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

heat from the bottom, so you actually heat the thread, not the hex of the plug, sometimes the plug will brake up leaving just the threads in the head,

also, nock out the insides, take a die grine from the bottom side and grind away some of the plug threaded area, basical go slow till you see the tips of the aluminum threads, that will relieve some of the tension from the corrosion.

JEFF

 

YAY!...the Coke worked on 2 of the plugs after sitting only 2 days...no damage.

The other 2 plugs are still stuck, but they moved slightly. I turned the head over and filled the combustion chamber with a mix of transmission fluid and acetone...gonna wait 2 more days...thanks for the help guys.

 

Well thats sticks 48 Chubby"s theory right in the mud. Good deal man hope you get the others out.

 

LOL! Try Moxie on the other two plugs. That stuff is potent!

 

Heat since the aluminum will expand faster than the spark plug .. You don't need a torch I think a heat gun or hair dryer would probably work if up held it there long enough. Anyway it worked for me on my aluminum heads.

 

Congrats on getting two of them out. I probably would have just knocked the porcelain out of the center, then taken the wire welder and started to fill up the center of the plug with weld. After they cooled, I would have had my wife take them out with her fingers.

 

Well it ain't the first time I was wrong. Hell I got three exwives, you should talk to them.
Good news is all ways............ good.

 

Nice!

 

can get Silikroil from Mcmaster-Carr. a bit spendy but it really works.

 

The first two came out with Coke. The other two are holding out for beer.

 

Ya beat me to it Johnny, this has worked well for me a couple of times. Wifey gives me the fish eye though every time I use her oven or dishwasher for car parts.

 

Take it to a toolmaker and get them to burn the plugs out with a spark eroder ( EDM ). Guaranteed no additional damage to the part you want to keep.

 

I'm a cylinder head guy in a race engine shop. So far this is the best spark plug thread repair that I've used.
http://www.timesert.com/

Smokey

 

coke then jolt then red bull then monster then ..?

beer maybe some oly?

 

Larry,

We use kroil every day be glad to send ya some...give me a pm with a address.....
kroil and time is the best ever.......

 

Ok....again... Jambottle mentioned a freezing solution earlier on this posting... I only use FREEZE-OFF by CRC, A $5 spray can at AutoZone.. Gave up on PC Blaster and the others.. Maybe none of you all work on modern crap...but have you ever struggled with O2 sensors, especially those stuck up on top of an exhaust pipe.. I used FREEZE-OFF and had the last 5-6 O2 sensors out under a minutes each... Worth a try, if your other methods don't work or heat doesn't work... Just my 2 cents.. duane (NM Sandrail)

Website to read about it: http://www.crcindustries.com/auto/content/prod_detail.aspx?PN=05222&S=Y

 

As long as you have time, the chemical is the way to go. I've had good luck with K&W Knockerloose on steel and cast iron. Alumicut tapping fluid for aluminum has loosened many things in aluminum for me.

When you need to cool something quick,nothing beats liquid nitrogen. I work on some machines that are assembled with 3 and 4 inch diameter bolts with a 3/4 inch hole in the center. They use an electric heating rod to lengthen the bolts before they torque them down and don't use anti seize. Often the head breaks off and the bolt needs to be replaced. I have a tube with holes in it that fits in the hole through the bolt. I run liquid nitrogen inside the bolts for about 2 minutes. Many times you hear a snap as it shrinks and pulls from the outer threads. Pull out the tube, insert an easy out and they usually come right out.

On spark plugs, with the head off, knock out the porcelain and run liquid nitrogen through the plug and screw it out.

 

with these hot days we've been having stick it out in the sun for the day..... It will heat up the head and it helps the mix to get in there.....I just did that with a flathead block with a stuck piston, 2 days in the sun with 50/50 mix of atf and acetone and I just knocked that sucker out and it degressed some of it as well.....
Kroil is at o'reilly auto parts on the top shelf by the oil and marvel mystry is as well.... good luck and save that head its the cooolest

 

also I have a butane tourch that would help it wont heat it up like a cutting torch so it will be safe for the head....just put the heat to the plug and keep it off the head direct

 

Thanks Gary...it's sitting outside on the fender of the AA now...it's 97* out.

 

well geez cyclone 2cyl or 4 now?

 

got some kroil and still nothing...still got 2 stuck plugs

 

yeah i would heat the plugs up with a propane torch. then after it cools down put some PB blaster in there. you said they moved a little right? so then i would get the head held down on a bench or a vice. then put a socket on it with a big breaker bar then just keep working it back and forth letting the pb blaster seep down into the threads. then once you get a nice turn on it, spray more on the top and bottom and then tighten it back into the hole. then it should be able to come out all the way at that point. sometimes if you hit it for a second with the impact gun the shock of it helps break them loose also.

 

I have had great success on rusted stuff with oil of wintergreen. Health food store sells it in a little brown bottle, about $3.50. But take it outside before you use it or your whole shop will smell like spearmint. Use a small syringe And put it around the threads. BTW it is poison don't drink it. Eats rust like crazy, and fast. But clean all that other stuff off first. Lippy

 

There is some stuff called "mouse milk". It is used in the aircraft industry. You can get from a company called aircraft spruce

www.[B]aircraftspruce.com[/B]

 

just worried the unit sitting out in the sun had evaporated.. or was thrown

"in"with some other recent dealings .. thanks for the update

 

I have had good luck with Kroil, Larry hope those two plugs come free. I have used the Kroil on lots of stuff, it like some other things likes to set for a period. Keep us posted >

 

Good luck with getting the remaining stuck plugs out. Lotsa good thoughts here! Just a bit of additional info for when you get the rest out. I have a sparkplug Heli-Coil set, specifically for repairing threads on friends aluminum headed engines that had plugs installed with copper based anti-seize. In my experience, in many cases you may as well weld the plugs in! I use only zinc anti-seize, which works well with all metals, (ferrous and non-ferrous) and have not had a problem with seizing for years. FWIW

 

Your problem seems to be the reaction that occurs between dissimilar metals. The plugs may have been there a very long time. The aluminum may already be compromised. Drilling the plug out from the electrode side
until there is very little steel left might help. Once the steel is thinned considerably it might be possible to collapse the remainder of the plug with a small chisel. Due to the high value of the head a professional machine shop might be a wise investment. I know there are a lot of mays and mights in my suggestions, but what you are dealing with is not an exact science.

 

i'm telling you man... Gibbs Brand Lubricant. its awesome. a little heat and vibration and POW!