FZRSupport: the FZROnline Archive

Well I firured out yesterday that I needed new plugs by the burn your finger test so I get a new set of plugs today and start to replace them after work. Then the way my luck goes happened, cyl#3 plug was apparently so corroded from the previous owners LACK OF MAINT it happened, SNAP!!! The damn plug broke off in the head , does anyone have any ideas on how to get it out now? It pretty much broke flush and left all the threads in the head. I know I am probably not going to enjoy any of the answers and understand I am pretty much SCREWED but any advice would be nice. Thanks

Drill it out, Or take the engine apart

if you can sneak a dremel tool in there with a cutting disk, cut out a bit of the plug enough for you to take a flat head screw-driver and unscrew it out...if that fails....f**k

Soak it in penetrating oil for a few days too. Is there still ceramic in there or is it just the metal ring? I've had good luck with left hand drill bits and easy-outs too.

Shredex's idea is good too. If you can't get a dremel in there you might be able to use a hacksaw blade...

Dude! That really sucks! +1 on Ashton's suggestion of dousing it with penetrating oil. You MAY just need to drop the motor to get that thing out. As previously mentioned, it's not all that bad. It just takes a little bit of time and you'll probably need a hand to do it (getting it back in for sure). Once you've got it out and sitting on the floor you can have a look at what you've got to work with as far as getting the busted plug out. I'd be real careful about drilling though because if you get any crap in the cylinder you'll need to pull the head off to clean it out. With the motor out, the first order of biz would be to blow all the debris out of the plug hole area with some compressed air. From there, figure out what you can do to get a grip on what's left of the plug (all the while remembering to keep the plug hole clean). Good luck buddy and let us know how it goes!

Brandon

OUCH! that does suck, but it's not like your pistons chewed on your valves like that one guy a couple weeks ago....

Personally I would go with an easy out. Follow the instructions, drill i little hole in it, and then use the easy out, make sure its the right size for the right bit. I really think you have good chances with this.

Obviously make sure to blow out the cyl really well after all this.

Just wanted to add - When you DO get around to putting the new plugs in, make sure to put a dab of anti-seize on the threads so this doesn't happen in the future. I think some guys use regular ol' motor oil also (instead of the anti-seize).

Brandon

Thanks for all the suggestions, I hope I can get it out with the easy-out, I believe there is still some ceramic in the center but after it happened it was hard to tell cause at that point I had a hard time seeing straight due to being a little pissed, LOL. Of course this couldn't have happened at work were there are about 14 toolboxes full of tools, had to happen at my condo in the parking lot!! I might just have one of the guys at work come and get it with a truck and screw with it there. Now I gotta borrow tools again, when I stopped turning wrenches I sold most of my stuff but I do work in the Service Dept at a Ford Dealership so we will see how it goes. Thanks again and I will keep you posted.

Well gonna try and get it back to work today and see if the damn thing will come out. I will keep you posted.

Hi,
If there is any metal showing above the head face WELD a bar to it and then weld another at right angles to make a T bar.

Easy outs will put ceramic chunks into the engine NOT a good idea, heating from the weld process will bust loose the crap that had seized the threads in the first place.

Flat coca cola also will burn through the crud that seized the thread also if left for 48 hours and then try the weld trick.

If this was a stud that had broken a little metallurgy lesson the reason it broke was that you forced the metal so much it hardened then sheared along the hardened layer. That hardened layer is so hard as to be almost like crystaline or glass like and the average tool shop drill will slide off it and definitely not drill a CENTRAL hole required by an easy out. The easy out is hardened as well so when it gets "stuck" in a hardened off center hole it snaps and just doubles the F* up factor of the job.

The ONLY time to use easy outs is in a pillar drill with the work 100% rigedly held in a vice and the the drill is super sharp and used with alight touch not brute strength & ignorance.

Thanks George, I was finally able to get the bike to work yesterday where there are alot more tools and a welder. Hopefully she will be out today.

I hope you haven't tried too hard on this issue because I discovered a really elegant solution to this exact problem completely by accident about a year ago. If you take the stator cover off, there is a big nut on the end of the crank shaft. You can use that to crank the engine forward slowly with a torque wrench. The compression from the piston will force the ceramic insulator and electrode out. You no doubt have discovered by now that thing is nearly impossible to drill in order to facilitate easy-out use. Once that is gone (you may need to use some needle-nose pliers to pull it) then you can use an easy out on the remaining threaded part. In my case I only over-tightened it till the head snapped off so I was able to back it out with my fingers. In your case, you may need a wrench or a 12-point socket and ratchet to get it out. Easy as pie, no drilling, no top end removal. Good luck.

Thanks for the suggestion, I have already tried that. The compression with the engine running wasn't even enough to spit out the ceramic and electrode. But I have not had time to mess with it much yet but at least it is a work now, more room and tools. Will keep everyone posted.

Okay, well, If you are going to work on it without removing the head....

whichever technique you are going for, make sure that cylinder is at Top Dead Center. This will keep any debris IN the combustion chamber and not on valve seats/in intake or exhaust ports. Between vacuuming and compressed air you should be able to clear the vast majority of crap out of the spark plug hole. At that point you can roll the engine FORWARD and have only the exhaust valves open so you can blow debris downstream.

Myself, I would try George's technique. But I would use a stick of JetRod (7024) in like 3/16" diameter. Find the amperage(on scrap) that will allow a clean arc start, but will short when yo plunge it. Go straight in, make your arc start and then bury/short it and drop the rod with the stinger. While hot(WITH GLOVES), put a right angle bend in the rod and use IT to screw your plug threads out.

Reel. thanks for the advice, what type of welder are you talking about. the only one we have at work is a wire feed.