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Car Forum / Mazda / Mazda Miata / April 2005removing stripped spark plug - suggestions?
I am parting out a 1990 white miata, and spark plug #3 is badly stripped at the part where the spark plug attaches to the socket, not the thread that the spark plug itself goes into. The spark plug is completely stripped, and the part of the plug that the spark plug wire boot attaches to is broken off. The remaining part of the plug is too far down in the narrow well to grab with any tools that I know of, and I am afraid that a tap and die would just send pieces down into the engine. I have never seen this before. Has anyone else had this occur and did you find a solution? From what I can see, I am going to have to take off the head and use vise grips to get the plug out. Thanks, Pat > I am parting out a 1990 white miata, and spark plug #3 is badly stripped > at the part where the spark plug attaches to the socket, not the thread [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Pat It's not possible to grasp that plug with any vise grips I'm familiar with; head on or off. Stripping the hex on the spark plug isn't unheard of. The remedy is to grind a bevel or chamfer around the end of the spark plug socket so that it can reach lower in the spark plug well and grip what ever is left of the hex. If the hex is truly and completely gone, a 20mm 12 point deep socket driven over the remains of the plug might work. >I am parting out a 1990 white miata, and spark plug #3 is badly stripped at >the part where the spark plug attaches to the socket, not the thread that [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Pat Last resort, you could sacrifice a socket... Apply some JB Weld and let it set over the plug until it dries. Never tried it, but it sounds reasonable as long as you're careful not to "weld" the socket to the camshaft cover. Guess I would try this as a last resort. There is a type of socket that has a bunch of needles inside. These will form around the damaged plug, and allow it to be removed. A big if is to get the correct size that will fit in the well and around the plug. Otherwise, the steel filled epoxy method sounds good. Since sockets are almost always slightly oily driving the mess out afterwards should be reasonable. >>I am parting out a 1990 white miata, and spark plug #3 is badly stripped >>at the part where the spark plug attaches to the socket, not the thread [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > reasonable as long as you're careful not to "weld" the socket to the > camshaft cover. Guess I would try this as a last resort. > There is a type of socket that has a bunch of needles inside. These will > form around the damaged plug, and allow it to be removed. A big if is to get > the correct size that will fit in the well and around the plug. Otherwise, > the steel filled epoxy method sounds good. Since sockets are almost always > slightly oily driving the mess out afterwards should be reasonable. Thanks for the responses, I will look for this needle socket and see if it looks likely to do the job, otherwise I will go with the JB Weld method. My main concern is that JB Weld is very drippy and takes a long time to set up, so I would really need to protect the spark plug from becoming permanenty attached to the engine, as was mentioned before by Bryan. I will also try the 20mm socket first, but the hex on the spark plug looks like it is truly gone, someone has tried to remove this before I got to it. There is a quick-set version of JB Weld, I'll probably try it first and see if it holds on enough to break the spark plug free. I am thinking about stuffing the area below the socket contact point with plastic wrap or some other non-absorbent material. Any other suggestions on keeping the bonding agent out of the spark plug threads/manifold area would be very welcome. Sacrificing a socket is no big deal, as I think that this is a good, recently serviced engine that I can use in another miata or sell it if I can get that plug out. Thanks again and I will let you know if it works. Pat >> There is a type of socket that has a bunch of needles inside. These will >> form around the damaged plug, and allow it to be removed. A big if is to get [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] >the bonding agent out of the spark plug threads/manifold area would be >very welcome. Wax? Oil? They always say the surface should be clean. Leon > Sacrificing a socket is no big deal, as I think that this is a good, >recently serviced engine that I can use in another miata or sell it if I [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > >Pat  SignatureLeon van Dommelen :) Bozo, the White 96 Sebring Miata .) rammm@dommelen.net http://www.dommelen.net/miata EXIT THE INTERSTATES (Jamie Jensen) Leon, Tools don't rust if they have an oil film. Besides, not everyone has the spare time to do a hospital grade cleanup. >>> There is a type of socket that has a bunch of needles inside. These will >>> form around the damaged plug, and allow it to be removed. A big if is to [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] >> >>Pat > Leon, > Tools don't rust if they have an oil film. Besides, not everyone has the > spare time to do a hospital grade cleanup. I think that what he is saying is to use oil (or wax) to keep the JB Weld from bonding to the engine and spark plug threads. The instructions on JB Weld say to apply to a clean, non-oily surface. That is probably what he was referring to, not the condition of the tools themselves. Pat > Wax? Oil? They always say the surface should be clean. Wax, I never thought of that. It should be easy enough to drip some in around the edge of the plug contact point with a candle and let it dry before trying to bond the socket to the plug. I'll give it a shot this weekend. Thanks, Pat > Wax? Oil? They always say the surface should be clean. But - the goal here is not to bond to the surface, the goal is to create a form-to-fit socket around it. So wax/oil that prevents the epoxy from permanently bonding to the plug and/or socket (or even head casting) doesn't seem to be problem at all, as long as the epoxy cures and hardens. Right? Cheers - Dana P.S. Good luck, Pat, hope you get it out... >> Wax? Oil? They always say the surface should be clean. > [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > P.S. Good luck, Pat, hope you get it out... Thanks, just tried it tonight, we'll see tomorrow after it dries. Pat >>> Wax? Oil? They always say the surface should be clean. >> [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > > Pat So, did it work?? >>>> Wax? Oil? They always say the surface should be clean. >>> [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > So, did it work?? No, not even close. I don't think that the cold weld bonded the socket threads like I feared it would, but the socket tears off before it begins to turn the plug. It is starting to look like quite a bit of engine dissassembly will be required before this can be fixed, and I am not sure of the engine's condition, so I will probably just end up selling the engine's parts rather than trying to use it or sell it as a whole engine. It is amazing to see how much time and trouble would have been saved if the previous owner had simply applied anti-sieze compound to the spark plug threads, but that would have added about 10 cents worth of materials and 10 extra seconds of time. :-\ pat Pat, If you take the cam cover off, you might be able to get a better shot at the plug. Before I would take the head off, I think I would : Pull the cam cover. Break the top of the plug off. Chip out all of the porcelin. Suck the chips out with a vac. Pull the center electrode out (vac again ) Use an "E-Z out" on an extention and wrench. (I know they make one that will fit) This might save you some work :-) Lots of luck Bruce RED '91 Don't know if this was mentioned or not. There is a wedge-type socket that is used to remove stuck and rounded bolts. Also there is an ez-out type socket for rounded nuts. Try a specialty auto parts store. Or someone that sells Proto tools. > Don't know if this was mentioned or not. > There is a wedge-type socket that is used to remove stuck and rounded > bolts. > Also there is an ez-out type socket for rounded nuts. > Try a specialty auto parts store. Or someone that sells Proto tools. The main problem is that the spark plug is pretty deep in a hole that is not much bigger than the width of the spark plug itself, but I will go scour the tools section until I can find something that looks like it will work, Thanks for all of the suggestions, here goes one more try, Pat > Pat, If you take the cam cover off, you might be able to get a better > shot at the plug. [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] > > Bruce RED '91 Thanks, I have already pulled the cam cover and broken off top of the plug. The porcelain is tough, but a drill should take it out. I have a vacuum cleaner extension that fits into the spark plug well, so removing the pieces is no problem. I will go look for an appropriately sized E-Z out tool tomorrow. Thanks again and I will let you know how it goes, Pat |
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