penetrant to seep in and do some good.

 

Thanks man. Its freezing outside but hopefully I will be able to take the valve cover off in the next few days. It is soaking in penetrating oil that is for sure haha

 

I would add to use a shop vac with small hose stuck through plug hole to suck out anything non-metallic such as dirt, grease, grit, rust, or porcelain electrode cover bits that the magnet missed and follow up with use a camera probe to be sure its completely clean and free of debris in there before replacing the plug and rotating the motor.

all it takes is a small something to be left in there and it can cause major issues instantly

 

If you can verify that both valve are closed,,otherwise you tornado the stuff all over and loose pieces. A small dia and length of brass tube can be made to stick to a super vac,,done it before.

Freezing outside? Use that to your advantage with careful apps of the heat gun and a cooling fan.

Lay out some engine towels,,get comfy,,don't rush.

I have laid down AeroKroil to soak for several days,,then got it smoking hot with the heat gun,,boiling smoke,,and was able to get the parts separated with a ez out lodged tight and no damage. Haven't tried it again and it wasn't on a water cooled head.

 

not really, the amount of suction you get on such a small hose is very restricted to things within a half inch of it only so there wont be any tornado effect going on with a small hose taped to a shop vac suction hose.

its a final last thing to do cleanup thing using 3/8" or 5/16" clear plastic tubing duct taped to the shop vac nozzle so its mainly just going to pick up the tiny things you missed that you cant see.

 

I just want to throw this out there in case you don't get the plug out. Your engine will still not be ruined. There is definitely one more method to fix it up.

The same thing happened with my old Camry. When we couldn't get the plug out, my mechanic buddy (who has taught me many things over quite a few years) carefully drilled the plug out with a big drill, cleaned out the hole, then rethreaded it a little bigger and installed a sleeve. This is a common enough practice that they make inserts for most motors that you can screw into the head and then screw the plug into. I have several friends that have been driving around with these in their Toyota trucks for years.

My old Camry was fixed with one over 1.5 years ago. It's still on the road - in fact, my housemate bought it (for next to nothing) and has used it as a daily driver for the last 9 months, often driving 500-1000 miles per week to and from various job locations.



So all is not lost either way. Do what you can to get the old plug out, but there are options for getting your truck back on the road even if you can't get the plug out without messing up the threads in the head.

 

its called heli-coil and while it works its definitely a very "last resort" kinda solution http://www.helicoil.in/

 

It's cheaper than a new head.

That Camry has probably had 35k put on it since that was done.

I have a buddy who now has two of them in his T-100, and he just moved from NC to WA driving that truck.

You can always replace the head later, and no harm done.

 

If you end up having to drill it out don't use one of those cheap heli-coil kits. Look into a time-sert kit. It's not inexpensive but it's a permanent fix.

 

After looking at that TIME-SERT thing, it does seem like a pretty clever way to handle and unfortunate thing like this. Looks like a stronger design than a Heli-Coil, although those are pretty well time tested too.

 

+1
Ive used time serts for this a few times. Def better than a helicoil because you dont have to worry about braking that "tang" off and risk dropping it into the combustion chamber.
I did one on a honda civic four or five years ago and the lady is still driving it today. I always put some hi temp/hi strength threadlocker on the inserts before install just for added insurance. Still way better than a helicoil.

 

Well I wanted to update you guys. Head came off, and the plug still will not budge, from either side it will not come out, it is literally stuck.

Also the exhaust manifold was cracked in half. I had no clue because it made 0 exhaust noise and the cover was over it.

From what I can tell, the motor has never been apart, all original 337k miles. Everything looks great, no wear on timing chain or guides. But for the money I would spend at the machine shop getting the head redone, I might as well buy a new head and keep her going!

Thanks for all of the help, it just wasn't meant to be on this one haha.

 

there is a factory steel header made for 2002-2004 engines that will fit it (1995.5-2004 2.4 or 2.7 engines)

search the forum and you will find the info about it including the part numbers for the gaskets you need to go with it.

don't bother getting another cast iron manifold, the new one will just crack again in a few years. the factory header is much better and will last forever

this is what it looks like: http://s1076.photobucket.com/user/keakar63/media/02-04%20exhaust%20manifold%20header/3rzexhaustmanifold.jpg.html?o=0

they can be bought brand new for about $150 or found at most salvage yards for $25-$50 including the heat shield. the salvage yard one is best because it already has the studs installed on it so you don't have to buy those extra and install them.

 

Would be curious to see how they managed to achieve equal rust on each bolt for comparison testing.

 

Well I got the new head back on it guys. It has a whole new top end, head bolts exhaust manifold, water pump.

Truck runs great and seems to have a lot more get up and go in it, the old one must have been pretty worn out haha.

Anyway, the valve train does seem a bit louder than I remember. Do you guys think it could be because the tolerances are a whole lot tighter than the old worn out top end was? The truck feels great and I dont hear much valve train noise when driving but I can hear it pretty good at idle.

Do you guys think it could quieten down some the more its broken in? I have only put about 150 miles on it.