| Author | Message | ||
     Ulynut |
So I go to change the spark plugs that have been in there for 160,000 miles. Two of them came out fine. The third one, all that comes out is the hex part without the ceramic. I reach in the hole with long needlenose pliers and get the ceramic part, but the metal (non-magnetic) bottom piece falls down into the cylinder. It's about 3/4 of an inch long, and I can't see down the hole. I tried fishing around with one of those grabber things and can't even feel it in there. Any ideas how to get it out without removing the head? You have to pull the motor to get the head off. 2004 F-150 5.4l | ||
| Firebolt020283 |
ouch that's a bad situation. I would say turn the fly wheel to get that piston to be a little bit further up so you can reach the spark plug pieces but don't go to far so you don't damage the piston. or try rigging a funnel to a real strong shop vac and try sucking the pieces out. | ||
| Ftd |
Post your question on the appropriate forum here. http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/index.php | ||
| Ulynut |
Shop vac is a great idea. Ftd thanks for the link. | ||
| Etennuly |
You are talking about the center electrode of the spark plug that would have fallen out of the center of the ceramic part? Are the threads in the hole ok? I have had some flat silver soldering rods that HVAC guys use probably about 3/16" wide and maybe .060 thick. Bendable, but ridged. I would put a little warmed up ball of windshield installation ribbon tape on the end and go to fishing. That stuff when warm will grab anything but oil coated or wet parts. This could take some patience.....good luck. | ||
| S1eric |
They make a special Plug tool for getting those out. We ran into the same thing with our fleet trucks. I think you should be able to pick up the tool at NAPA. DON`T pull the head. Way to much trouble. I know the dealerships run into the same problem, thats where I found out about the tools they were using. Call NAPA. I think the tool is around $100. Dealer is going to charge $250. I Know. S1Eric (Message edited by S1Eric on February 20, 2010) | ||
| S1eric |
Oh yea----------- Those are the some strange looking plugs ----- Huh S1Eric | ||
| Reepicheep |
Duct tape a thin piece of tubing to the end of the nozzle, and put a nylon in there so you can see what you collect out. Or maybe start with an empty and clean shop vac so you can look there. Then you can know "when you are done". Hope it goes well! | ||
| Ulynut |
O.K., new development. I was able to get my camera in there to take a picture and see what was going on. Too bad I'm having trouble loading pics into my computer, but it looks like the bottom piece is stuck in the hole. I can see it in there. The shop vac wont budge it. I can see a small hole in the middle of the plug from the electrode which came out with the rest of the top piece. this hole is about as big around as a piece of bailing wire. The other plugs I took out have a small amount of rust in the offending area. Maybe the piece got corroded to the head? Threads are o.k. | ||
| Ulynut |
Here it is  | ||
| Kyrocket |
I've been researching a 2006 F150 and evidently this is a common problem with them. Makes me want to possibly look for something else. Is there anyway you could knock that the rest of the way out then vac it up? | ||
| Ulynut |
It's in there pretty tight. I don't think it will come out with a vacuum if I knock it down. | ||
| Ulynut |
  | ||
| 99savage |
Not sure if I fully understand the situation but time-to-time, thru the years have managed to extract odd things w/ round holes from unlikely places by running a tap into the hole & pulling on the tap. In this case a left handed tap would be preferable. The advantage I always had was that I could run to the Tool Room & borrow one. | ||
| Gunut75 |
Maybe see if you can get a piece of wire through the hole, and push it in till it bends, and wont let go of the piece. Then tap the piece to loosen it to the point of possibly pulling it out. Just a way to hold it, and keep it from dropping in. I think if it goes in, you may be looking at head removal. That sucks dood! | ||
| Gunut75 |
The piece in there is ceramic, and wont tap. | ||
| 99savage |
Could you epoxy a piece of rod & pull on that?? After you got the rod securely in place (we hope) you could feel free to abuse the ceramic (Message edited by 99Savage on February 20, 2010) | ||
| Gunut75 |
Good idea Savage. Loctite cylindrical bonding compound, or 2-part stuff.  | ||
| Etennuly |
I see now. I thought the electrode broke off and fell in the cylinder. Not so. I would look into perhaps putting epoxy on the tip of a long enough 3/8" bolt. Glue it right to the offending piece, let it dry then see if it would turn then unscrew as you pull on it. | ||
| Ulynut |
Excellent ideas. I found a piece of cold rolled steel rod about the thickness of the hole (a little larger), ground it down to a shape resembling an easy-out, got it in, twisted it and pulled at the same time. Got a lot of resistance, but no luck. I think that thing is bonded pretty good to the head. I might try the epoxy method. Couldn't hurt. | ||
| Azxb9r |
As s1eric mentioned, there is a special tool for removing the broken piece of spark plug. Do not try to drive it into the cylinder, buy the tool and save yourself the headache. These plugs are a 2 piece design that have a habit of coming out in 2 pieces. the new replacement plugs have been redesigned and should not have this problem. | ||
| Ulynut |
I searched around on the Ford enthusiast site, and found a post where someone mentioned a Lisle tool. What is that? I searched Lisles website and didn't see anything that looked like it would help. | ||
| Sleez |
http://www.ehow.com/how_2086875_remove-spark-plugs -top-has.html from another forum; "I had the same thing happen, '91 Bauer with only 56k but still had the original plugs and wires .... here's what I did ... Heat the remains and as best you can ONLY the remains of the spark plug until you get a faint red glow ... then WALK AWAY for half an hour or so and let it COMPLETELY cool off ... then use your easy out on it, mine practically fell out The key is you have two dissimilar metals, iron and aluminum ... you heat the iron and it expands against the aluminum (which you try not to heat) and when it cools it tends to 'shrink' more than the aluminum ... After I did this I turned mine a quarter trun with the easy out using little force (At least compared to before) and unthreaded it the rest of the way by hand ... and buddy that works all day on lift/fork trucks told me to do this and I was amazed how well it worked, much better than if it were iron on iron .... I found mine wasn't really froze/corroded on the threads but on the collar between threads and the hex nut, why Ford doesn't allow a bit more clearance there I'll never know ...." from another; "This may sound wierd, but it worked for me. My ex-wife purchased a '78 Bronco back in 1985, and the rear driver's side plug had been rounded off (had original plugs in it). I tried all day to get that thing out, and also snapped the ceramic part off in the process. One of the neighbors came by and saw my frustration. Jokingly he said "Why don't you try putting some Krazy glue in the socket"? as he walked away chuckling. Out of desperation, I tried it. I put some "Krazy Glue" inside of a Metric socket (slightly smaller size than the standard size), and tapped it onto the plug. I waited about 30 minutes for the glue to dry, and then pulled carefully on the ratchet handle. The damn thing came right out. I couldn't believe it! You just might get lucky like I did." YMMV!!! | ||
| Glitch |
http://www.denlorstools.com/home/dt1/page_13119_52 0/rotunda_303-1203_broken_separated_spark_plug_rem ov.html | ||
| Sleez |
this one? http://www.etoolcart.com/lisle-ford-triton-5.4-spa rk-plug-extractor--lis65600.aspx instructions here; http://www.etoolcart.com/manual/65600breakdowinstr uctions1.pdf | ||
| Ulynut |
That is EXACTLY what I'm looking for! WARNING: You guys better hope we never meet face to face. Because if we do, I'm gonna kiss you right in front of everyone! Thanks guys. I got more help here than on the Ford forum. Badweb rocks! Where else can you get this kind of help? O.K. forget about the kiss thing, I'll buy the beer instead. Lost my mind for a minute. | ||
| Etennuly |
That is interesting that you can push the ceramic part in further to thread that device in there. That sure is a 'special' design for a spark plug.(I have not changed any on the fords as of late. It is interesting to note what I have been working around.) With carbon build up being the cause of it sticking causing it to break upon removal, I wonder if one should run a top engine cleaner through it first, to loosen and remove some of the carbon. | ||
| Ulynut |
Well, a good thing to come out of this is that it forced me to learn how to resize my pictures so I can post them here. I feel a little less retarded now. | ||
| Etennuly |
Would that be Ruhtard?  | ||
| Sknight |
While I won't run Champions in a lawnmower they make a plug that claims to fix that. It's a one piece billet lower instead of the two piece that was in it originally. |
