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Hello I’m trying to remove the spark plugs on a T&C 2005 Chrysler, while I was removing the PCV valve as I took the winshield wiper assembly to get access and it was really accessible.
Anyway, it turned out to be another nightmare 🙁 I got only one spark plug out the other ones are really tight. I was able to break them lose but as I keep untightening it gets harder and harder. Is this a common issue? Im concerned the threads are damaged or if there aren’t to damage them by keep trying. I read about tightening and untightening back and forth and adding penetrating oil? Is this a good idea. I just don’t want to break the spark plug or damage the thread, because I know that would be bad news.
Thanks guys
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as sick as it sounds, back and forth with penetrating oil is the best thing to try, next maybe using heat. also, blow out the area around the plugs with compressed air to dislodge and remove any dirt in the area.
shaun has it right- use penetrating oil, loosing as much as you can without too much force that will damage anything, then screw the spark plug down all the way (don’t tighten it), then unscrew it until force is felt, then keep repeating over and over again. You will find that every time you screw the plug back down, it will loosen just a little bit more than before. It will take a long time but will be quicker than if you damage the threads.
Oh dear, this is probably an aluminum cylinder head and someone may have overtighened the plugs. Plugs don’t need to be very tight, they have a squishy folded gasket that deforms and seals under with a few ft-lbs of torque. You should definitely squirt in some penetrating oil and carefully rock the plugs out a quarter-turn at a time. You might also need to get a thread-chaser or tap to clean out and reform the threads.
Thanks guys that was the trick. I did exactly as suggested. Bunch of penetrating oil and tighten and untightening back and forth 1/4 of a turn or so and worked like a charm. Oh boy, it was painful and slow, but Im glad they all came out fine. What it supposed to be an easy maintenance routine turned out to be a big project.
Thanks guys so much, really appreciate all the suggestions. Thanks to ETCG and all the people here on the forum helping out other people around.
So…one more question guys. My car is burning oil, so I replaced the PCV hoping is that will see. However, Im concerned is engine damage. From the attached pictures, how does these 2 spark plugs look? Are these signs of internal engine damage? Thx
That looks like carbon deposits. It looks oily because you had the threads soaked in penetrating oil. With oil fouling you would see deposits that foul up the electrode gap. Are you certain you are burning oil and not leaking any?
Judging just from the looks of your spark plugs I see no reason to believe you have engine damage. Keep an eye on your oil level until you have found where the oil is going and you should be ok.
Thanks. I’m thinking is burning it , because I just added a quarter and went to almost full, and after a 500 mile trip I had to add another quarter. I’m thinking if I had a leak, I would be able to see a serious puddle?. I had an EGR valve which I replaced with this repair as well, but I don’t believe EGR causes to burn oil?.
Anyway, I will keep an eye on the oil level. I’m really hoping it was the PCV valve.
If you were burning a quart of oil every 500 miles this would be blowing smoke out of the muffler everywhere it goes. Not all leaks give you a big puddle. I would look at the valve covers, oil pan and front and main seal areas closely. I leak that big has got to be visible. If its hard to pin down, get a bottle of oil dye at your parts store. Dump it into the oil and run the engine for 15 minutes at idle. Then dim or shut completely off the lights in the garage and look all over the engine with a black light. The dye glows brightly under it. It’ll show you where its coming out of.
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