spark plugs seized in aluminum head

[cutt]

plugs were install at least a year ago with no anti-sieze on them.any ideas?

 

[KENNE-BILL]

Try removing them with the motor warmed up? I think aluminum has 3 times the expansion rate of steel, might get lucky!

 

[Red Regal T]

I would assume that you've sprayed them with some kind of penetrating lubricant and let it sit................

 

[cutt]

plugs

yes,i tried all the simple things.

 

[GN1587]

do they move at all

 

[cutt]

nnn

no

 

[Tommyg]

Try heating around the plugs with a torch(the hotter the better) then use a long breaker bar--maybe even put a pipe on it to make it longer--they gotta give!!! Tommy

 

[XLR8]

A mechanic friend of mine said that he has, on several occasions, used an extension bar and an impact gun to get out a 100,000 mile plug that was siezed in the head of a Lexus. Try at your own risk.

 

[Russ Merritt]

Are they Champs? Most sockets don't fit, you need a thin wall socket to get in there. I took an old one and grinded away the wall till it fit and didn't rub. If you don't, the socket is too fat and won't turn without a ton of force. Maybe you already know this.

 

[cutt]

plugs

i already know what you all are saying.thought there was someone out there that had an ancient chinese secret before i take them off to the machine shop

 

[n20junkie]

i have heard of sweatting in candle wax, heat the head up and drip some on the plug, other than that i think taking them off and to a machine shop is your best bet
Grant

 

[750H.P.V6]

Cutt,

I had this same thing happen to me on my new set of Champion heads. I tried to put as much effort into removing the plug as I felt comfortable with then I knew it was going to be ugly. Expecting the worst I pulled the engine out. I turned the engine on its side so the plugs would point straight up and put penetrating oil in the spark plug recess. I hate to tell you but it didn't work. Sure enough I stripped all the threads out of the hole and I had to pull the head off to fix it. I hope your ordeal works out better.

Neal

 

[KENNE-BILL]

An automotive machinist I once worked for used charcoal lighter fluid as a penetrant when regular penetrating oil didn't work, he had pretty good results with the stuff. HTH.

 

[Fuelie600]

This has always worked for me. "PB Blaster". Don't know why it's soooo much better than all other penetrants I've tried, but it is. Try this on 1 plug to see if it frees it. Heat the plug up as hot as you can, then let cool untill it is very warm to the touch----then apply some PB Blaster. If it's too warm, it will evaporate the penetrant before it reaches the plug threads. Repeat the PB Blaster every 1/2 hour for a total of 3-4 applications. Let sit over night and your plugs should come out in the morning. When trying to loosen a stubborn plug or bolt, push and pull the breaker bar back and forth in real short gentle strokes several times until you feel the plug begin to move. This helps to break up the corrosion and prevent possible thread damage. Good luck! Brian

 

[ThikStik]

Yep, PB Blaster is what I was going to say.. Ive simply seen it work wonders.
GLuck

 

[Mr.Buick]

Stuck Plugs

Try using Mistic Metal Mover It will penetrant anything. I use it in the machine shop for drills, taps, milling, honeing, boreing, you name it and it works. It will actually wick up the treads. They also make a product called Alumicut for aluminum use only. Try it on one sparkplug and if it still won't come out pull the heads and send them to a machine shop.
Mistic Metal Mover Inc. 1216 N. 6th Street, Princeton, IL 61356

 

[cutt]

blaster

i have some of that pblaster on them now

 

[S2V6RACER]

Interested how the penetrant will get through a seal. Either you are using gasketed plugs or tapered seat, either way you are wasting your time with the above methods because the plugs are still tight.

I would take them to a machine shop, or pull the heads and let the oil work its way into the threads from the combustion chamber, use heat and I do agree with a impact. It is not the brute force that frees things, it is the shock and vibration, and most of all patience.

 

[n20junkie]

i have worked as a full time mechanic in the north, buffalo ny to be exact, and we had alot of customers that came in with plugs that were in the heads for 100,000 miles cause thats the first time the car needed a tune up, or so the dealer said, and we delt with alot of stripped plugs, and with aluminum heads i can promise you that if you take an impact gun to thos spark plugs, you will get them out, but you will have the threads from the cylinder head stil attached to them, you will probably take the insulator off, and possibly shatter the internals casuing it to fall in the engine, pull the head, cause if they are stuck in there that good, you will end up pulling the head after you get the plugs out, and one of them will have dropped its parts inside the cylinder.
Grant

 

[cutt]

pb blaster

pb blaster really works.i sprayed it let it sit for a few days tried again just now and it got them out.thanks fellas for the advice!