If you decide to tap the hole for an insert,liberally coat the tap with grease,this will reduce the amount of foreign particles going into the cylinder,they will adhere to the grease.The proper way is to remove the head but I've done a few successfully without pulling the heads.Lots of luck.

If you decide to tap the hole for an insert,liberally coat the tap with grease,this will reduce the amount of foreign particles going into the cylinder,they will adhere to the grease.The proper way is to remove the head but I've done a few successfully without pulling the heads.Lots of luck.

 

another trick i read was to attach a vacuum cleaner, on blow, or maybe even a hair dryer, to the intake and turn the engine over by hand until you feel the breeze coming out the plug hole. that way what ever comes loose will 'blow' out of the hole.

 

wear safety glasses.

If it was in the motor it has already gone through the exhaust or, more likely, was simply blown out the vacant spark plug hole. Either way, I'd still pull the head to be able to do the repair corectly and not drop tap shavings into the cylinder.

I purchased the insert kit from Car Quest and did the repair today. As a note the kit from Advance Auto didn't work because the tap did not have the broach for the 3/8" driver.

 

I'm going to let the silicon sealant sit over night then start it up tomorrow. I liberally greased the tap and took my time so hopefully not too many chips got in the cylinder. I also started it up and ran it for a minute after I tapped the hole.

 

Thanks for the replies. I'll post back on the progress tomorrow.

It starts and runs. Unfortunately I was going to sell this car and its not registered so I didnt get it out on the road for a drive but I let the engine warm up to normal temp. Everything seems fine.

Edited October 3, 200916 yr by rpl3000