Uh oh..Help! I think i broke something in the spark plug chamber...

[golden1245]

This doesn't looks right...

and then I tried to pull the boot out with my fingers and then lightly with a clamp and it tore the boot...

It would not budge at all, the coil came off easily, but the boot would not come off at all no matter how I fidgeted the tip. The boot rubber would stretch, but it would not release...

What happens now, I am completely lost...I can't even start the car to take it to the mechanic...

 

[horgantrevor]

have you tried a long needle nose pliers to take out the bits what part of the plug came out

you can replace the boot

 

[golden1245]

I'm trying to inch it out with some needle pliers, but all the boot does is stretch a lot but remains in place. I'm afraid to use brute force not knowing if it will tear even more and restrict access to the plug...

Is it advisable to use more force to just yank the boot out?

 

[horgantrevor]

if the boot it damaged it will need to be changed so get it out so you can replace the plug and then the boot

 

[grober]

Looks like you broke the extender from the coil- not to worry- it will come out with a little persuasion. You can try the needle nose pliers trick or depending on the dimensions of the hole left get down to your local hardware store and buy a rawplug/ rawbolt of the appropriate size. If you have used these before you will know they are designed to fit neatly into a predrilled hole in blockwork -----the outer sheath is then expanded by screwing in a bolt or screw to grip the edges of the hole to secure a fixing. In this case all you want to do is expand the outer sheath just sufficiently to grip the remaining section of extender. You should then be able to get a firm purchase on the outer end of the rawplug/bolt to pull it out while wiggling it very slightly side to side to loosen its grip on the plug end. You gotta get the right diameter/length of raw bolt for this and try not to fracture the remaining section left inside the plug recess- but even if you do it may give you more access to the fragments left- just don't apply any pressure to the plug recess walls! When you apply force to extract its vital its in a directly vertically upwards direction EXCESSIVE sideways force [ wiggling is OK] may damage the plug recess or snap the plug

 

[golden1245]

would something like this work?

 

[grober]

It's a suggestion as to a possible improvised cheap work around " tool" that's all. No guarantee it will work but its the type of situation that faces professional mechanics everyday--worth a try? In this case I would also soak the end of the spark plug with a little lubricant WD 40/Plus gas to help slacken the grip of the remaining plug extender part on the plug end.

 

[kth286]

I never just pull on those.

I turn it as I pull - much more successful.

Try a turn as you pull.

 

[golden1245]

Thank you very much for all your guy's help. Finally got them all out. The ones that were not connected to the coils were extremely easy to pull out, but the 2 connected to the coils were very difficult and required a lot of patience with a long flathead screw driver in the chamber to scrape the edges of the porcelain in order to separate it from the stuck-on rubber. Then I used a vacuum and thin forceps to pick up all the broken rubber bits inside. All and all took me about 3-4 hours to do the job total.

Here's the old with the new NGK Iridiums. Noticeable, albeit small, difference in acceleration and idle. The car is a bit quieter, even on start ups. I don't think the old plugs were that old (about 50,000 miles), but wanted to change them since i had some free time. I think the Iridiums have a lifespan of 70,000-100,000 miles?

 

[grober]

You should definitely see an improvement with the iridium plugs and they should have a longer effective life as you say-- again dependent on the type of use the car gets and the quality of fuel used. GLAD YOU GOT THINGS SORTED.