I just bought my 1995 Neon about two weeks ago and this past weekend was the first time that I had anywhere to go and finally got to drive it. The first time I drove it anywhere, the Check Engine light came on. My boyfriend checked it over and decided to take a look at my spark plugs. the first one that he pulled looked brand new. The second looked like hell and wasn't even screwed in that tight. It was barely sitting in there. The third looked new and the fourth was like the second. Three of them were different brands, so only two were the same and they weren't even the same size. It was a real half-done job the last person who took care of this car. We went ahead and got new plugs and changed them and then the next day I was driving it and the check engine light came on. This time the first and the fourth plugs were loose. I know that the head gasket was supposedly replaced/shaved or whatever, so I'm wondering if whoever did it messed it up somehow or if that had any bearing on anything to do with the spark plugs randomly loosening themselves? It makes me nervous to drive the car because I've had a car randomly stop on me before and I don't want it to happen again. Has this happened to anyone else and is there a way to fix this or keep it from happening or do I just need to carry the tools in my car and check to make sure they're tight before I go anywhere? thanks to anyone who can help.

 

The only 2 things I can think of is that the previous owner did not torque the plugs right and the threads are screwed up, or the threads are fine and your BF did not torque them right. There is no real way that plugs should loosen up unless there are not tight enough or the threads are bad on the head.

 

Is there anything that can be done about that to fix it if the threads are indeed messed up or is it just something I'm going to have to live with? The car seems to lose most of it's get-up power whenever they loosen up too. I know that my boyfriend did the spark plugs correctly, working at a garage for the past four years and all. But I've seen some really crappy work on some other things on the car (like angle iron welded onto the filler neck for the gas tank to cover up a leak...), so it's a very good possibility that someone else screwed it up. Are the threads in the head itself, and if so does that mean that the head is going to need redone?

 

Yes they are in the head. One of the worst things that can be done with aluminum heads is to remove the spark plugs when the engine is hot. This can cause the threads to be recut because the plugs are harder than the head and the heat causes the plug hole to shrink and the plug to expand.
There are heli coils that can be used to fix them but you still would have to remove the head for that. Just try torquing the plugs down corectly when the engine is cold and see what happens.

 

I would pretty much bet if you torqued them down right and they are still walking loose that you need a new head, or helicoil them. Its probally easier to just get a head from a junkyard and be done with it. You are gonna need to do the head gasket if you take the head off. Just a stupid question, but if your BF is a mechanic why is he not telling you all these things about your car?, they are pretty basic questions that you have been asking.

 

He's only a part time mechanic. He's 20, is a mechanic at two different places, plus works at a golf course and goes to college. Quite the busy person. He knows a good bit about cars, but the places he works for dont do speciality things like head's. Their largest business is inspections and break jobs. So he knows his way around a car, just not everything about it.
Another question though, isn't buying a head from a junk yard just going to lead me into a bigger expense? If the car's in a junk yard, there is no telling what's wrong with it, and head's are obviously known for these cars. I know that the head was shaved and the head gasket replaced before. Is it normal for it go to twice?

 

The same thing happened to me on a previous car I owned, The threads wouldnt hold the plug, I took it to a mechanic and had helicoils put in, I think it cost around $100, you should have a mechanic check it out though, cause when one of those plugs lets go it sounds like a lawn mower/ helicopter, then you get little bits of porcelin swimming in your engine.

 

No, the head gasket is not bad, but you can't use it twice. Once you take the head off you need to get another gasket. Its pretty much 50-50, whatever you can do cheaper, a junkyard head and have it surfaced, or helicoil the one you have. Either way you are gonna need a new MLS head gasket.

 

In response to Jeanette656: That's happened to my brother before. It doesn't sound good, that's for sure.
In response to Casper: Thanks for the help. This weekend I'll be deciding what I'm going to do about the car and getting it fixed. I'll be making a trip to my local U-Pull-It junk yard anyway for a new filler neck for my gas tank, so I'll see what my parental units want to do about it and what kind of cash they want to lay down for it, being the unemployed student I am. I'll post whatever I decide to do in a few days.