HELP...Rusted spark plugs stuck in aluminum Cyclone head***UPDATE***

Another vote for Kroil. Second would be Liquid Wrench. Careful with the heat!

 

Have a friend that has a citrus mix in his parts cleaner just for aluminum? Some production machine shops that do cylinder heads have a citrus tank for cleaning, will NOT harm the aluminum. Get the plugs out and have a nice and clean cylinder head. Even if you have to pay for the cleaning, its worth it right? TR

 

Won't the alum make the hole shrink thus making it harder to screw the plug out or in?

 

this is the way to go, forget the oven, use lots of PB blaster, refreshened every day for a week. heat with the torch. use a good six point socket and tap it with a plastic/wood mallet to get a little shock. worst case scenario you strip one out and have it welded back up.

I'd be scared to try any solution that eats metal on a 70+ year old aluminum head.

 

Nobody's suggested the BFH yet?

 

50/50 mix of ATF/Acetone or add a little heat to the plug and melt a wax candle into the threads. A little heat, like from a propane torch will be fine...not hot enough to mess up the heads.

 

Had to toss out an intake doing that. Sure it could have been welded but the damn fitting was still on the chunk of alum. that broke off.

 

larry, there is several more options if you want to get a machinist involved. here at work we have our guys cut out taps with an EDM machine. the flutes just fall out of the hole when they are done cutting........

 

guess I should have emboldened the word TAP!

 

Brake fluid, the old stlye, not silicone, and acetone. From the combustion chamber side.

Or heat.

The iron expands when it turns to iron oxide (rust). So somehow you need to dissolve the rust or even crush it. That's what heating does, it expands the part into the threads and crushes the rust.
And that's why you want to heat the plug in this case to expand it before the aluminum starts expanding. That's what Mr Wizzard would do

BTW, are these pipe thread, or regular spark plug metric threads?

 

x2 on the edm machine.Have done plenty of heads were guys did not want to damage anything getting the plugs out.

 

put it in the oven and cycle it through some heat cycles.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how easy something stuck comes out after you heat it and let it cool.

 

Penatrating oil, patience and a little heat. Turn the head upside down so the oil can soak into the threads..and then a little more patience. Try to loosen them every couple of days.Sometimes there is no saving the threads they get too oxidized and just come out with the plug,but as said before they can be welded up and rethreaded.Good Luck.

 

GIBBS BRAND.
stuff works miracles.
roadsters.com he's a hamber.

 

Larry,

Do this...Try a little of each of the suggestions. One suggestion per plug. Then tell us which one worked.

He who wins, gets to say....I TOLD YOU SO


HellRaiser

 

am i the only one that thinks heating the "plug" and not the "head" will make things worse? heat expands metal. the plug is already stuck.

 

I wouldn't brag about it. Chicken dinner would be just fine.

 

I was able to get some stuck plugs out using Marvel Mystery Oil. I poured some in the depression where the plug is and let it sit a few days. It started seeping out the other side of the head.

 

Nope, way too easy to get real ugly, real fast.

 

Larry, As this is a rare part, I would go with Mystery Oil and let it soak for a week or so. If it comes out of the threads on the bottom I would wait a couple more days then try to get the plug out. Tap on rachet handle to start it turning. If real stiff soak again. Just don't rush it.

Dave

 

Home cooked no less

HellRaiser

 

Yep, John is correct!!---If you don't have access to a acet. torch, put the head in oven & crank up the BTU's-----Remove with hot pads or heavy gloves, run to your workbench & gently but firmly back out the plug(s) before heated head BTU's distribute heat to plug(s).-----Don

 

I had a buddy that ran a plumbing shop give me a can of Kroil, back about 21 years ago..
Wow, I can't believe I still have that stuff after that long, but I only get it out for
special projects. It has never failed me to this day.. Has a strange, weird smell, but
works like a champ!

 

Larry please let us know the outcome of this. I have an Ardun thats been sitting for almost 50 years, sooner or later Im going to be in the same boat

 

Actually its the cooling of the plug after heating that has the effect. Let me please back this up with another example. SBC cam oil galley plugs, 3 at each end of the block right? 35 years ago, the old guy who took me under his wing showded me how these come out with heating the PLUG in a few seconds every time. With a O/A torch you heat the PLUGS, not the surrounding block as one might think. As soon as you remove the heat, shoot them with a blast of WD-40, the WD-40 goes into the threads, and cools the plugs and out they come, every single time. TR

 

For an alternate heat source, for larger objects, try using a good old barbecue.

 

its junk
i wouldn't mess with it
send it to me to worry about
i'll post my results
tk

 

I hope someone told Larry, they dont sell a EDM at Harbor Freight

 

These plugs appear to be old pipe thread plugs. Knock the porcelain out and run a drill or reamer through the body of the plug. Enlarge the hole until you get to the root diameter of the thread. The plug should come loose before you finish drilling the hole through the plug body.