Got '00 205000km. Can't get plugs out. Never changed. Anyone have this problem and if so how do you get them out.

5/8 deep socket for spark plugs, extension, and turn really really hard


Kill list:03 eclipse, 06 GTO, 04 Mach 1 Mustang

and get some anti-seize grease so it doesn't happen again

a Lil wd-40 etc down near the plug to loosen it up wouldn't hurt you. just don't go crazy with it. and it may smoke a little bit when when you start back up, if you didn't go crazy with it it won't start a fire or anything.

Only remove spark plugs on a COLD engine. Don't believe the story that plugs need only to be checked at 100k miles. If you don't remove them on a regular basis say, every 25k or so, and put anti-seize on the threads, they will freeze to the aluminum head. You could end up stripping the threads in the head just by taking the plugs out. Also, don't over-tighten them when putting them back. Use a torque wrench set to 11 - 15ft lbs.

Anyone ever have them seized in and if so what do you do to get them out then. Mine are definitely seized and I do not want to break them off or I will really be in trouble.

Whatever you do, don't break them off. Don't use a flexible extension on the plug socket because you might cause a shear force on the plug and break it off. Use a solid extension and hold it in line with the plug.

If you are not having problems with the plugs rather leave them alone. If you have to remove them take it to the dealer and let them sort it out. They might end up having to fit heli-coils in the stripped threads.

I wish car manufacturers would stop telling people that double platinum plugs will go over 100k miles without attention. They do need to be removed and checked at regular intervals to prevent what's happening to you.

I would try some PB Blaster, Liquid Wrench or other penetrating oil. Let it soak overnight. Spray some more. Whatever it takes, you want to avoid damaging the threads if at all possible.

I'd let them soak overnight without the car running at all those threads are soft and will strip. my #3 cyl. did i'm now a proud owner of a heli-coil. Ever have a spark plug shoot out while driving? lol its not fun (Always give beer "after" the changing of the plugs!) I'd try them in the morning and use the right socket apply med pressure to hard if that doesn't work even go the other way just a 1/4mm and see if it moves that way your moving the plug and just lubed the whole plug move it back and forth just in small movements then see if you can loosen it



http://img86.imageshack.us/img86/4235/jim25ek.jpg

do you have the ecotec or the older 2.2? doesn't the older 2.2 have an iron head? if so just get the car hot then remove them they'll come out like nothing. You can also try a penetrating lubricant like PB blaster. WD40 sucks.




--------------------------------------------------
'96 Cavalier Good ol' Pushrod 2.2
-24X,000 miles on factory build
-Some oil loss between changes, me thinks it be rings.

At least from 96 onwards all 2.2L push-rod engines have aluminum heads so don't mess with it and try and remove the plugs from a hot engine. By the way, this is a common problem with all makes of cars that have aluminum heads. The car makers have fooled people into believing that you don't have to service double platinum plugs before 100k miles. Ok, the plugs will last but they tend to freeze to the aluminum head before that. So, as I've said before, remove the plugs every 25k or so, check them, put a small amount of anti-seize on the threads and replace them with a torque wrench set to 11-15ft lbs.

Ernest Schulze wrote:So, as I've said before, remove the plugs every 25k or so, check them, put a small amount of anti-seize on the threads and replace them with a torque wrench set to 11-15ft lbs.

Having dealt with dissimilar metals problems for many years with the US Navy, this seems to me to be excellent advice. Thanks.

My friend has a 2000 pontiac sunfire with the older 2.2 engine. The second from the left plug will unbolt about a half turn then totally stops. I tried doing it with the engine cold then hot, I soaked it with WD-40 and still nothing. I'm not sure if I should keep trying it or give up for now. The other plugs had a lot of dirt in the threads and were kind of hard to get out so i'm thinking this cylinder may just be worse. I was only using a 3/8th's drive ratchet and didnt put alot of force on it because I was afraid to break the threads in the head. I think I will soak it again and try again with a 1/2" drive.
I had another thought as well. The threads on the spark plugs for j-bodys are 1/2" @ 20 TPI. If you did cross- thread the head, couldn't you just re-cut the threads with a tap? After you were done, stick one of those small magentic pickup tools in the plug hole and fish out the shavings. I cant see why it wouldn't work? Even if you did re-cut the threads a little too large, you could put high-temp Teflon tape on the spark plug threads to make it tighter. Again, this is all just theory. Please tell me if you think any of it's possible or I should just quit now before I break something.


Have Fun!

I don't think there's any way of guaranteeing all the shavings were removed without removal of the head especially on the Ecotecs and Quad 4's (do they still call them that?) where the plugs are positioned straight into the top of the head. As for putting teflon on the threads, yes, quit now .

Please don't teflon the plugs. I wouldn't recommend anti-seize either. Anti-seize has a number of metallic components to it including aluminum. I've had it actually freeze brake parts rather than keeping them removable. I know I'll get flak on this but I never use anti-sieze and don't let my mechanics at the job use it either. Teflon is for sealing against fluid leaks on threads, not pressure and most of all fuel.

If I stripped a plug in the head, I wouldn't resort to anything else but removing the head and heli-coiling the hole. I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it any other way.

BTW, at 50K miles, the ground electrode on my stock plugs were almost gone. My wifes Corolla was even worse at 50K. I agree that the 100K mile tune up is a complete joke.

A shop vac with a home-made nozzle out of cardboard inserted

in the spark plug hole after heli-coil eliminates head removal....

Why not ?

Leland Sparks wrote:A shop vac with a home-made nozzle out of cardboard inserted

in the spark plug hole after heli-coil eliminates head removal....

Why not ?

*Old school trick alert*
Buy nylon rope, thin stuff. Must be nylon rope or you'll get cotton shavings in your engine. Use a socket on the crank pulley and rotate the engine until the piston is all the way down and both valves are closed. Take a lighter and heat one end of the nylon rope, just until it melts. Let it cool. This will keep the end from fraying and getting in your engine. Shove as much nylon rope into the spark plug hole as you can. When it's full, cut the rope and melt the end just like the other side. Shove that in the hole as well. Then gently turn the crank with the socket again to compress the rope at the top of the head. You now have a full cylender, no room for shavings to fall. When you're done, vacuum off the top, rotate the crank backwards a little and use a paper clip bent like a fish hook to grab the rope. This rope trick is also good for removing valve springs with the head still attached, but you don't have to put the rope all the way in. It keeps the valve from falling into the piston.

*another old school trick*
This works well with V8's because the plug opening points down not up, but should work for us too. Remove the throttle body. Take an old air hose and cut the fitting off the end so it's just rubber. Feed the air line through the intake, try to aim for the right runner, and put your hand over the spark plug hole. If there's no air coming out, rotate the crank until you feel air coming out. Then when you're tapping the hole, compressed air blows the chips out. Just wear safety glasses, it's not worth scratching up a cornea.


And amc31b, I don't know how well a magnet will work on ALUMINUM shavings...


.


John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto

That rope trick is one to remember. Very neat. See, you learn something new every day...

spray seafoam deep creep onto the plug and then start the cat allow it to warm up all the way thwn turn the car off and remove the plug.


see ya!

novaracer wrote:spray seafoam deep creep onto the plug and then start the cat allow it to warm up all the way thwn turn the car off and remove the plug.

Removing the plug with the engine warm is a no-no. Hot aluminum doesn't like to be wrenched on. Don't do it.


.


John Wilken
2002 Cavalier
2.2 Vin code 4
Auto

Quote:

novaracer wrote:

spray seafoam deep creep onto the plug and then start the cat allow it to warm up all the way thwn turn the car off and remove the plug.

I already tried that. Like I said, I will try again with a 1/2 drive. If I still have to grunt with a 1/2 drive then it's really stuck and i'll give up. a 1/2 drive makes alot more torque than a 3/8ths and it is acceptable to use 1/2 drive for most spark plug projects.


Have Fun!

Hi, This is my first post. Much good advice has been given, some not so good, never put teflon on spark plug threads. The plug must be grounded by its threads to fire properly. Don't use it on fuel lines either. WD40 is an excellant product for what it is intended to be used on, however it does not claim to be or say on its container anywhere that it is a lubricant!!
I hope I'm not too late w/my suggestion. I'd use a Burnzomatic butane / propane torch with the end removed so it could discharge raw butane/propane straight from its tube. Have a 1/2 " drive breaker bar with as short an extention as required to reach the plug attached and a 5/8 deep spark plug socket loose.
I'd warm the engine for one minute, no more,no less with the hood up. Shut her off,pull the plug wire, put the 5/8" plug socket on the plug and push it down firmly ( most plug sockets have rubber inside them). Imediately put the butane tube into the socket & open its valve , the socket will freeze, close the valve before extraction of the tube, you don't want to cool the head. Quickly insert the extention & breaker bar & slowly apply pressure , If the plug breaks loose and turns easily remove it, if its still really hard to turn backup slowly 1/2 of the amount you turned it before applying anymore removal pressure. If needed give it another blast of butane, of course do this work outside!
If the plug does break off the insulator should come out with its nut. Harbor Freight has left hand twist drill bits. I've removed many a stud/bolt without damageing threads with left hand twist drill bits by progressively increaseing the size of bit. Do use the nylon rope in the cylinder before any drilling though!!
A Dealer will not hesitate to pull the head,its not their $$$$. And I give you odds you are less likely to have it helicoiled by trying yourself. LOL
P.S. Checker / Kragen has Moly Assembly Lube thats anti seize. Moly
is Good Stuff!!

I'll try to keep this short. It is important to chase (clean) the threads in the head after removing tight plugs. Most auto parts dealers carry them, just make sure they are started right and don't get carried away with it ! ! Many mechanics used to make thread chasers out of the old plugs with a good triangular file,cutting the threads like a tap. My experiance with aluminum heads is from many years with Corvairs. LOL