KingJacobo

It seems bad things really do come in threes. I did plugs 1k mi ago ( autolite double platinum) gapped .055 and on the hwy today, a noise got very loud very quick. Pulled over, popped the hood and a mechanic magically appeared while I was troubleshooting with my car-god roommate on the phone.

The guy noticed spark plug #7 blew out. He took off the coil and injector so I could make it a few miles to my destination. Thank god for nice car guys!

Anyway, assuming it just backed out, I'll just put it/a new plug on. With my luck lately, something worse happened.

Is time-sert or helicoil my best bet if it stripped the threads?
Does the motor have to be pulled for that?
Car is my DD, the Lincoln is down right now too so I need this sorted out asap.

Any help/suggestions? My mechanical ability is very limited so I can only so much myself.

madmike9396

iTrader: (29)

maybe you forgot to tighten it down when you done the plug swap

KingJacobo

The plugs were all double checked when the new ones were put in.

Can the #7 plug be helicoiled with just the exhaust manifold out, or does the motor need to be dropped/raised?

JOHNNY59

iTrader: (398)

you could if you have the room to get a tap in there. put grease on the tap to catch the metal chips and clean off often! I would bring that piston up to top dead center and after your done taping use a small hose attached to a shop vac and clean out the cylinder thought the spark plug hole.

KingJacobo

Will give it a shot when my friend is around with all his tools.

Anyone else have thoughts/experiences with this? Looking for any and all advice or wise words..it's been a rough week.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

I suggest you post a thread specific to the helicoil question in the "Generation III Internal Engine" section. You'll probably get the use of a lot of experience form those folks.

chrysler kid

iTrader: (14)

Autozone sells a spark plug thread restorer tap.

Also you do not want to gap platinum or iridium plugs because you are scraping the fine metals off the plugs.

You should be running NGK copper plugs, always run factory spec plugs