Bike Broken - Off to the Shop

[rsw81]

So I was changing out my spark plugs today, which I've done countless times on other motors. Went to do the last one (cylinder 1) and the f'ing spark plug broke in two while I was tightening it down! Now I have to get it towed over to the shop for them to pull whatever pieces are left in there out before I can put a good plug in there. Thankfully, it looks like it was a clean brake from the piece that I got out, so I hope nothing fell into the motor.

 

[HavBlue]

This may sound really dumb but what is the dealer going to do that you can't in terms of taking out the broken plug?

 

[wrightme43]

You can get it out man.

 

[HavBlue]

You can get it out man.

Yeah, at 13 ft/lbs the thing isn't really tight at all or it shouldn't be. If the break was clean I would just pull it out and go back with the replacement plug. What's the big deal? If it came apart in pieces, get out the shop-vac, put a ladies stocking over the end so you can see what you have sucked up and then pull the broken plug out. Either way I don't see any advantage in taking it to the dealer.

 

[aussiejules]

did only the white porcelain break off, if so just undo like normal, i do the same all the time on no. 6 on cherokee motors, when im not on the correct angle.

 

[tolgatt]

no no,,,the thread part of the plug stays inside of the hole,,,the rest breaks clean...it happenned to me on my ZZR250,,,i had to strip the bike down and remove the head with the valves...then i had to hammer a long pin inside the screw part of the plug that had threads on it,,,and unscrew the freaking thing with a big a$$ wrench holding it from the pin...
it is very annoying and took me couple of days to do it as i had to put the freaking engine back together...
i would take it to the dealership right away if it happens to my FZ,,im sure they have better tools....
basically what you have is a deep deep spark plug hole in a no hand can reach spot with a threaded circle screwed in it..

 

[wolfc70]

no no,,,the thread part of the plug stays inside of the hole,,,the rest breaks clean...it happenned to me on my ZZR250,,,i had to strip the bike down and remove the head with the valves...then i had to hammer a long pin inside the screw part of the plug that had threads on it,,,and unscrew the freaking thing with a big a$$ wrench holding it from the pin...
it is very annoying and took me couple of days to do it as i had to put the freaking engine back together...
i would take it to the dealership right away if it happens to my FZ,,im sure they have better tools....
basically what you have is a deep deep spark plug hole in a no hand can reach spot with a threaded circle screwed in it..

Yup, that happened to me on my Plymouth Breeze, except I was taking the plugs out. The previous owner left the plugs in for 70,000 miles and were really hard to get out. The last cylinder, of course, the plug broke. The electrode came out, all that was left were the threads. Lucky for me the head gasket was leaking and I had just gotten the letter from Chrysler that they were going to replace it for free!. It cost me $40 for them to drill it out and put a time-sert in, as the plug threads had become one with the head.

 

[rsw81]

no no,,,the thread part of the plug stays inside of the hole,,,the rest breaks clean...it happenned to me on my ZZR250,,,i had to strip the bike down and remove the head with the valves...then i had to hammer a long pin inside the screw part of the plug that had threads on it,,,and unscrew the freaking thing with a big a$$ wrench holding it from the pin...
it is very annoying and took me couple of days to do it as i had to put the freaking engine back together...
i would take it to the dealership right away if it happens to my FZ,,im sure they have better tools....
basically what you have is a deep deep spark plug hole in a no hand can reach spot with a threaded circle screwed in it..

This is EXACTLY what happened. Unfortunately, you need to have the proper easy-out to get this thing out, which I don't own, and you need proper access from straight over the hole, which I don't have. I'm taking her in today, preparing to get my a$$ torn open with the cost of repair.

 

[wrightme43]

I have fixed the same situation twice on two different cars. Like you said a easy out is the answer. It is your decision. I would remove the radiator, tank, and airbox. If needed the valve cover as well. plug all oil galleys, cover with rags, and coat the easy out with bearing grease. Twist out plug, vacum the area well. Reassemble. That is what the dealer will do. Hopefully. The main thing is access remove anything that could be in the way. Dont work crowded.

If you dont feel comfortable doing it though the shop is the place. I would feel comfortable, that doesnt mean you would. Its yours and you should do what you think is right. Sorry if I came off as a a$$ earlier. It wasnt my intention.

 

[4fun]

The nut section of the plug should still be attached to the threads, I dont ever remember seeing the threads as a seperate piece. A vacuum and a wrench should get it out.

 

[08fz6]

if you do deciede to take it in tear as much of it apart as you can to save money time is money and if they have to go through all that trouble they would be stupid not to charge you.....

 

[Fred]

One fragment of porcelin falling into the engine will ruin your engine. If you don't feel confident doing the job yourself, by all means take it to a shop. I probably would.

Fred

 

[rsw81]

I have fixed the same situation twice on two different cars. Like you said a easy out is the answer. It is your decision. I would remove the radiator, tank, and airbox. If needed the valve cover as well. plug all oil galleys, cover with rags, and coat the easy out with bearing grease. Twist out plug, vacum the area well. Reassemble. That is what the dealer will do. Hopefully. The main thing is access remove anything that could be in the way. Dont work crowded.

If you dont feel comfortable doing it though the shop is the place. I would feel comfortable, that doesnt mean you would. Its yours and you should do what you think is right. Sorry if I came off as a a$$ earlier. It wasnt my intention.

No offense taken. I definitely have the mechanical abilities to do this job, just not the time to do the job properly. For $100 in labor, the shop can take care of it... my time is worth a lot more than that.

 

[rsw81]

The nut section of the plug should still be attached to the threads, I dont ever remember seeing the threads as a seperate piece. A vacuum and a wrench should get it out.

Right, they were originally attached. But if you keep turning the wrench, the nut can't go any further and the threads keep pulling as you turn, they eventually will pull themselves apart... which is what I did.

 

[HavBlue]

no no,,,the thread part of the plug stays inside of the hole,,,the rest breaks clean...it happenned to me on my ZZR250,,,i had to strip the bike down and remove the head with the valves...then i had to hammer a long pin inside the screw part of the plug that had threads on it,,,and unscrew the freaking thing with a big a$$ wrench holding it from the pin...
it is very annoying and took me couple of days to do it as i had to put the freaking engine back together...
i would take it to the dealership right away if it happens to my FZ,,im sure they have better tools....
basically what you have is a deep deep spark plug hole in a no hand can reach spot with a threaded circle screwed in it..

So this is not different than my twin cam cage. If the plug breaks that bad I want to know what ape man was tightening that plug. This isn't a lug nut where you need 90-100 ft lbs of torque. We're talking about 13 foot pound here. In any event if the piston is dropped to BDC and the only thing left is the thread of the plug an EZ-Out should do the trick if you have used one. I still can't believe the plug broke in this manner.

 

[rsw81]

So this is not different than my twin cam cage. If the plug breaks that bad I want to know what ape man was tightening that plug. This isn't a lug nut where you need 90-100 ft lbs of torque. We're talking about 13 foot pound here. In any event if the piston is dropped to BDC and the only thing left is the thread of the plug an EZ-Out should do the trick if you have used one. I still can't believe the plug broke in this manner.

Well, I'm no ape man. I'm only 5'10" and about 160lbs, but fairly fit. I was at the shop today and the mechanic I talked to said this actually happens pretty frequently and that he has seen it quite often especially on wave-runner engines. He said you often don't even have to torque them that hard to get it to do this, just that some come that weak from the factory. So even a few pounds over the spec and it'll break right off. Warning to all of you DIY-guys, regardless if you feel the crush washer give, only turn 1/2 turn past hand tight.:thumbup:

 

[tolgatt]

So this is not different than my twin cam cage. If the plug breaks that bad I want to know what ape man was tightening that plug. This isn't a lug nut where you need 90-100 ft lbs of torque. We're talking about 13 foot pound here. In any event if the piston is dropped to BDC and the only thing left is the thread of the plug an EZ-Out should do the trick if you have used one. I still can't believe the plug broke in this manner.

LOL the word "APE" always sounds funny to me,dont know why..
in my case,the broken one was the used one that i was trying to replace,,i found out that there was a problem with the plastic spark plug cover and actually when the engine was running it was shooting sparks to the outside of the plug...so the porcelain part of the plug was almost completely burnt..of course i didnt know that until i tried to take it off ..on top of that i didnt let the engine cool off first...i was only 18 at that time,what do i know
i didnt want to spend any money and decided to do it myself,,i wasnt aware of a product called EZ-Out at that time either..
anyways its all a part of experience ,which is a good thing..

good luck on this situation and please let us know

ps :attached is a picture of where it exactly breaks,,all the thread is leveled with the hole of course

 

[4fun]

LOL the word "APE" always sounds funny to me,dont know why..
in my case,the broken one was the used one that i was trying to replace,,i found out that there was a problem with the plastic spark plug cover and actually when the engine was running it was shooting sparks to the outside of the plug...so the porcelain part of the plug was almost completely burnt..of course i didnt know that until i tried to take it off ..on top of that i didnt let the engine cool off first...i was only 18 at that time,what do i know
i didnt want to spend any money and decided to do it myself,,i wasnt aware of a product called EZ-Out at that time either..
anyways its all a part of experience ,which is a good thing..

good luck on this situation and please let us know

ps :attached is a picture of where it exactly breaks,,all the thread is leveled with the hole of course

With that picture, I just lost my breakfast, I never have seen that happen before and I broke a few plugs in my life. That should be impossible to happen. Maybe it is an issue with NGK plugs, maybe another brand would be better to use.

 

[rsw81]

LOL the word "APE" always sounds funny to me,dont know why..
in my case,the broken one was the used one that i was trying to replace,,i found out that there was a problem with the plastic spark plug cover and actually when the engine was running it was shooting sparks to the outside of the plug...so the porcelain part of the plug was almost completely burnt..of course i didnt know that until i tried to take it off ..on top of that i didnt let the engine cool off first...i was only 18 at that time,what do i know
i didnt want to spend any money and decided to do it myself,,i wasnt aware of a product called EZ-Out at that time either..
anyways its all a part of experience ,which is a good thing..

good luck on this situation and please let us know

ps :attached is a picture of where it exactly breaks,,all the thread is leveled with the hole of course

This picture is exactly what happened to mine.

 

[Tailgate]

Wow! I first thought that this was a something non real-complicated. That the threads break off like that is indeed a bitch! I hope it doesn't happen to me. In fact, I DO have a similar problem on my V8 diesel van. I was trying to remove a block drain plug and the 1/4 inch socket plug stripped. But, not nearly as bad as only the threads remaining, the plug still "plugs" the coolant/anti-freeze. I have back-burner'ed this operation: just going to leave it in! Too much f'ing trouble/risk in drilling it out. Why to these f'ing things ALWAYS happen? Say, I wuz thinking about a drop off oil/graphite on spark plug threads during install. Good idea?