Hey
I was changing the spark plugs in my 97 Civic, when I realized that I was unable to get one plug out. On checking I saw a whole array of black inside. I concluded that it was the rubber found inside the spark plug socket that had come off during the last change and had melted into the sides. Is there anyway I can remove the plug?
Cal
Cal, One option is to let your favorite mechanic do it. If you want to do it yourself, visit a plumbing shop and buy a section of pipe that is about three feet long. The pipe should be slighly bigger than the handle of your socket wrench. This should allow you to use more pressure. Most mechanics keep a section of pipe in their tool box. A torque wrench might also help you get the plug out.
So is the rubberized goo stopping you from putting a socket on it or can you get the socket around it but it is just stuck?
If so, be careful getting happy with extenders or cheater bars: Make sure you remove the plug with the engine cold. The head being aluminum and the plug being steel, they expand at different rates which means that you can actually do damage if you force it with a cheater bar if the engine is warm.
When reinstalling, put a little anti-seize compound on the threads for next time.
Remco
"Cal" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@rogers.com:
Can you remove the valve cover and get better access to the plug that way?
Umm...the rubber is melted me think in a way that I cannot put a socket on it @ all. I was trying to use a screwdriver to kinda plow some rubber out so that i could put a socket around it but unsuccessful as of yet.
Once you can get a socket on the plug, you may want to use a shop vac or some other method to remove the rubber debris such that it doesn't all fall into your cylinder. It also sounds like it may be time for a new set of plug wires.
Eric
The first step is to remove the rubber. It may take some time but until you can get a socket on the plug--you will never be able to remove the plug. There is no magic way of getting the rubber off--it will take lots of time and work. Don't try anything crazy like trying to melt it off--that will only cause you even more problems since some of the melted rubber could end up in the wrong places.
which is the valve cover???
There is only the spark plug wire and the shaft that is set in?
MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.