spark plugs

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Fred - 25 Jul 2006 17:55 GMT

I have a 1987 cadillac fleetwood brougham (RWD), I have 7 spark plugs
and wires done but there is that one I cannot get to screw in. Ive
tried putting a tap to clean and refine the screw heads in the hole but
it seemed not to work. I need help. What should I do

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Roy - 25 Jul 2006 18:29 GMT

>I have a 1987 cadillac fleetwood brougham (RWD), I have 7 spark plugs
> and wires done but there is that one I cannot get to screw in. Ive
> tried putting a tap to clean and refine the screw heads in the hole but
> it seemed not to work. I need help. What should I do

Ouch, where do you think that the stuff you dislodged went? First take a
small magnet and try to clean up the debris. Perhaps put the old plug back
in and take it to a repair shop before you damage things further.

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Al Bundy - 25 Jul 2006 23:08 GMT

> I have a 1987 cadillac fleetwood brougham (RWD), I have 7 spark plugs
> and wires done but there is that one I cannot get to screw in. Ive
> tried putting a tap to clean and refine the screw heads in the hole but
> it seemed not to work. I need help. What should I do

If the old plug came out without incident, the new one should have been
started by hand for a couple turns before any tools were applied. You
can have the plug in a socket when starting it by hand this way. You
don't say what the original situation was.

When you attempted to clean the threads with a tap or cleaner, you
don't explain what you mean by it "seemed not to work." Did the tap not
screw in? Did it screw in and then the plug still would not screw in?

At this point I'm back full circle to trying to screw it in by hand. Do
not force anything. Maybe you need to have another hand give it a try.

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HLS@nospam.nix - 25 Jul 2006 23:36 GMT

> When you attempted to clean the threads with a tap or cleaner, you
> don't explain what you mean by it "seemed not to work." Did the tap not
> screw in? Did it screw in and then the plug still would not screw in?
>
> At this point I'm back full circle to trying to screw it in by hand. Do
> not force anything. Maybe you need to have another hand give it a try.

This is taking on ominous overtones... If you run a thread chaser in the
hole
the plug should go on in UNLESS you have put the thread chaser in crooked
and finished removing the threads. Now, sometimes if you don't have a plug
oriented just exactly right, the threads wont catch.

So try again, gently, with the new plug. Sometimes the angle of the plug
with respect to the bore is critical...This is a job for a lover, not a
fighter.

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Brian - 25 Jul 2006 23:37 GMT

>> I have a 1987 cadillac fleetwood brougham (RWD), I have 7 spark plugs
>> and wires done but there is that one I cannot get to screw in. Ive
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> At this point I'm back full circle to trying to screw it in by hand. Do
> not force anything. Maybe you need to have another hand give it a try.

and if all else fails, you may have to pull the head and install a helicoil
kit on that plug port.

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Tim - 25 Jul 2006 23:56 GMT

Sounds like he should pull the head and clean the debris from the tap.

>>> I have a 1987 cadillac fleetwood brougham (RWD), I have 7 spark plugs
>>> and wires done but there is that one I cannot get to screw in. Ive
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> and if all else fails, you may have to pull the head and install a
> helicoil kit on that plug port.

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Olaf - 30 Jul 2006 19:41 GMT

If you get to where you try putting the plug in again, try putting vacuum
hose on the top of the plug and use that to turn the plug in and start the
threads. It's gentle and won't allow you to strip the threads, plus you can
feel things line up fairly well using that method.

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