Spark Plug hole stripped...

[Ghettorex]

Yeah, cool. Just got my motor done and am switchin out the spark plugs. The 4th one is stripped and the damn spark plug wont fit all the way in. How can I go about fixing this problem? Gotta take it to a shop?? Any help would be really nice cause I'm extreamly pissed right now...

[rico05]

Ouch. Cast iron won't be easy to tap. Mabye have to pull off the head, drill it out and get a Heli Coil installed.

[DGA]

Heli Coil is your best way to go man.

[DAEDALUS]

The head is cast iron? If you're really lucky you might be able to retap it and it'll hold. You'll have to vacuum out any metal shavings (really, really well), or remove the head to do this.

[Hijacker]

i didn't know our heads were cast iron. mine's aluminum [end sarcasm]

[karay240]

Hate to break it to you guys, but thet head on the KA is, in fact, aluminum.

Your best bet it to get one from a junk yard. Come to find out, here are a whole lot of KA motors there. When installing it, I'd make sure that none of the material from the head fell through on to the pistons. I'm pretty sure you don't want to have to replace the whole motor.

While you have your head off, it wouldn't hurt to have some work done to it like a mild port & polish. When I break something on my car, it just gives me an excuse to get aftermarket parts and have stuff done better than stock.

[Ghettorex]

I got a CA...so my head is iron

[gnmtl90]

the head is iron? the plug screws in? if so, take the head off and carefully use a tap to chase the threads. it's odd that the last few htreads would be stripped though.

[gnmtl90]

the head is iron? the plug screws in? if so, take the head off and carefully use a tap to chase the threads. it's odd that the last few threads would be stripped though.

[Nathan]

A CA head is NOT iron. There's a difference in a block and a head, all modern Nissan engines have aluminum heads. As for your spark plug problem...I'd probably just grab a head from a junkyard and do a basic rebuild on it, new springs, 3 angle valve job etc. Shouldn't be too expensive and should ensure problem free use for years to come.

[C-Kwik]

As easy a fix as a helicoil might be, I do remember seeing a claim come across my desk where a spark plug shot out through the hood after a mechanic used a helicoil to repair thread damage. I don't know if the install was done right though. Helicoils are used not only for repairs, but in some cases as part of an assembly. I remember seeing them on some aircraft parts at a company I used to work for.

[IvoryJ30t]

if its done correctly [correctly being the key word] the threads will be stronger due to the fact that the helicoil is larger than the bolt or spark plug's thread and has more surface area in contact with the head.

the helicoil is also steel as opposed to the aluminum head, and will tolerate way more install/uninstall cycles and not gall/strip like aluminum.

[SunshineAcid]

when serious bike racers build their bikes, the first thing they normally do is tap every hole in the engine and use helicoil to make it better than original.if this option is viable, use it.