[lacuna]

So the plug in bank one, cylinder one, came shooting out of it's home while I was driving to work. Of course it just had to take all he threads with it. So unfortantely I am now faced with the decision of either removing the entire motor, or just the head. My question is, which will be easier in the long run? I'm mainly worried that the fire wall will leave me no clearance when pulling the head alone. Than I would end up spending the same amount of man hours as removing the entire motor. What do you think?

 

[aztrojans12]

QUOTE (lacuna @ Feb 1 2010, 08:24 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1633832

So the plug in bank one, cylinder one, came shooting out of it's home while I was driving to work. Of course it just had to take all he threads with it. So unfortantely I am now faced with the decision of either removing the entire motor, or just the head. My question is, which will be easier in the long run? I'm mainly worried that the fire wall will leave me no clearance when pulling the head alone. Than I would end up spending the same amount of man hours as removing the entire motor. What do you think?[/b]

Hey bro I had the exact same thing happen to me a few months back. I took my car to a mechanic to install a heli-coil. He charged me $180. It worked great for about 300 miles and then the plug shot out again. I bought the time-sert "big-sert" kit and repaired the threads myself. I didn't even pull the head off to do it. I have over 1,000 miles on the repair and 0 issues so far. I would HIGHLY recommend buying the big-sert kit and repairing it yourself. I would even be interested in renting my kit to you if you are interested.

 

[lacuna]

Sounds interesting, and certainly easier than what I've been thinking about. However I'm not to keen on the idea of drilling out the threads while the head is still attached to the block. The last thing I want would be metal shavings causing more damage.

EDIT: OK I see how it catches shaving, and I guess I could always use a shop vac.

How much would you want to rent the kit? Which insert did you use?

 

[aztrojans12]

QUOTE (lacuna @ Feb 1 2010, 09:35 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1633859

Sounds interesting, and certainly easier than what I've been thinking about. However I'm not to keen on the idea of drilling out the threads while the head is still attached to the block. The last thing I want would be metal shavings causing more damage.[/b]

Yeh I was concerned about that too. I put grease on the drills/tap and went slowly. It seemed to catch 100% of the shavings. I looked down and could see the top of the piston, and there were 0 visible shavings. I still took a vaccum and rigged a plastic hose to the end of it, and stuck that down the hole and vaccumed around. If you put grease on the drills/tap and pull them out every few turns to clean the shavings off, you really shouldn't have any issues.

 

[aztrojans12]

QUOTE (lacuna @ Feb 1 2010, 09:35 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1633859

Sounds interesting, and certainly easier than what I've been thinking about. However I'm not to keen on the idea of drilling out the threads while the head is still attached to the block. The last thing I want would be metal shavings causing more damage.

EDIT: OK I see how it catches shaving, and I guess I could always use a shop vac.

How much would you want to rent the kit? Which insert did you use?[/b]

I tried messaging you but I don't know if it went through, I don't ever use the messaging on here. Can you send me a message and I'll message you back with my e-mail address?

 

[lacuna]

I got it, I'm still mentally debating using it though.

 

[aztrojans12]

QUOTE (lacuna @ Feb 1 2010, 10:06 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1633867

I got it, I'm still mentally debating using it though.[/b]

Ok cool. No worries. I'm not really trying to make money off it I'm just trying to help you out because I went through the same problem. I can tell you the big-sert insert seems very strong. I took the spark plug out a couple weeks after i did the repair and no issues. The insert did not back out at all. Some cheaper inserts/heli-coils will back out when you take the spark plug out. It took me about 2 hours to do with my friend. But we went extremely slow and took our time. Google time-sert or big-sert and you will see it is the best repair out there. The kit brand new is like $350 or so. I am extremely happy with it and it saved me alot of time and money. I got a quote from a shop of $1,300 just for labor to pull the head. I am not mechanically inclined enough to do that, but it sounds like you are. I can tell you if you are afraid of the shavings, that if you take your time you won't have any issues with them. The grease works extremely well to catch them all. Even if a few drop in, your shop vac can get the rest. Let me know if you have questions on it at all, like I said I'm just trying to help because I went through the same problem and know how bad it sucks.

 

[lacuna]

Thanks for the offer, but I'm just going to buy the kit. I would rather have a tool and not need it, than need it and not have it.

 

[aztrojans12]

QUOTE (lacuna @ Feb 2 2010, 07:03 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=1634098

Thanks for the offer, but I'm just going to buy the kit. I would rather have a tool and not need it, than need it and not have it.[/b]

Okay sounds good. Check craigslist and ebay to see if you can find it used. The kit brand new is like $350. I bought mine used off craigslist for under $150 including shipping. I actually typed "search all of craigslist" and found a website that lets you search craigslist for the whole country. I found a guy in Florida selling the kit, it was the only one for sale on all of Craigslist. Also, I looked and I found where I purchased the inserts from. They are called "Thread Kits Co" and are based out of California. You will need the 16.8mm tapered insert. I will share with you the best tip I got. You will want to tape duct tape around the shaft of the wrench that goes down to the spark plug hole. Tape just the right amount around the tool, so that it can still turn inside the cylinder, but it will make it 100 times easier to keep the tool centered and make sure you are drilling straight. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have questions. I think you will be happy with the kit. Definitely go with time-sert because they are the best around and it is worth every penny.