Date:         Tue, 21 Jul 1998 01:20:00 EDT
Reply-To:     CarlMarin@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         CarlMarin@AOL.COM
Subject:      Re: broken spark plug removal?
Comments: To: Vanagon@Vanagon.com
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Dave, I feel your pain :^(   Since the spark plug was seized in there tight
enough to shear itself in half on removal (attempt) its unlikely you will get
an EZ out to work.  EZ outs are miserable tools that will 9 times out of 10
snap off themselves as you try to use them to extricate a really stuck
threaded thing.  Of course then you have this chunk of hardened steel that is
10 times as difficult to drill out!  In fact you will need to then grind the
sucker out with a Dremel tool.  (I've done this too many times.  Friends don't
let friends use EZ outs)  As you've already tried the reasonable approach of
trying to work it out with a drift (success was unlikely as the thing is in
there so darned tight) I think you need to be thinking "head removal."  Once
on the bench you can drill it out or apply heat carefully or whatever but I
think trying to do this sort of tedious work with it in the car will just net
you one boogered up head in the long run and you may likely need to take the
head off then (for replacement) anyway!

With the head on the bench I'd probably start drilling it through with
progressively larger diameter drills. When you get close to the threads just
take a punch and catch the edge of what remains of the sparkplug and collapse
it inward.  If you are very careful and fairly lucky you will get it out and
still have the threads in the head intact.  If not, just drill it on out and
put in a helicoil.  This is a common repair for stripped sparkplug holes.  I'm
guessing the plug was cross threaded in the first place which might explain
why is was stuck in there so tight.  Thus, I would also guess you will need
the helicoil repair in the end anyway.

Good luck,

Carl Turner
84 and 85 Westies


Some others wrote:

<Date:    Mon, 20 Jul 1998 23:43:55 -0400
<From:    EMZ <vw4x4@FYI.NET>
<Subject: Re: broken spark plug removal?

<    With a torch....

<            Eric                   86-VW4x4
 <           vw4x4@fyi.net          72-240z
  <          Pittsburgh, PA USA     1936-Chrysler


On Mon, 20 Jul 1998, Dave Bayer wrote:

> Hello-
>         I happened to shear a spark plug off its threads over the weekend.
> Does anyone know if there are easy out type tools for 14mm bolts? Is there
> any other way to remove the threads without pulling the heads? I tried
> tapping a large screwdriver in like a chisel but that couldn't turn the
> threads (even after a 1/4 bottle of liquid wrench)...
>
> dave
>