Spark-plug helicoil question

Nov 11, 2004 28 Replies

Not much help I'm afraid, but it reminded me of this story from the Bangernomics website

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"Really cheap motoring hints (by Durran Heslop)

And then there was my Audi Coupe which popped a spark plug in Hammersmith on the way to a party. I didn't mind the noise too much and it still had 4 cylinders to run on but the petrol vapours were a bit strong. As it happened my girlfriend was a member of the AA so we turned the situation to our advantage, arriving at the party in a pub in Chelsea and both getting well stuck into the vino. Planning was key here as we went out to the phone box and called the AA, timing them to arrive at last orders, get the car winched on to the truck and sleep all the way home to Berkshire. Everything was going really well up to the point where the AA man realised that my girlfriends card didn't cover recovery. We now had a serious problem as the meter would start charging in the morning and the first hour's parking charges would write the car off. We worked out my girlfriend would be able to drive home at approx 2 am on an alco unit countdown so all I had to do was fix the car.......Now the RIGHT thing to do is take the head off, clean out the remains of the thread (which was what had gone) and tap the head before fitting a helicoil and refitting the spark plug. My available tools were: 1 bungy cord, 1 wheel spider, half a roll of gaffer tape, some loose change. I used all the loose change trying to find a recovery firm that would take us home for under £200. Thenceforth all I could do was try to get the plug to stay in the head, or anything for that matter.

Eventually through the booze haze I hit upon the idea that was to save us. By removing the compression ring form the plug I could access the last 2 turns of undamaged thread in the bottom of the plug hole, but what to wind it in with? I found that one of the sockets on the wheel spider was the right size but too short. Fast forward to the Cleese-esque scene of me chasing the plug around on the pavement beating it with the wheel spider. Having removed the unncessary china bit I could finally bash and bodge the plug into place. By then plopping the HT lead over the mangled stump of the plug we regained all 5 cylinders and went home. With the addition of a lump of angle iron bolted across the shoulder of the plug that car ran on like this for months and months and it was sold, running sweetly, for spares. A simple solution to a complex problem."

The garage towed the car away on Monday, and phoned today to tell us it was ready. Apparently they got a specialist to do the helicoil job. They charged us £65, which doesn't seem too bad I suppose. Is this the going rate?

Thanks for the replies.

Way over the top IMO. As I said in an earlier post. The Helicoil inserts costs about £1 each. I've done a few heads. None taking more than about half an hour. Would only cost about £30 for the kit with a few inserts to DIY. I would have thaught £30 to be a reasonable price. Mike.

Bugger :( Maybe the price includes them towing the car away? Thanks.

Yes, but they 'got a specialist in' who would have to travel. Someone has to pay for this time.

A specialist being someone who knows how to fit a Helicoil? Doesn't say much for the skill of the garage mechanics. But then what does? :-) Mike.

Indeed.

Don't get me started. ;-)

"Tune-up" charged me 25 quid for the same thing and did a great job.

The tow is probably worth 65 though so it's a bargain!

So who caused the demise of the previous plug hole threads?? Garage mechanics??

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