DennisB DenLorsTools.com © Summary: Dennis which is a Master Tech that answers technical questions on this repair blog as well as on our sister site wiseautotools.com has more info on Harley spark plug thread repair. Read the rest…
© DenLorsTools.com Summary: Our customer’s often need help finding the correct Time Sert spark plug insert kit for their application. Below was just one of those customers with an Isuzu.
©DenLorsTools.com Summary: Question from reader about a spark plug being hit by the piston. It may be that the piston is not what’s hitting the sparkplug. There are a lot of images on-line showing broken valves which can cause the spark plug to be hit, which is much more likely. Read the rest…
© DenLorsTools.com Summary: Jump to Time-Sert 3221 Ford 3V Spark plug repair kit. The 3221 thread repair kit which uses PN 32214 inserts is designed for replacing damaged threads in Ford 4.6 and 5.4’s that use “Ford’s Better Idea” spark plugs. This article covers, measurement of the outside diameter of the 32214 spark plug insert which comes in the Time-Sert 3221 thread repair kit.
Champion 7989 spark plugs are a one piece design that eliminates separating (image courtesy of ModdedMustangs.com).
Summary: In this auto repair blog post, we provide information about an improved design spark plug for Ford 3 valve engines. The original equipment Ford Motorcraft spark plugs have became notorious for breaking when being removed. One of our previous articles is on broken spark plug removal; but who wants to put the same bad design back in? There was a huge need for a newly designed replacement spark plug that would work in place of Ford’s badly designed spark plug that has caused much expense and inconvenience for many Ford owners. This article is about that plug and has application information as well.
Recently, I had a blog reader with a blown spark plug on a 2002 Mazda Tribute, she may have found us by using the search engines for blown spark plugs, even though our articles are mainly for specific Ford engines that do have this problem. She asked my advice about what she should do with her Mazda. While this is not a common problem with 3.0 engines, like in some Ford 4.6 and 5.4 engines I offered my advice. More than likely the spark plug had either been left loose or was cross threaded at some point and it blowing out was the end result. Below is what this reader had to say and my response.
Calvan 11/16″ drill bit used with air ratchet and 1/2″ socket.
DenLors tools has sold hundreds of the Calvan spark plug repair kits and has had no reported failures. We’ve answered many questions about Ford spark plug thread repairs over the last couple of years and have included them in various places on our site. Now in this auto repair blog ALL of the frequently asked questions to date are posted here in one central location, if you don’t see your question answered, feel free to use the comment form and ask. Included here are questions about repairing spark plug holes after Lisle, Napa, Auto Zone, or other brands may be thicker than the Heli-Coil, but still have managed to fail and allow the spark plug to blow out AGAIN. We are not out to discredit any other spark plug insert company, we just know from our customer feedback what works and what just works for awhile. The questions below answer questions from real customers with this serious problem. We recommend the Calvan Ford spark plug insert repair kit as the best solution for Ford 1998-2004 4.6, 5.4. 6.8 SOHC (2 valve) engines, the following will help show why.
New Specialty tool for handling Ford broken spark plugs!
© DenLorsTools.com If you’re a subscriber to our automotive tool blog, you know we pointed out in a previous post, the need for a less expensive alternative to the Ford Rotunda 303-1398. The SPX Rotunda 303-1203 removes broken spark plugs on some Ford 5.4 engines, 2004 and up. But it only works after the broken porcelain piece is out of the way. That’s where the new Lisle LIS 65600 automotive specialty tool, comes into the picture. The best way to try to prevent Ford spark plugs from breaking to begin with (per a Ford Technical Service Bulletin-TSB) is to loosen the spark plugs slightly and then soak them with penetrating oil. Sometimes the carbon build up around the electrode shield will still separate from the main part of the spark plug. So, in many cases the porcelain part of the spark plug will stay in. This prevents the use of the 303-1203. Rotunda offers the SPX 303-1398 to remove the porcelain or ceramic piece, but the pins included in this six hundred dollar kit can only be used once. The pins are secured into the center of the broken spark plug (where the electrode was) with loc-tite, then the puller is used to hopefully pull the ceramic piece out of the way, so the two hundred dollar 303-1203 can be used to remove the metal electrode shield.
Lisle’s Method, using the LIS65600 auto specialty tool implements a different approach. First, if the broken porcelain is stuck down in the spark plug hole, the first part of the Lisle kit is used to press it down a little further without breaking it.