 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Chrysler Cars / June 20052001 Caravan 3.8L - Seized Spark Plug
Have a 2001 Grand Caravan that was at the shop today (3.8L engine w/82K miles.) The Service Manager indicated they could not do a tune-up due to the fact that one of the plugs on the front bank was seized in the head and he was afraid to strip the head out. Any idea how prevalent a seized plug is in this engine and what the success is of trying to get them out without tearing the threads out of the head? > Have a 2001 Grand Caravan that was at the shop today (3.8L engine w/82K > miles.) The Service Manager indicated they could not do a tune-up due [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > success is of trying to get them out without tearing the threads out of > the head? It isn't uncommon if you fail to use anti-sieze on the threads when you install them. Tearing out the threads isn't all that big of a deal as you can put in a helicoil. Matt > Have a 2001 Grand Caravan that was at the shop today (3.8L engine w/82K > miles.) The Service Manager indicated they could not do a tune-up due [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > success is of trying to get them out without tearing the threads out of > the head? Those platinum plugs stay in for so long, this is probably your first replacement/????.. you can soak them with a penetrating oil, I recommend rust penetrate from Chrysler, it works great, soak them over night and try to remove them cold. Glenn Beasley Chrysler Tech I believe the plugs were replaced by the same dealer at ~ 30K miles. So what can you offer on how often this might happen and how offen the penetrating oil is successful (what are the odds that the Dodge dealer gets it out without charging me to replace a head?)? > I believe the plugs were replaced by the same dealer at ~ 30K miles. So > what can you offer on how often this might happen and how offen the > penetrating oil is successful (what are the odds that the Dodge dealer > gets it out without charging me to replace a head?)? See the previous remark on heli-coils. And a heli-coil might not even be necessary. You take the plug out, using whatever violence is necessary. This will tear up the threads. Now you put a thread-cleaner through the hole. In my experience, this will normally end up with threads that work well enough to get compression, which is all you really need. If this isn't good enough, you re-thread the hole with a bigger tap, and put in an insert called a heli-coil. In Nomen Nescio's ideal world of $150,000 Neons, all aluminum heads would have heli-coils installed at the factory. It's really hard to imagine taking out a seized plug causing so much damage that a heli-coil can't fix it. If the service writer seems to be uncomfortable with this idea, something is really wrong.  SignatureJoseph J. Pfeiffer, Jr., Ph.D. Phone -- (505) 646-1605 Department of Computer Science FAX -- (505) 646-1002 New Mexico State University http://www.cs.nmsu.edu/~pfeiffer > It's really hard to imagine taking out a seized plug causing so much > damage that a heli-coil can't fix it. If the service writer seems to > be uncomfortable with this idea, something is really wrong. Yes, it may be time to switch to another shop. Matt See E mail > I believe the plugs were replaced by the same dealer at ~ 30K miles. So > what can you offer on how often this might happen and how offen the > penetrating oil is successful (what are the odds that the Dodge dealer > gets it out without charging me to replace a head?)? !00k platinum plugs in that engine, replaced at that mileage unless there is a problem, soak the plugs over nite, remove them from a cold engine and they should pop out, anytime you remove hot steel from hot aluminum metal, problems like this happen, that goes with changing your engine oil also, steel drain plug + aluminum pan= damaged threads when hot. > I believe the plugs were replaced by the same dealer at ~ 30K miles. So > what can you offer on how often this might happen and how offen the > penetrating oil is successful (what are the odds that the Dodge dealer > gets it out without charging me to replace a head?)? > !00k platinum plugs in that engine, replaced at that mileage unless there is > a problem, soak the plugs over nite, remove them from a cold engine and they > should pop out, anytime you remove hot steel from hot aluminum metal, > problems like this happen, that goes with changing your engine oil also, > steel drain plug + aluminum pan= damaged threads when hot. Really? I've heard just the opposite. AL expands at a rate higher than steel. Steel plug inside of aluminum will get looser as the temp goes up. Matt I replaced the original platinum plugs in our '96 T&C at some mileage over 100K. They came out with completely reasonable effort. The plug boots were more difficult to remove than the plugs. Another interesting fact: even though some of the gaps were about 2X the factory setting, the car still ran great. There was no change that I could detect in performance or gas mileage before and after. Ken > !00k platinum plugs in that engine, replaced at that mileage unless there is > a problem, soak the plugs over nite, remove them from a cold engine and they [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > > penetrating oil is successful (what are the odds that the Dodge dealer > > gets it out without charging me to replace a head?)? hey glenn i found out a neat thing that happens with the rust pen. from mopar when you soak something with it then heat up the area, when the bubbles show themselfs around the bolt/nut it ready to come out easy > > Have a 2001 Grand Caravan that was at the shop today (3.8L engine w/82K > > miles.) The Service Manager indicated they could not do a tune-up due [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Glenn Beasley > Chrysler Tech |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.