never know this can happen on car: one of the spark plugs blew out off the car while driving on highway. Prior to that, did not notice anything wrong withe the car, and no warning at all. hoping for the best case, bought a new spark plug and tried to put it in, but couldn't. after done research, realize that the thread must be gone with the plug or the plug itself broke off, and the bottom piece is still there?

don't really know about this type of 2.4L car with this type of issue. what are my options? and the likely cost for each option?


thanks

 

well, first thing to know is why you can't put a new spark plug there. get a vacuum with a hose attachment and get a the biggest diameter flexible hose that can fit in the spark plug tunnel thing. hold and seal off one end of the small diameter hose into the vacuum hose with your left hand, forcing the vacuum to go with the small diameter hose. now with your right hand, guide the other end of the small hose into the tunnel of the spark plug hole in question. go up and down and all around till you're sure you picked up whatever you can. then get a mirror and a light and try to see what's up with the spark plug hole. I've never heard of a spark plug breaking apart from within but I guess it is possible. if you're lucky, the threaded portion of the spark plug will still be attached to the head and you can still use a spark plug socket to remove it. either way, I'd be a little concerned about any porcelain pieces banging around in your cylinder. you'd have to try to get the largest diameter tube that can fit INSIDE the spark plug hole for that one and start fishing for pieces. if you're really lucky, the spark plug just worked itself loose enough to be fired off place. do you have or did you look for the spark plug piece or pieces that came out? is it complete? you may have just a little bit of a bad thread for a new one to go in. I think it would be too hard to try to tap those threads. coat the new spark plug threads (or the head, or both) with oil and try again, but vacuum first.

 

I have a 1998 with a 2.4, I know how tough it is for removing spark plugs, that's why I think you'll need a mirror to see down the hole. if the spark plug that came out is complete, it means it slowly unscrewed itself until it reached the final thread of the head. you might just be able to slowly screw in a new spark plug. don't force aluminum threads. use a decent amount of oil with a new spark plug. if you start threading in, go forward like half a turn, then turn back 1/4. forwards 1/2 turn, back 1/4. good luck.

 

thanks for both replies.

my friend and I both tried insert the spark plug socket in with extension, and turned the socket in different angle, and hopefully to see if still can take the old plug out. after more than 10 attempts, we pretty much conclude that the old plug is not there at all. with the location of the #4 plug, it is kind of difficult to use mirror to see anything.

I did manage to use a long screw driver to poke into the hole, and didn't feel the old plug at all.

I will try again to see if any luck. have any one done replacing the head, or done the heli coil thing, or have to drop the engine in order to replace the head, etc.

thanks

 

If you take the wiper module off the van you can work the top of the engine a lot better.

 

[quote=fongdodge;2525641]thanks for both replies.

my friend and I both tried insert the spark plug socket in with extension, and turned the socket in different angle, and hopefully to see if still can take the old plug out. after more than 10 attempts, we pretty much conclude that the old plug is not there at all.
I did manage to use a long screw driver to poke into the hole, and didn't feel the old plug at all.

I wouldn't do anything major like taking it to a shop just yet. You can still do a lot in your garage. I believe if you take off the valve cover, it comes off with that tunnel, giving you great access to the actual spark plug hole. you'll have to do that anyway if you needed to helicoil. Unfortunately, that will require you to remove half of your intake, but you will have a great view and access. if the spark plug is not there, you will have to try to get a hose that fits in the spark plug hole and try as best you can to fish for any pieces of whatever, then try tapping the spark plug threads, you might not need helicoil. good luck