xtremerevolution Posted April 30, 2008 Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 Damn, you 3.4's are destroying hoods! See, at least when the 3800's go to destry hoods, they do it to the EXTREME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My 3800 doesn't blow up. L27 FTW!!! I must have the most damn reliable engine you can get in a w-body, because the only thing that's ever happened to me in these 178,000 miles is a cracked pot metal fitting for the coolant hose that goes from the engine block to the water pump, which I replaced with a metal fitting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted April 30, 2008 Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 Helicoil is the way to go, it will be a stronger thread than it was. yup. i know race teams that heli-coil every frickin bolt hole because it makes them stronger! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSI_MuNkY Posted April 30, 2008 Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 More than likely the plug was crossthreaded at one point and the weakened threads finally wore out. Helicoil is the way to go, it will be a stronger thread than it was. Don't let some half-ass garage charge you to JB weld a plug, by the way, were these guys wearing mickey mouse hats? That makes the most sense, I couldn't see this happening otherwise. If it wasn't torqued right and backed out over time the threads would be fine... Jamie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GtipGary Posted April 30, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 Just make sure the plugs threads are clean upon installation. and that they are torqued down to the proper 15 ft/lbs. I always use a dab of copper antiseize as well. Thats what someone told me, (about the anti seize) that since i have an Aluminum head and the spark plugs are metal, the different metals corroding differently weakens the head or something... idk... And no i didnt let them JB Weld my plug! i called one of my old mechanic buddys who has fixed my car on multiple occasions (he changed my Trans and it still works) and hes gonna come out this weekend and helicoil it for me! so ill update this weekend hopefully with good news! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairdo12 Posted April 30, 2008 Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 Is it possible for the plug to just back itself out without damaging the threads? Have you simply tried to put in a new spark plug and see if it holds? Just a thought, its worth the 3 minutes to find out I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EviLette Posted April 30, 2008 Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 Geez with all these 3.4s popping plugs and snapping t-belts and 3.8s blowing up and starting on fire, I'm glad I own a 2.8 and a 3.1 jk guys Sorry to hear that man, hopefully it didn't wreck the head Uhm... My 3.1 did that! It was cylinder 4 (front bank, center, so 4 right?) Gary, that sucks. Follow the advice of these guys.. using JB weld to fix something on your motor is like... like... Letting brittany spears change your oil. It just doesn't make sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carpesignum Posted April 30, 2008 Report Share Posted April 30, 2008 as a heads up if you guys ever strip out a screw bad enough that a heli coil wont work theres still another option before getting new parts. a good machine shop can bore the hole out then press/thread/weld in a plug. then drill and tap the plug for the original threads. as long as you pull the part and the hole is fairly easy to get to then it shouldent cost more than 25-30$. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GtipGary Posted May 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2008 as a heads up if you guys ever strip out a screw bad enough that a heli coil wont work theres still another option before getting new parts. a good machine shop can bore the hole out then press/thread/weld in a plug. then drill and tap the plug for the original threads. as long as you pull the part and the hole is fairly easy to get to then it shouldent cost more than 25-30$. If was gonna go as far as to pull the head off... then i would just replace it! Im just trying to get it fixed without havin to be under the hood for a couple hours and possibly running into other problems so on and so forth... The guy that is gonna do it for me actually just recently had the same thing happen to him, on a 2004 ford f-150, and he helicoiled it and it works fine... Im sure that hell be able to do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtremerevolution Posted May 1, 2008 Report Share Posted May 1, 2008 Do these things happen commonly with engines? Or is it just the 3.1's and 3.4's? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z34-5speed Posted May 1, 2008 Report Share Posted May 1, 2008 More than likely the plug was crossthreaded at one point and the weakened threads finally wore out. Helicoil is the way to go, it will be a stronger thread than it was. Don't let some half-ass garage charge you to JB weld a plug, by the way, were these guys wearing mickey mouse hats? That makes the most sense, I couldn't see this happening otherwise. If it wasn't torqued right and backed out over time the threads would be fine... Jamie Not necessairily(sp?). When it got the the last 1 or 2 threads the pressure probably stripped it out from there, hence he can't screw the plug back in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Addicted To Boost Posted May 2, 2008 Report Share Posted May 2, 2008 Do these things happen commonly with engines? Or is it just the 3.1's and 3.4's? No, this can happen to any engine with bad threads or has a sparkplug not tightened down well. It often happens when people put too short of a sparkplug in than what should be in there also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GtipGary Posted May 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2008 I got the helicoil from Autozone but the socket that goes on the tap is too big to fit in the hole! So the guy that i had come over to do it for me told me that im gonna have to get it to the shop and hes gonna have to take the motor apart down to the head. So my question is, if unplug that one injector so that there is not gas spraying out, will it be alright to drive it fifteen miles??? and also he told me to find out what gaskets hes gonna need if any when he puts it back together??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 Ouch, I didn't even think about that on the 3.4L... that sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I got the helicoil from Autozone but the socket that goes on the tap is too big to fit in the hole! So the guy that i had come over to do it for me told me that im gonna have to get it to the shop and hes gonna have to take the motor apart down to the head. So my question is, if unplug that one injector so that there is not gas spraying out, will it be alright to drive it fifteen miles??? and also he told me to find out what gaskets hes gonna need if any when he puts it back together??? get it towed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moto_ty Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I got the helicoil from Autozone but the socket that goes on the tap is too big to fit in the hole! So the guy that i had come over to do it for me told me that im gonna have to get it to the shop and hes gonna have to take the motor apart down to the head. So my question is, if unplug that one injector so that there is not gas spraying out, will it be alright to drive it fifteen miles??? and also he told me to find out what gaskets hes gonna need if any when he puts it back together??? well i encountered this exact problem today and even got it fixed before i read this post. my solution to the tap being too big was to weld a smaller socket to the tap it's self. worked wonderfully. you would be better off losing a socket than spend all the time to take the head off, and the money for gaskets. -tyler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1138 Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I got the helicoil from Autozone but the socket that goes on the tap is too big to fit in the hole! So the guy that i had come over to do it for me told me that im gonna have to get it to the shop and hes gonna have to take the motor apart down to the head. So my question is, if unplug that one injector so that there is not gas spraying out, will it be alright to drive it fifteen miles??? and also he told me to find out what gaskets hes gonna need if any when he puts it back together??? well i encountered this exact problem today and even got it fixed before i read this post. my solution to the tap being too big was to weld a smaller socket to the tap it's self. worked wonderfully. you would be better off losing a socket than spend all the time to take the head off, and the money for gaskets. -tyler I'd be worried about the weld being off-center and this affecting the tap angle and thread angle. I'd be interested to see if this holds up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy K Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I've driven cars with pulled injectors. LOL not a great idea, but not something you should run around and try... try the welded socket idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moto_ty Posted May 4, 2008 Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I got the helicoil from Autozone but the socket that goes on the tap is too big to fit in the hole! So the guy that i had come over to do it for me told me that im gonna have to get it to the shop and hes gonna have to take the motor apart down to the head. So my question is, if unplug that one injector so that there is not gas spraying out, will it be alright to drive it fifteen miles??? and also he told me to find out what gaskets hes gonna need if any when he puts it back together??? well i encountered this exact problem today and even got it fixed before i read this post. my solution to the tap being too big was to weld a smaller socket to the tap it's self. worked wonderfully. you would be better off losing a socket than spend all the time to take the head off, and the money for gaskets. -tyler I'd be worried about the weld being off-center and this affecting the tap angle and thread angle. I'd be interested to see if this holds up. so far things have held up just as planned. but it has been less than a day. i used a socket that was almost as round as the tap. centering it was not an issue. i'll try to get a pic soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GtipGary Posted May 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 4, 2008 I already drove it to the shop like that... it was fine. Hes just gonna tear it down, he said for one he was worried about the tap being of center and on top of that he wouldnt be able to put the thread thing in there without the head being off. He said and even if he did find a way to get it in there he would be worried about it going in too far or not enough. Hes not gonna charge me to do this sooo... what gaskets would i need? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chadz34 Posted May 5, 2008 Report Share Posted May 5, 2008 I already drove it to the shop like that... it was fine. Hes just gonna tear it down, he said for one he was worried about the tap being of center and on top of that he wouldnt be able to put the thread thing in there without the head being off. He said and even if he did find a way to get it in there he would be worried about it going in too far or not enough. Hes not gonna charge me to do this sooo... what gaskets would i need? It probably ran like shit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GtipGary Posted May 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2008 It was actually not bad i was surprised... It was really freaking loud tho! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 you're gonna jb weld a Bosch plug in there.....it'll be shot in 2k miles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GtipGary Posted May 7, 2008 Author Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 I got the helicoil from Autozone but the socket that goes on the tap is too big to fit in the hole! So the guy that i had come over to do it for me told me that im gonna have to get it to the shop and hes gonna have to take the motor apart down to the head. So my question is, if unplug that one injector so that there is not gas spraying out, will it be alright to drive it fifteen miles??? and also he told me to find out what gaskets hes gonna need if any when he puts it back together??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dohc v6 Posted May 7, 2008 Report Share Posted May 7, 2008 You do know what happened, right? This is a very common problem, people reaplce there plugs when the heads are hot. This puts to much of a load on the threads becasue they are expanded, then sooner or later, BOOM the thread is so weak it gives out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moto_ty Posted May 8, 2008 Report Share Posted May 8, 2008 well so far i am very satisfied with my repair. last two nights i have beat the hell out of it. and it's holding well. even had a few races... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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