ported head+spark plugs+impatience=wrecked threads !rant!

well, i performed a typical tune up on my 89 corolla today and decided to make some progress on my accord. i only got as far as the spark plugs cause i got held up throughout the day. anyways, i picked up a set of stock range plugs by NGK BPR6EY-11 for those that are wondering. anyways, so i go down to the garage and fiddle around to get a working light. as soon as i got a working light, this is the part which i got impatient at. now, i know that your supposed to screw in the plugs by hand first to make sure you dont screw up the threads on the head. that is exactly what i did, atleast i tried. anyways, i tried screwing them in by hand on a spark plug socket with an extension, but for some odd reason they didnt feel like going in at all. so i checked all the threads to make sure their fine, and nothing seemed out of the normal. i put that particular plug aside and got myself another one and tried it on a different cylinder, same thing happened. i know these plugs have to be angled in, and thats exactly what i did when i tried screwing them in. so i decided to put this plug aside and got another one, and wouldnt ya know it, same thing is happening to this plug. so i grabbed my last spark plug and it did the exact same thing.

im was furious to find out that the plugs that the person at the parts counter, and the information from the FAQ portion of this website didnt seem to want to go in. and now comes the impatient part. i stuck the spark plug in at an angle at which it would seem to go in at, started it up by hand(some took a few minutes to get it to stay in place), and when it held in place on its own after i took the socket out, i started to giver. i know there was some serious money that elijah poured into the head, but at that point, i just didnt care anymore. i tried putting them in the proper way, and they didnt seem to want to go in at all, and rather struggling with it, i just said F'it and forced them in. the irony is that although it took a little bit of force to put these in, it didnt seem like it was getting cross-threaded in any way.

anyways, its 3:15am and im starting to get tired. if it wasnt for the stupid spark plugs, i would have finished wiring up the engine bay tonight, but instead, i am going to bed. G'night everybody

oops, ifyou cross theaded you will find out later i guess
maybe clean out the threads good, there may be metal or metal polish packed in there.

that is no bueno...

i had no idea what went wrong with it, but as soon as i put maybe 30,000km on it assuming it makes it that far, ill probably get a shop to change out the plugs and fix it.

you know sometimes i have a hard time getting the plugs in and out just depends on the weather when metal is cold it contracts and when warm expands im sure your got alot of snow around right about now so of course it will be easer to do plugs in the summer then in the winter

It is a good idea to get a thread chaser and clean out the threads as they do build up carbon after the years. I will be cleaning mine out next time i do a tune up.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ghettogeddy

you know sometimes i have a hard time getting the plugs in and out just depends on the weather when metal is cold it contracts and when warm expands im sure your got alot of snow around right about now so of course it will be easer to do plugs in the summer then in the winter

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That makes sence, But ive usually done my plugs when the engines warm. I know how gay it is when the engine u got has stripped plug holes.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by russiankid

It is a good idea to get a thread chaser and clean out the threads as they do build up carbon after the years. I will be cleaning mine out next time i do a tune up.

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its a rebuilt head with 0kms on it, so no carbon:cheers:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ghettogeddy

you know sometimes i have a hard time getting the plugs in and out just depends on the weather when metal is cold it contracts and when warm expands im sure your got alot of snow around right about now so of course it will be easer to do plugs in the summer then in the winter

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my engine wasnt cold or hot or anything, id say that it wasnt freezing or anything of course since it was in my garage where i keep my bottles of water anyways. it was cold enough that i can still wear a T-shirt though

that sucks. i remember when i had to switch my plugs...it was bad...had to get my uncle to clean up the threads and install them.