Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting spark plug has stripped

the hole is stripped. I guess this is why noone could gigure out why it kept missfiring.. any ideas on how to fix it rather than getting new heads??

Common problem, helicoil I believe is one of the brands to fix such dilemmas. I suggest you have pro do so you save head.

anyone know roughtly what they charge?? the kit is about 42 bucks I already bought that.. has anyone had this done to their car?? thanks for all the help guys

how do you strip a plug hole??

i was gona do my own plugs ya *******s... how easy foes this happen lol

Repairing the spark plug hole with a helicoil is one thing NOT to do yourself. If you mess it up then it's a BIG $$$$. If you do it wrong then a new head... or if you do it REALLY wrong it's a new engine???? So advice is have an expert do it. NOT the local garage monkey.

Stripping the threads in an aluminum head is pretty easy if you aren't careful. It's also pretty hard if you are careful. The trick from Haynes: Use a piece of rubber hose on the end of the plug to start the threads. If you aren't in right, the hose will slip. I personally use VERY slight touch from my fingers on the ratchet extension. If I get ANY resistance, I pull it out and start over.

I stripped a spark plug in my old Isuzu Trooper I-4. Pulled the head to put the Heli-coil in (was afraid of shavings in the cylinder, I hear some grease on the tap will catch them). Found a burnt valve. Sold the truck to get the SVT. Poor dealer took it to a mech I know to get it checked out ("That tick is just a little exhaust leak" is what I told him). The mech laughed and told him he knew the truck and he was looking at $$$. I actually saw it on the road 9 months later, ticking away (sucker).

OK HEARS MY PLANS.. HAD A SHOP QUOTE ME 1100.00 THATS TO DO HELI COIL IF THEY COULD ALONG WITH VALVE JOB ( 80,000 MILES ) HE SAID IT CAN BE DONE BUT WTH AN ALUMINUM BLOCK ITS ONLY A BANDAID NOT A TRUE FIX ADN HE CANT GUARENTEE THAT IT WILLL WORK BEINGS ITS ALUMINUM..

OK HEARS MY PLANS.. HAD A SHOP QUOTE ME 1100.00 THATS TO DO HELI COIL IF THEY COULD ALONG WITH VALVE JOB ( 80,000 MILES ) HE SAID IT CAN BE DONE BUT WTH AN ALUMINUM BLOCK ITS ONLY A BANDAID NOT A TRUE FIX ADN HE CANT GUARENTEE THAT IT WILLL WORK BEINGS ITS ALUMINUM..
MY BEST FRIENDS DAD HAS A SHOP HE HAS DONE ALL KINDS OF MODS.. ( FORD RANGER WITH 5.0 STANG ENGINE.. CHEVY EXTREME WITH LT1... AND A MISTUBISHI MIRAGE WITH ECLIPSE TURBO ENGINE.. ) ANYWAYS HES GONNA GET ME A PRICE ON SWITCHIN TO A USED SVT MOTOR HES GOT OR JUST SWITCHING OUT THE HEAD FOR THE HEAD ON THIS ONE ORRRR DOING THE 3.0 LITER CONVERSION.. SO ILL KEEP EVERYONE INFORMED ON HOW MUCH i WILL BE IN DEBT AGAIN LOL I AM CURENTLY TAKING CONTRIBUTIONS BY THE WAY ha ha ha

I'd phone around to find a shop with expertise in doing the job without removing head. Metal cuttings from the re-tapping of threads do pose a risk to engine health when the fix is done "in-situ", but that's what an expert would deal with by preventing and/or removing.

Any shop could do the job with head removed and if your willing to go to that expense then total engine replacement (with a used one) becomes economically viable (considering your mileage). I would guess about $750 for used plus $1000 for installation.

p.s. I presume valve job estimate you already have is for both heads.

You could do it yourself and then after your done get the thickest straw you can find, duct tape it to the end of the vacuum hose on a shop vac, insert it into the cylinder and spend a few minutes moving it around as best you can to suck up any shavings that didn't get caught in the grease.

Oh, and use marine wheel bearing greease on the tap as that shiz is SUPER tacky and should catch filings better than your good old lithium grease.