PorscheG's post about his blown plug reminded me to post a follow up to my own problem --> http://www.svtperformance.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=116051
Helicoil was an option, but it's not that permenant and has it's drawbacks so I hit the local Pep Boys, AutoZone, Kragen, etc.. and I found a $30 kit with different sized steel inserts, thread cutter and thread locker. Unfortunitly, buried in the poorly written instructions were these words- "NOT FOR USE ON TAPPERED SEAT PLUGS" - the kit was for washer-seat plugs only and nobody had a teppered seat kit.
Option two- http://www.timesert.com/sprksert.html
This was $160 for the professional-grade kit, loctite, cutting oil, and 2 inserts from a local wholesaler in Torrance. You need the deep-hole (4412E) kit, DO NOT use the "Big Sert" parts. I was a little nervious dropping $160 on a thread repair kit that I hadn't read anything about and probably won't use again in my lifetime, but if it saved me the cost of new head it's worth twice that IMHO.
The first 20 minutes I had a beer and contemplated the task while looking over the kit. If I screwed it up, it was big money fixing it- no room for mistakes. Step one was using a paper tube off a coat hanger to make sure the piston wasn't near the plug hole - good thing I checked, it was almost at TDC, so I bumped the key to get it down in the hole.
Step two- pack the thread cutter/rimmer with grease to catch the cuttings. Cutting a new hole is easy, you just need to be sure to go in straight, the tool threads right in doing the cutting/rimming along the way.
Step three- with the tap buried in the hole, the hollow seat cutter slips over the tap shaft and in a few turns, cuts a new, flat seat for the insert. Take the seat cutter off and clean out the aluminum chips.
Step four- with all the tools backed out of the hole, using the same paper tube and rag soaked with break cleaner, clean as much of the grease as you can out of the plug well and off the new threads. You should also check the cylinder for cutting debris with a bore scope, but at least use a flashlight and some vacuum attachment to suck out whatever may have fallen in there.
Step five- coat the insert driver with insert oil (probably just lite machine oil, but I got there special "driver oil" just to be on the safe side). Thread the insert into the driver, coat the outer threads with loctite red and use the driver to screw the insert into the newly cut plug hole. When the insert bottoms out, the insert driver will continue to screw itself into the insert. The bottom few threads inside the insert are then cold-formed, locking the little bastard into the head- this is more or less a permenant repair, although they say you can remove the insert with an easy-out.
The whole process is very easy, just go slow and be careful. I let the loctite set up for 15 minutes, put a fresh plug and new coil pack in and it fired right up- the repair was perfect and has been for the last 2000 or so miles. :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:
Helicoil was an option, but it's not that permenant and has it's drawbacks so I hit the local Pep Boys, AutoZone, Kragen, etc.. and I found a $30 kit with different sized steel inserts, thread cutter and thread locker. Unfortunitly, buried in the poorly written instructions were these words- "NOT FOR USE ON TAPPERED SEAT PLUGS" - the kit was for washer-seat plugs only and nobody had a teppered seat kit.
Option two- http://www.timesert.com/sprksert.html
This was $160 for the professional-grade kit, loctite, cutting oil, and 2 inserts from a local wholesaler in Torrance. You need the deep-hole (4412E) kit, DO NOT use the "Big Sert" parts. I was a little nervious dropping $160 on a thread repair kit that I hadn't read anything about and probably won't use again in my lifetime, but if it saved me the cost of new head it's worth twice that IMHO.
The first 20 minutes I had a beer and contemplated the task while looking over the kit. If I screwed it up, it was big money fixing it- no room for mistakes. Step one was using a paper tube off a coat hanger to make sure the piston wasn't near the plug hole - good thing I checked, it was almost at TDC, so I bumped the key to get it down in the hole.
Step two- pack the thread cutter/rimmer with grease to catch the cuttings. Cutting a new hole is easy, you just need to be sure to go in straight, the tool threads right in doing the cutting/rimming along the way.
Step three- with the tap buried in the hole, the hollow seat cutter slips over the tap shaft and in a few turns, cuts a new, flat seat for the insert. Take the seat cutter off and clean out the aluminum chips.
Step four- with all the tools backed out of the hole, using the same paper tube and rag soaked with break cleaner, clean as much of the grease as you can out of the plug well and off the new threads. You should also check the cylinder for cutting debris with a bore scope, but at least use a flashlight and some vacuum attachment to suck out whatever may have fallen in there.
Step five- coat the insert driver with insert oil (probably just lite machine oil, but I got there special "driver oil" just to be on the safe side). Thread the insert into the driver, coat the outer threads with loctite red and use the driver to screw the insert into the newly cut plug hole. When the insert bottoms out, the insert driver will continue to screw itself into the insert. The bottom few threads inside the insert are then cold-formed, locking the little bastard into the head- this is more or less a permenant repair, although they say you can remove the insert with an easy-out.
The whole process is very easy, just go slow and be careful. I let the loctite set up for 15 minutes, put a fresh plug and new coil pack in and it fired right up- the repair was perfect and has been for the last 2000 or so miles. :rockon: :rockon: :rockon:
