ok so i get off work this morning and im driving home when i see a little flame from under the hood. so i pulled over got out and looked couldnt see anything. continued driving it happened again and again and so on. when i got home i messed with it and couldnt find anything so i cranked it up and the plug nearest the fan on the driver side was shaking. turns out the plug is stripped and when i would hit a bump it would jar loose and puff there was fire. does anybody know how i might can fix this without pulling the head off. any help would be great. thanks

 

Heli-coil kit. They have them at most parts stores. You want to get the piston down as far as it will go. And make a tube for a vacuum cleaner to suck out any debris after you install the Heli.

 

i hate those things lol

 

Yeah but they work, and chances are pretty good he won't have to pull the head.

 

The plug is stripped or the head is stripped?

 

I was going to ask that ? too, But I was assuming he knew the head is stripped. If it's just the plug, then you can buy a chaser tap to clean up the threads in the head. But I would still make something up for the vacuum to suck out the debris.

 

I used a heli-coil to fix the aluminum head on a 1989 Mazda MX-6 I had a long time ago at about 100000 miles. The previous owner had cross threaded the plug and ruined the threads . The heli-coil worked like a charm until I got rid of the car at 180000 miles.

 

After reading his post a couple more times, I'm thinking it's just the plug threads. ? So cleaning up the threads in the head and making sure the debris is out, he should be OK with just a new plug.

 

That's why I'm confused ... he clearly states the PLUG is stripped but, if that's the case, who wouldn't just go get a new plug? My experience has also been that it's rarely the "bolt" that gets stripped but the "nut".

 

it is the head not the plug that is stripped. with the plug snugged down as tight as you can get it without just turning it you can wiggle it around in the hole with your finger. my dad told me to do a heli coil i would have to pull the head. yall got any suggestions as far as making something to suck out the metal shavings.