I have a stock 87 GT. I decided to do the car a favor and replace the spark plug wires and spark plugs. The back three plugs went great changed them and the wires in half an hour. However, the front plugs I have been on for the past two days and I do not know what to do. They are completely rusted. I picked at them like crazy and soaked them. Then, picked and soaked some more blowing them out with compressed air. Finally I got a good grab on the one plug and gave it a good pull. I felt it break lose and felt really good that I got it lose. Turns out I got the entire plug EXCEPT the threading and electrode. I have no clue what to do anymore. I figured someone on the forum had to have gone through this at one point. Any ideas would be very much appreciated. I may have to just take it to a garage now.

-Jeff

[This message has been edited by FieroGTFan (edited 02-07-2010).]

Here you go, many of us have fought with the front plugs. I used a big EZ-out on mine after repeated heat and quench cycles with MAP gas and PB Blaster. Ask me how much anti-zieze i used on the replacement plugs.



Here are 4 good threads on this very subject....

http://www.fierosearch.com/...oken&Action=DoSearch

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jetman
Silver 86 SE 2M6 4-speed, with "check wallet light"
Now fortified with 8 essential slices of bacon goodness

If all else fails, remove the head, and work on a bench.

I second the EZ out idea. It worked well for me last summer.

BETTER than the easy out.(once the plugs break like that they're actually easier to get out) instead if the easy out,( they Expand & may make it worse) Use a 5/16 HEX SOCKET. It will easily Tap in the hole,(make sure what you are taking out is still "Drowned" with PB) then use a short extention & a Ratchet. Before I discovered that, I went as far as removing the console, & making "an access panel" to get at the back 3 plugs & exaust manifold bolts!

Once you are out of this mess, don't forget to lubricate the thread when you install the new ones and fasten them with the right torque!

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Bernard
Fiero V6 GT 1987 (Manual)

Has the same thing happen in the same fashion. I go along with the rest, use an easy out along with lots of pb blaster. It might help to also take your dogbone loose. It will buy you a couple of inches. The easy out I used was a snap on. Real short and had like a 3/4 socket head on top of it. Lot easier than the regular drill bit style and easy to get in the tight spot.

be carefull the easy out doesn't leave the electrode IN the Cylinder !

Hey guys, I am sorry for the long wait. We have been having some internet trouble... Sorry! I picked up and EZ-Out now I just have one question for you all. I am afraid to spray and penetrating oil by the rest of the threading of the spark plug. I wanted to ask first will it cause a problem if some gets down into the cylinder? There is really no way I can stop this from happening and I don't want to make anything worse. All your ideas are appreciated, and again sorry for the wait guys!

Don't worry about the PB Blaster.... it is fine to spray into the cylinder

Thanks for the help guys. The broken plug is soaking in blaster, as well as the other two front plugs that won't budge. I will give you an update as soon as I get something to happen. Tomorrow morning I will probably put some more blaster on and try to tap them some to help it soak in.

say you use an ez out... How do you get the drill back there in the correct angle without dropping engine? Its hard enough to get a ratchet in there and I use these from Harbor freight...

I love these!!!!!

If the center is already out of the plug, you don't need to drill anything.

Hey guys, just trying to keep you posted. Still nothing new one the plugs. All of the front plugs have been soaking for about 3 days now. At the moment I can't get the EZ-Out to move the bottom part of the plug at all. It is in the bottom part but I cannot get it to move one bit. I can now get a ratchet on the other two plugs firmly but they are still just to tight to get them to move, I have been banging on all of them with a hammer, still no go. As soon as I get anything to happen with these plugs I will let you know. I bought some new anti-seize last night for the new plugs.

quote Originally posted by Lou6t4gto: BETTER than the easy out.(once the plugs break like that they're actually easier to get out) instead if the easy out,( they Expand & may make it worse) Use a 5/16 HEX SOCKET. It will easily Tap in the hole,(make sure what you are taking out is still "Drowned" with PB) then use a short extention & a Ratchet.

Lou posted a pretty neat trick here for you in as far as the 5/16th hex socket goes. At this point I might be tempted to try heat / quench cycles on it too.

[This message has been edited by jetman (edited 02-12-2010).]

another thing to watch with the "easy out". It almost acts like a drill 'till it gets a grab, you have to watch that you don't get "metal shavings" into the cylinder. You might try using a "propane torch" to heat up whats left of the plug & make the "penetrant " more likely to Creap into the threads. I prefer KROIL to PB Blaster.

You might want to take the hood off for better angles and leverage.

quote Originally posted by unboundmo: You might want to take the hood off for better angles and leverage.

Don't confuse the poor guy. The "hood" is up front. Remove the decklid for better access to the firewall spark plugs.

I always thought making an access panel behind the passenger seat was a good idea. Just have to make sure the panel you make to cover it is big enough and sealed up well. Its under insulation and carpet so it should be no problem. Luckily for me, I changed my plugs often enough they were easy to get out, just a bit of a PITA to reach.

But wait... I thought the engine was up front

So I have been using the EZ-Out because it is stuck in there already so I don't really wanna pull it out. However, I am confused as to how to get a good amount of torque on the EZ-Out. I have been using a ratchet with an extension and a 10mm socket. After today I will stopped that after cracking the socket... Oops! Oh well it was a Craftsman, I will get a new one haha. But now I do not know what to do to get a good grip and some good torque on the EZ-Out.

Hi, if you are looking for more torque, try this : if your socket is a 3/8 drive you can use a 3/8 to 1/2 drive adaptor with a 1/2 breaker bar. This will give you more torque and leverage. All these guys have given you great advice so far and something is bound to work for you. Hope this helps you. Good luck. Ernie

remember, the easy out is "Tapered", the more you twist it the "larger it gets inside whats left of the sparkplug, actually making the trheads "Tighter"! remove the "easy out", heat it up a bit(you won't hurt anything, just don't start a fire) lightly tap in the 5/16" hex socket , more PB Blaster, & try again. good luck. ** Roger,behind the center console, I cut a "sideways H" in the rear panel , so the 2 Flaps could be bent inward for access. when I was done, bent them back in, sealed with "liquid nails" & re installed the insulation. it's invisible & "leakfree for 4 years now.

Id do something like aircraft use for inspections. Cut a rectangular hole out, Make a heavier gauge metal cover for the opening. Drill enough holes around the edges to get it sealed well and use body clips in the holes along with hex head screws. A driver would let you pop the cover off and on whenever you wanted in just a few minutes. Id even run a thin rubber seal around the edges to seal it.

Make sure your anti-sieze is rated for high temps. The cheap stuff at autozone and the others may NOT rated for spark plug temperatures. If it's a low temp version it will bun out and leave you with stuck plugs.

Locktitle really high temp is copper colored, for spark plugs their "silver" grade high temp is good enough.

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Best RV, Camper, and Trailer dealer in West Michigan. http://www.cliffstrailersales.com and he's a fiero owner too!

[This message has been edited by timgray (edited 02-13-2010).]

I had two of the three front plugs break off as shown in this pic.


In the end I ended up welding a socket to a SQUARE extractor as seen second from the right.
After soaking the plugs for two days, I was able to apply plenty of torque and remove them.
I ground down just a little on the tip of the extractor in order to keep from knocking off the tip of the plug.

The extractor set was made in America so I had no fear of them twisting with a lot of torque.

So, after a long night, and a long time of soaking in blaster. I got the plug out last night! Thanks for all your help guys. I ended up using the EZ-Out. Now its on the the next one...

It's amazing to me how easily these plugs can get fused in there...

I have two plugs that are stuck and so rusty that I can't get a socket on them. I'm probably going to pull the motor anyway since I'm going to swap in a 5-Speed anyway...


Good luck with the other one.

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Todd,
2008 Jeep Patriot Limited 4x2
2002 Ford Explorer Sport 2dr 4x2
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter

What amazes me is that they would make such a regular part of a good tune up in such a hard to reach place! I wonder if the designers at Pontiac just didn't like their mechanics and wanted to watch them struggle.

I am new to Fiero world, but what is the problem/issue with these plugs? Is there a design flaw or are these the orginal plugs in a 2.8s that are breaking off?

Most of the time its just original plugs. i had to same problem. except mine blew the centers out of the three firewall side plugs going down the road. Luckily i was putting this motor in my 85 gt so i had plenty of room to work with the motor in the back of my truck.

quote Originally posted by THEHKP7M13: I am new to Fiero world, but what is the problem/issue with these plugs? Is there a design flaw or are these the orginal plugs in a 2.8s that are breaking off?

The issue is many people have NEVER changed them in 20 years. Dirt/rust has accumulated in the wells the plugs sit in.

Once you get 'em out, be sure to use anti-seize on the new ones.

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My World of Wheels Winners (Click on links below)

3.4L Supercharged 87 GT and Super Duty 4 Indy #163

Once upon a time, These cars came from the factory with "steel sleeves" insulated with a sort of paper, these sleeves were originally intended to not only insulate the spark plugs, but when installed corectly, to keep dirt & garbage from getting in between the plug & the Head.(mostly cause by the water running down the rear glass, onto the "plug area" & exhaust manifold. the factory "fix" was a rubber seal attached to the leading edge of the decklid. (which "most " cars are "missing" after all these years. so Yes, factory poor design, people throwing away yhe "plug sleeves" so... Lack of maintainance. This is what I believe is the problem, anyone else ?

Dont tighten them any more than specs.

Ive had a few v6 FWD vehicles I didnt have time to mess with and paid dealership to change them. More than once, I found out they didnt change the back ones because they were hard for the tech to get to. One Pontiac dealer did a tune up on my Trans Sport minivan. They changed 3 front plugs + all the 'tune up' stuff. I asked why they didnt change the other 3 since there only a few dollars each and I paid them $160. I asked what else they did for that money. He said they set all the 'adjustments' it needed and the back 3 plugs were OK . I kept after him by telling him what can you adjust, there are no points, no timing setting, no carb setting, etc. About all they do is look at your air filter. They gave me my money back and I never went back.