Seized spark plug
 

I have a spark plug that is seized. It has been sprayed with w40 and ran to heat it up. I don't want to over do it in fear of breaking it.

I need some ideas.

In case I do break it into pieces, what's involved in removing the stuck part? Does the engine need to be yanked for it to be drilled out? It's twin 454 Mag MPIs and it's the starboard #5 cyl. This means it's located near the centerline of the boat.

What are some good estimates on getting that done? $200, $500, $1000? Just weighing my options.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

maybe some penetrating oil would do the trick. You can pick it up at any decent auto parts store or even Walmart. The best is called something like PB Blaster or PB blast. Be careful if you have aluminum heads. Replacing the plugs while the engine is hot can strip the threads in the head.
Oh and when you do get it out, try putting a bit of anti-seize on the threads of the new spark plugs before they're screwed in.

Good Luck

Re: Seized spark plug
 

soak it with pb parts blaster penatrating oil. use a round 1/2 dia punch to shock it if it won't break loose after soaking overnite. don't worry about breaking the ceramic part. id just try to muscle it out with a 1/2 drive ratchet and a good six point socket before shocking it with the punch. good luck

Re: Seized spark plug
 

If it breaks and only the insert comes out you can use an easy out to remove the rest of the plug. It's really not that big of a deal if you have access to it. A little heat also helps but be carefull if the center insert comes out, the torch could ignite gasses in the cylinder and blow dust and rust into your eye. Happened to me.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

Thanks everyone. I'll give the pb blast a try first, then move on from there.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

Thought I heard somebody say oil??? :D

When you have a cast iron cylinder head, you can use penetrating oil to loosen the spark plug. If you have aluminum cylinder head, the steel spark plug threads may bond with the aluminum cylinder head. Spark plug threads that are made out of steel have the potential to engage with the aluminum cylinder head properly, if they are installed properly. If they are put in without anti-seize compound, those threads can actually weld together with the aluminum, making it difficult to get the spark plug back out.

If WD-40 x 5 treatments (1/30 minutes) won't work this stuff more than likely will....

http://www.rustreaper.com/ccp51/cgi-...aff=&pg=splash


Test results:
http://www.rustreaper.com/ccp51/cgi-...test_penetrate


Now back to my lubrication home.. :drink:

Re: Seized spark plug
 

This is a trick I've used to get things like that out:
If you have access to an air impact gun, and a small inline regulator, connect the regulator near the gun, and dial the pressure down low. Set the gun to loosen with the spark plug socket on it, and hit trigger. With the pressure low, you should get low impact,to coax the plug out. I've broken many a bolt loose with this method, including spark plugs. You can control the strength of the impact with the pressure regulator. This is provided you have the room to get the gun in there. I wouldn't do it with aluminum heads though. It sounds nutty, but it works.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

I'd have to agree on the PB penetrating oil. I've tried them all and this stuff is definately the best.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

Bingo! I was about to post the exact same think, but I'd spray it with pb blaster first. That stuff really works. It's the hammering effect that breaks it loose. Just don't hammer so hard it rounds off the bolt on the plug. Been there, done that. If you do happend to round it off, take the next smaller impact socket, and drive it on the plug. If it rounds it off, go to the next smaller size.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

If you end up putting heat to it with a torch, make sure there are no gas fumes in the engine compartment.

Someone mentioned this in a thread some time ago....the thought stuck with me :D

Re: Seized spark plug
 

Cuda, The oil is a given. That PB Blaster is good stuff.
If he uses a good quality spark plug socket, or a good 6 point (not 12 point)
deep socket, I don't think he'll have rounding problems.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

When you go to reinatall the plugs make usre you use marine plugs that have a stainless body. Using automotive plugs with that aren't stainless is the ussualt cuase of the problem you are having. Also DO NOT use a male easy out of any kind if the insert breaks out of it. If it is that stuck you will break the easy out and then you are screwed. They make female extractors that grip the hex portion of the plug if it becomes rounded that work very well. Heat and oil are the two best fixes though, heat from running the engine is not near enough either you need a torch to get real heat on it. Just be careful in the Bilge with a torch, make sure the hatch has been open for a while an have some soaking wet towels handy(wet towels don't make a disaster out fo the compartment like an extinguisher does.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

IT IS OUT!!! YAAAHOOOO!

Thanks for all the advise.

Here is what I did. I used PB Blast to soak it down. I waited about an hour while I cleaned around the rest of the boat some. Then I used a 1/2 inch impact wrench set on 40psi to bang it around for about three minutes. The gun just fit between both manifolds and with a deep 6-pt socket fit in perfectly. After the three minutes I noticed a different tone in the impact wrench and stopped. I then took a ratchet to it and it BROKE FREE BABY! Awesome. This saved me mucho dinero and the sale of the boat.

Thanks again.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

I love happy endings! :=). Thanks for posting the results. PB Blaster is your friend with a boat for sure.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

I knew that would work. Glad to hear it's out.

Re: Seized spark plug
 

Told you it would work :)

Re: Seized spark plug
 

From my rock crawling days I had a CO2 Powertank (http://www.powertank.com/start.htm). It's portable, so was able to place in cockpit and dial the air pressure to where I needed it. I initially used a 3/8 impact gun, but it didn't have enough azz. Then I used my 1/2 gun starting at 25 psi and worked my way to higher pressures.

These tanks come in very handy for inflating trailer tires, suspension air bags, air lockers, changing tires, air grease guns (nice for triple axle trailers), etc...