Broken Spark Plug
 

The cheap ass that I am, realized that with the Champion spark plug cross over reference - I could get $1 cheaper sparkplugs. So despite what friends told me I bought Champion instead of NGK.

After fouling them twice quite severely (don't ask- I'm amateur at tuning ) I tightened the plugs and realized that the thin-walled socket would no longer grip the spark plug nut.

Closer inspection shows that the NGK plug has about a 1mm (not much of an inch) longer/taller nut. So now the bloody plug was stuck and the nut couldn't be gripped.... and of course the ceramic broke when I tried other ways to undo it!:vash::vash::vash::vash:

So- Any crazy hair-brained ideas that have worked in the past, or will I have to take the head off again?

What you have to do in that situation is get a longer socket, (or the wronge way, take your extention out of the socket. This will allow the top of the plug to go deeper into the socket, and then you get the extention. It won't snap in. You just place it into the socket without snapping it in, and tighten it.)


We need a little more info. If the top of the plug broke clean. I would just clean all glass out of the hole before you take the plug out.
use like a cue-tip taped to a pencil or something, or a wrag and a screw driver. After you get the big particals out, you can put a small glaze of grease on the cue-tip and it will work like glue to get it out. And if it leaves it a little sticky. Then mabe the particals wount fall through when you take the plug out. (Don't glob grease into the hole though)

Then take the plug out. And re-install new plug.

If when you get the plug out you see that the inner glass in the housing broke out of the housing and fell into the cylinder. I would then pull the head and clean the cylinder. And re-install head.

Yeh I tried that.
The 1.6 spark plug holes...(for lack of a better word) taper in all the way down, so without the extra 1mm of nut sticking up there is no way I can get a socket over it.

I have heard of people breaking off all the ceramic, blowing out the chunks and then arc welding a socket into whats left of the plug but that sounds a bit budget.

Are you saying your socket is to wide. If so, I would grind down the oustide of the socket.
Not trying to annoy you, and it sounds like you have already tried this, but I don't know you well. If you haven't taken the rubber piece out of the socket try that.
My craftmans sockets work perfect on changing plugs. But the sockets I got from autozone and orieliy's suck donkey dick and are never long enough. If you only need 1mm, you should be able to find another socket. Or borrow one.
I wouldn't break any ceramic. It might crack through and fall into the cylinder.

The inside of the front of the socket is probably rounded, also. After making sure the OD will pass the wall, grind the end of the socket flat so that the whole six sides of the plug will enter and be gripped.

pack the socket with JB Weld...shoe it over the plug as far as it'll go wait over-night and she should pop right out of there....should be towards a last resort of course but it'll work.

Cheers guys
Yes I have tried the 'extension half way in trick' I have also tried grinding down the wall of the socket and the Jb weld is how the ceramic broke.

What I havn't tried is a brandnew socket and grinding the walls down though... I never thought that it could be slightly rounded. I will get onto it!

Cheers

Remove the head from the car and then, using a metal-cutting bandsaw, slice it in half transversely across the centerline of the affected cylinder. The blade should cut easily through the aluminum of the head, but stop when it encounters the harder material of the plug base. Note that the head should be situated such that the blade is parallel to the centerline of the remains of the plug, rather than perpendicular to it. In other words, cut across the head from the ports inward, rather then down from the top.

When the blade gets halfway through the head and stops, flip the head over and repeat the process. Once finished with the second pass, you can discard the two halves of the head and retrieve the intact spark plug base.

S#!T- Why didn't I think of that!!!

My VW LOVES this tool...:vash:

This has worked for me in the past.

:bigtu:

I would definitely go with dissecting the head, it seems to be the only logical, and efficient way to go about it. ;)

Happy Ending
 

So just to bring a happy ending to the whole thing (kinda like last weeks thai massage)
I got the F**KER OUT!

Solution:
1. An 'easy out' got the last of the JB welded nut out that was around the ceramic part
2. New Socket, grinded the S#!t out of it and a vaccum cleaner with a 3mm piece of pipe taped to the end (to suck out those ceramic pieces that were hindering the socket sitting all the way down) and that did it!

Time for some new NGK 7's

Happy as larry (after this weeks 'special' thai massage)
:):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):) :):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):):)

Don't discard. It is a perfectly good head. Just glue the two halves with JBWeld and bolt it back to the block :D

So you saved a dollar on the set or each plug ?

Boy, kick a guy when he's down.:bowrofl:But, I still use Fram oil filters. GASP!:eek:

all i'm really getting out of this thread is that the op was using crappy tools/techniques and fucked his shit up, then finally fixed it 2 months later

Umm, you missed the guide how to mod the head so one has better access to the plug wells, no?

Well, now that it is out was the socket you were using 12 point or 6 point?