So, I went this morning to go put the plug back in since I didnt have the ratchet for it yesterday and discovered that the damn thing just didnt want to go in!!!

All of the threads on the plug were perfectly fine... however, I just couldn't get the plug to start threading. When I looked down with a flashlight, I noticed that it looked like there might be some metal shavings down in the cylinder head....

So, 2 questions.

1) Is there a simple way to safely re-thread it? If not, how much do you think I might be looking at to get it done?

2) WTF could cause a plug to blow the frickin threads off?

 

you can get the head re-threaded. There are a couple of options for it as well, from a gizmo that goes in, expands, and threads on the way out, to helicoil. Search on blown plugs and you'll find a bunch of threads on it.

Matt

 

Cool... I read the threads but couldn't find anything about price. Any ideas? If I had more time I could check myself but I am at work and if they find me on this site I am dead

 

Backtap looks like what I should be doing here... does anyone in the South Bay area have one I could borrow??

 

but when my plug blew, A&E fixed it for about $350....

Matt

 

Ouch...

 

I guess these things are not cheap plus you pay for someone with the expertise to put darn thing in.

I just had to have an insert put in for my right rear trailing arm which stripped when trying to do an alignment. (the toe in was way off.) It's held on with three special bolds. They have a slight triangular shape design to lock itself in and is supposed to be put in with 75 ft-lbs of torque. One of them must have taken out the threads on the way in. I ended up sending the car to a local shop that specializes in threaded inserts and does a lot of work for the local aerospace companies. (Boeing Anaheim for one.) In all it cost me $420.

It hurts to pay that much but you want it done right so...

Paul

 

most shops charge 6-8 hours for a head removal replacement, and there's about $100 for the gasket set. A couple places quoted over a grand without even the cost of the insert. That was just to take the head off and put it back on. So I guess it's relative. Yeah, $350 is more than I wanted to spend, but a lot less than I feared spending. I was happy to pay the bill.

Matt

 

If you're feeling adventurous, you can get a back-tap type tool at Autozone/Checker/Kragen for aroung a $20 bill. Buy a can of grease, too. If you're really lucky (and careful) you won't need an insert.

-skip-

 

Do I have to remove the cover for the cylinder head (and thus the fuel rails, intercooler since I have alta, and any other crap up there) to get the tool in there? When the backtap got here I thought to myself... holy crap that thing is too short. Sure enough, it is :(

I have never removed the head cover on the MINI... is it a pain in the #@* ?

 

just a bunch of 12pt bolts. Get acess, and just run around the thing with a socket wrench. The gaskets at the top of the spark plug tubes make it not want to come up to easily, but a little determination is all it takes.

Matt

But you will find that the tube is still in place. It just is press fit onto the head, but I've never taken one off.

 

awesome man... thanks for the tip. anything I need other than a 12mm socket? and gasket sealant or any **** like that?