5.3 Crossthreaded Plug,no Responses?

[email protected] · January 5, 2010

400 people reading this site flappin their fingers and i can't get any advice on a real working truck problem, I'm not somebody trying to figure out if a 500hp 1/2 ton would be cool or something "off-topic" just hoping to contact someone that has had a bad experience working on their truck... hmm.

hockeypro1411 · January 5, 2010

You don't like it? Leave.

[email protected] · January 5, 2010

too late i called a local rice burner shop and thats the same advice he already told me I just wanted to know if i could get any real world info on if someone would wanna take a chance screwin' the cheap aluminum up or pullin the head and gettin it fixed by a pro machinist.

rodram · January 5, 2010

... hey man!!!!

... you ask a technical question on this forum and you expect an answer in what... less than 45 minutes before you start up another rant....

.. give me a break! .... and everyone else ... a little patience and you might have got a response... but now... I doubt that anyone really gives a crap about your sparkplug mis-thread

MS3DALE · January 5, 2010

Give it a little time,You posted your original thread less than an hour ago,a lot of guys are at work and can't get to a computer.

I would call a local machine ship and see what they say also,I'm sure they've ran into this before.

[email protected] · January 5, 2010

Rod R in that same 45 minutes a hundred people had already contemplated on the benefits of a 15grand engine in a pickup , i just wanted to get work on doing something to repair this thing since it is a working truck, not a trophy in my driveway... no offence but i 'm gettin all kinds of responses of people wanting to tell me off..

[email protected] · January 5, 2010

Give it a little time,You posted your original thread less than an hour ago,a lot of guys are at work and can't get to a computer.
I would call a local machine ship and see what they say also,I'm sure they've ran into this before.

thanks ms3 dale...

kdixer · January 5, 2010

400 people reading this site flappin their fingers and i can't get any advice on a real working truck problem, I'm not somebody trying to figure out if a 500hp 1/2 ton would be cool or something "off-topic" just hoping to contact someone that has had a bad experience working on their truck... hmm.

So you have a cross threaded sparkplug? I encountered this on a liquid cooled John Deere riding mower. Previous owner actually JB Welded the spark plug into place. The repair was actually pretty simple. I purchased a thread repair kit similar to the one in the following link from my local Advance Auto for around $20. I simply put grease on the tap to catch any aluminum shavings from the tapping process. I went real slow and a little at a time cleaning the tap and reapplying clean grease until the entire hole was re threaded. I then flushed the cylinder with wd-40 until I felt good about having any and all shavings out. The kit I purchased had a tap that deformed the insert after seating it into the head. I repaired the hole without having to remove the head and it runs strong to this day.

Having said that I would definatley not skimp on a quality kit for a daily driver. And if you do not feel comfortable doing the repair, you should let a professional do it. But your only options are a new head or putting an insert in. With the aluminum head I would most likely do the repair myself and take my time to not get any shavings in the cylinder. The aluminum is soft and less destructive to the rings and cylinder walls. After it is tapped use compressed air or plenty of wd-40 to flush the cylinder out. If using compressed air I would have it on the compression or exhaust stroke so any shavings will not be blown past the intake valve.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/p-2386-k-d-tools-2125.aspx

kdixer · January 5, 2010

Here is the kit I used on my mower.

http://www.cartools.com/Merchant2/merchant...ategory_Code=SK

It goes without saying, make sure you get the appropriate size inserts.

[email protected] · January 5, 2010

400 people reading this site flappin their fingers and i can't get any advice on a real working truck problem, I'm not somebody trying to figure out if a 500hp 1/2 ton would be cool or something "off-topic" just hoping to contact someone that has had a bad experience working on their truck... hmm.

So you have a cross threaded sparkplug? I encountered this on a liquid cooled John Deere riding mower. Previous owner actually JB Welded the spark plug into place. The repair was actually pretty simple. I purchased a thread repair kit similar to the one in the following link from my local Advance Auto for around $20. I simply put grease on the tap to catch any aluminum shavings from the tapping process. I went real slow and a little at a time cleaning the tap and reapplying clean grease until the entire hole was re threaded. I then flushed the cylinder with wd-40 until I felt good about having any and all shavings out. The kit I purchased had a tap that deformed the insert after seating it into the head. I repaired the hole without having to remove the head and it runs strong to this day.

Having said that I would definatley not skimp on a quality kit for a daily driver. And if you do not feel comfortable doing the repair, you should let a professional do it. But your only options are a new head or putting an insert in. With the aluminum head I would most likely do the repair myself and take my time to not get any shavings in the cylinder. The aluminum is soft and less destructive to the rings and cylinder walls. After it is tapped use compressed air or plenty of wd-40 to flush the cylinder out. If using compressed air I would have it on the compression or exhaust stroke so any shavings will not be blown past the intake valve.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/p-2386-k-d-tools-2125.aspx

well there mr kdixer i think that bit of advice has built up my bravado to the point where i'm gonna do just like you said,since aluminum is soft it'll cut easy and if it don't turn out the head would have to come off anyway. I just wanted to be sure before i wound up gettin myself between a rock and a hardplace.

dlstewart01 · January 5, 2010

400 people reading this site flappin their fingers and i can't get any advice on a real working truck problem, I'm not somebody trying to figure out if a 500hp 1/2 ton would be cool or something "off-topic" just hoping to contact someone that has had a bad experience working on their truck... hmm.

Damn, you need to take a couple of midol and get the panties out of a knot. What dumbazz cross threaded it????? Don't answer... I am retired but I'll be damned if I am going to give up my after dinner nap to monitor this forum...

Depends how bad its cross threaded. When it became known it was cross threaded, did they STOP or keep cranking it down. If it is not too bad, there is a possibility the threads can be chased and saved. If not a machinist will need to drill the hole oversize, rethread and put in a helicoil or insert restoring the hole to original size. Some one real good can do this with out removing the head.

http://www.emhart.com/products/helicoil/repkit.asp

Also see...

http://www.fulltorque.com/sparkpluginserts...CFQOdnAodTH9RJw

http://www.timesert.com/html/sparkplug.html

have a good one,

The crotchety old geezer.

jrrod2004 · January 5, 2010

400 people reading this site flappin their fingers and i can't get any advice on a real working truck problem, I'm not somebody trying to figure out if a 500hp 1/2 ton would be cool or something "off-topic" just hoping to contact someone that has had a bad experience working on their truck... hmm.

um, its because people log in everyday (I am one of them) and leave the site up all day at work. Some of the more experienced guys here (not myself) jump in and out all day...slow your roll a little.

[email protected] · January 5, 2010

gotcha........and buy the way dlstewarto1 that "full torque" link is the type info a guy needs. If you don't use the right insert material the "hole" procedure is gonna be a problem that'll rear its ugly head.