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Sooooooo…my brother is a self professed mechanic and pretty intelligent. He’s also really lazy and likes to make excuses. Long story short it I need to get a conversion van he failed to fully pay from my mother back in working order and he claims it’s only firing on 7 of 8 cylinders and that the spark plug for the 8th cylinder is suck and he can’t get it out. He also states that he’s taken it to a mechanic but the mechanic said it’s “impossible” to get out (obvious lie). So I guess my question is, what is the safest way to get out a spark plug that is seized? Will penetrating oil work and is it safe to use on spark plugs? If so, what’s the best penetrating oil to use?
Thanks,
Sarah
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What car is it? Hopefully the spark plug isn’t cross threaded in. A couple of things you could try. One, start the car and let it heat up to normal operating temperature and then try to remove it. Be very careful not to touch any of the hot components. Another thing you could try is PB Blaster and a 1/2 drive breaker bar to break that plug.
keywords: conversion van, meaning a size 12 pain in the butt to work on anything in the engine bay.
If you can’t get it to turn easily, putting a breaker on it will breaki it faster than heck, and to be honest if it’s actually seized you’d be a lot better off finding a mechanic who can fix it. You’ll probably have to remove the heads, the mechanic probably said it’s impossible because it’s a giant head ache job. You can spray any sort of lube in there and let it soak for as long as possible and then try, but It sounds serious. :sick:
also, if it’s anything but a cast iron head DO NOT remove the plug when hot, or you’ll be pulling the threads outta the head.
It’s a 2003 Dodge Ram conversion van (I believe a 1500). From what I’m gathering it’s best to try to spray some penetrating oil and let it sit for a few hours and try to remove it that way. If I can’t get it then bring it to a mechanic? I HATE bringing vehicles to a mechanic (no offense pros). They always try to screw you. (Like when I brought my vehicle in for an inspection and they charged me a diagnostic fee because they had to tell me something to fix for it to pass inspection).
I’d try the oil and then a breaker bar. It worked for me on the same engine (In a truck though so I actually had room for the bar which you may not in a van)
Not sure about that engine, this is actually a gigantic pain for the 4.6L v8 FORD engines for mustangs and the titan series in the pickups from like 04-08. The OEM is a two-piece design that breaks without being truly seized. Takes a special tool to get the broken half out safely.
I got mine out by PB blaster (best stuff to use IMO), after waiting, work back and forth (slightly), as in tighter if you have to, then trying to loosen again a bit more at a time, spray a bit with it slightly worked out further so more will make it into the threads; eventually it’ll free without funkin’ everything.
This problem you are having is nothing like the reply about the ford. In my experience I have had dodges spark plugs rust and usually have to be drilled out and heilcoiled. You can try the penetrating oil but also try the procedure we use at ford. http://www.etoolcart.com/06152.pdf the link here is the procedure and tools to do a ford just look at the instructions for removing hope it helps and good luck. I never do on dodges lol
If u find the right people they can fix it on the car. The expensive part is the carbide bits used to drill it out.
This is a tricky situation. If the head is aluminum then you might be in real trouble. Cast iron might hold up better but the fact that it’s a van with limited access can make this problematic. Penetrating oil and a breaker bar as suggested is probably your best hope but if the threads are damaged you’ll have to drill it out and replace the threads which can be very costly depending on the situation.
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