2001 Nissan Pathfinder Simple fix gone terribly wrong.

[RichyMags]

I have a 2001 Nissan Pathfinder LE. It was running rough at 212,000 miles so I took it to the dealer to check it out . Turns out that my ignition coils were acting up and they needed to be replace. The dealership quoted me a little above 1200.00 to replace all six ignition coils on the truck. Being that the car is this old I didn't want to spend that kind of $$ on the repair.After looking up the job i thought this would be a perfect DIY situation. There are some great instructions on how to do it yourself here so i felt more confident about the repair .While I was under the hood I figured I would go ahead and replace the spark plugs as well since they have 212k miles on them too. Everything is going smoothly during the fix (or so I though ). When I go for a test drive and the car starts of great but then all of a sudden I hear a loud clanking sound that increases in frequency as I give it gas, and I also smell a burnt smell.

I make it back and i pop the hood turns out I blew a spark plug and it shattered my #1 ignition coil on the way out of the cylinder. Half the spark plug is left in the cylinder, all the ceramic insides of the spark plug part that flew out is still intact. I retraced my steps with the service manual trying to figure out what went wrong. Turns out I over torqued all of the spark plugs by ALOT and most likely broke the spark plug in cylinder #1 in the process.

At this point I'm thinking its bad put i can still fix this ...order a new spark plug , ignition coil ... Easy out the broken spark plug ... Loosen all the others.. back on the road !!!

Only when i tried the to easy out the spark plug with screw extractor #5 both the screw extractor and the remaining spark plug thread fall deeper into the engine through the cylinder!!!!! I had my ratchet connected to an extender and the socket i used to connect the screw extract could turn the screw but it wasn't a snug fit... So now I'm staring down and empty cylinder with no clue on what to do or how bad this repair will cost or even how somebody would get the screw extractor + spark plug threads out of there!!! Help

[Gregk604]

How could it have fallen INTO the cylinder? If it was threaded it should have backed out? Can you use something like this to fish it out?

http://www.harborfreight.com/24-inch-2- ... 94162.html

[RichyMags]

Well I guess I worded it wrong ... It fell into whatever is past the cylinder(further down the rabbit hole), deeper down by the pistons?(not sure whats down there).... I shined a flashlight into the cylinder I can't see it anymore. Not sure that tool would work, there's not much wiggle room down there.

[Gregk604]

If it fell down the "rabbit hole" there's nowhere for it to go, it will be sitting on top of the piston. You can try fishing it out with some wire and double sided tape. If you can't see it through the hole, it's probably off to the side so bend the hanger so you sweep the sides. I still don't understand how the remaining spark plug thread could fall through the hole - it should have been to big to just push through. If you get it stick to the double sided tape, will it be too big to pull back up through the hole?

[RichyMags]

I don't know either... When i was loosening it i heard and felt it drop. The hole, when I look down is still pretty small, so even if i get it up to that point, I don't know if i can just lift it out . I'll play around with it tomorrow see I can get it out. I don't think I'd be able to lift it up and unscrew it out... I'll keep you updated

[rgk]

As Greg stated, the plug can't fall into the cylinder. I've never gotten below the plenum on this car, but I'm thinking he may have dropped it somewhere into/under it.

[RichyMags]

I was able to get a picture of what i'm talking about . Its still kind of hard to see but that's the #5 screw extractor down there. Its laying horizontal so I can't just lift it out with my magnetic pickup tool plus that hole is too small if i were to get it vertical.

[rgk]

You might have to pull the head to get it out, a job which I don't suggest you try to tackle.

You're going to have to think of a way to get it out using an assortment of magnets, threads, wires, etc.

[rgk]

Another thing I just thought of is that you might have more room to remove it with the magnet if the piston were lower. Do you know how to turn the engine by hand with a socket on the crankshaft bolt?

You'll have to figure out whether this particular piston is on the upstroke, because you don't want to crush that part inside the cylinder. You might have to tap the socket wrench clockwise very lightly and see whether the piston moves slightly up or down. If it moves up, you'll have to turn it counterclockwise. If it moves down, proceed turning it clockwise.

One way to see which way it is moving is to insert something, such as a long, slender screwdriver, into the cylinder before you turn the crankshaft and mark its position with a marker or piece of tape. Then, after you tap the crankshaft, see whether your mark is higher or lower.

Before you do this, loosen all the spark plugs so you don't have compression in the engine. This will help you turn the engine just a little bit. If you have compression in the cylinders, it will be more difficult to turn the engine slightly, and may cause you to crush the metal inside.

If you're not familiar with how pistons move inside cylinders, I highly recommend you view an example video. Each piston goes down, then comes back up - this action causes the crankshaft to turn.

If successful, I also recommend putting a slender vacuum hose inside the cylinder to make sure you get any particles out.

Does any of this make sense? Good luck.