Cross threaded spark plug

Remove the plug with a back and forth motion, i.e. tighten and loosen in small increments. If the threads are damaged run the spark plug thread tap and the key from getting metal shavings in the cylinder is use lots of grease on the the tap. I have done this many times with no issues. Good luck

 

Doesnt even sound like it needed new spark plugs. I still have the originals with 110k miles on them.

 

I’ve used a few spark plug Heli-coil’s in the past (not on my Tacoma *knock on wood/head*) and I’ve found that greasing the drill bit and tap along with an air hose constantly blasting in through an open valve and out the spark plug hole does a great job of keeping the shavings out of the cylinder (Verified with a borescope)

I have no problems or concerns using them, even on high compression motorcycles engines. You just gotta weigh the pros and cons of Heli-coils vs removing the head (regarding risk, cost, time, PITA factor, etc)

 

Update…. and first let me say this is the son with the brains and not the mechanical ability , and he lives 22 hours away!

It turns out the rubber insert in the spark plug socket came out and got wedged between the plug and the head, he actually wasn’t over the top of the plug when it was spinning. He enlisted help from a friend with a bore scope and they realized that it was ever so slightly cross threaded and stuck. They got the rubber piece out, then the plug, then got it in straight with none the worst, but that’s not the end.

Then the truck wouldn’t start! He fiddled around with it for 3 days, sometimes it would start, sometimes not. Turns out, he removed the plug from what he described as the cam position sensor. When he plugged it back in, it didn’t click in and was sometimes in, sometime not. When it didn’t make contact, the computer shut it down. Reseat the plug and it’s back up and running normally again.

 

Good on him for getting it sorted

 

My F350 with the 6.2 snapped a plug in the head. That’s a cab-off, engine out, heads to machine shop $5K in labor cost alone ordeal. THAT’s why you change plugs really early (Ford) or, in the case of Toyota @60K miles.