I've been doing this whole car thing for a while now, feel like I've seen it all, but then my fiero throws me something like this

This is on my rear bank, I think cylinder 4. No wonder I couldn't get a socket on it, THERES NOTHING TO SOCKET! I think cylinder 2 is the same way, I can't seem to get a socket on that one either. Cylinder 6 came out just fine.

What do I even do? 3800 swap it?

Bust off the porcelain, punch what you can down into the cylinder, use an ez out to remove the threaded portion in the head and blow the cylinder out with compressed air.

Or pull the head and do it on the workbench.

I would soak the base of that plug with PB Blaster for days before trying to extract it with EZ out.

[This message has been edited by Skybax (edited 03-09-2022).]

Thats a "new" for me!

I'm surprise the plug didn't blow out. (Nut section was to keep the porcelain in.)

Yes, Soak w/ PB baster etc for days first.
Avoid breaking the porcelain. Anything gets into the engine is very hard to remove and quickly damage the cylinder.
Maybe some light taps will made porcelain to pop out.

Rotate engine so intake valve is open for 1 cylinder to work on.
Put vacuum cleaner in blower mode etc on intake.
Hopefully anything is blown out thru the plug hole instead getting inside.

Make sure plug's ground arm is removed. Often breaks using "ezout" and damage the engine if left.

Use "ezout" made for this job.

But Note:
If head's taper seal area is damage by rust too... New plugs may leak. Needs a good clean tapper on the top of hole to seal.

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The Ogre's Fiero Cave

I think it would be best to pull the head.....So making sure nothing gets in the combustion chamber that could damage the engine. And if you need to clean/tap the threads, no worries (Once again) of any contamination with debris.

You've got a great little basin there to just fill with PB Blaster and let sit for a few days. If it were me, I'd do that and then use a torch on the end, then I'd clamp some vice grips on that exposed metal end and just slowly start turning it side to side and hopefully it will break loose and turn out.

I just save a copy to chop the full size pic...


"nut" section isn't completely gone but standard socket won't grab it either.
Maybe crap at bottom of hole that needs removing as won't help you if left. Can't tell from the pic.

Soak w/ PB etc for several days.

If engine runs... get engine warm, shut off, then spray oil before cool down.
Then wait. Oil gets thinner and heat cooling can suck oil in the threads.
Avoid WD40 and others that evaporate fast when hot.

Then use whatever to turn it.

If have old sockets of various sizes...
Might be able to drive on a socket. You want a tight fit but not so tight you drive w/ big hammer and break the metal.
If needed, care break the porcelain top and clean loose pieces before removing the plug.

External "ezouts" like ones to removing strip lug nuts are often too big to fit there.

[This message has been edited by theogre (edited 03-10-2022).]

Additivewalnut, I'm curious, how many miles are on the car?

Reason for asking is, the block looks clean and plugs look possibly original.

PS: Check out this thread with photos... https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/145278.html

[This message has been edited by Skybax (edited 03-10-2022).]

quote Originally posted by Skybax: Additivewalnut, I'm curious, how many miles are on the car?

It was my grandfather's car before mine, he bought it brand new in 1986, only put 110k on it before parking it for ~25 years. It actually surprised me how clean the block was, I was expecting the valve covers to be leaking like nobody's business.

The hex is not gone. The hole is filled with rust, dirt and crud. Take a pick or pointed tool and start digging out the hole around the plug. This is from the weather seal being removed during the recall. All the water from the trunk runs right down into the plug area allowing all this gunk to lay in the plug areas. Been there done this…

If what Packrat1 says doesn't fix it... my advice is to just pull the heads.


There's a LOT of cleanup work you can do anyway while the heads are out... new valve springs, valves (if you want, or just a relapping), better rocker arms, clean-up of the combustion chamber and ports... and a LOT... I mean a LOT of port-matching that you can do between the various components.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: If what Packrat1 says doesn't fix it... my advice is to just pull the heads. There's a LOT of cleanup work you can do anyway while the heads are out... new valve springs, valves (if you want, or just a relapping), better rocker arms, clean-up of the combustion chamber and ports... and a LOT... I mean a LOT of port-matching that you can do between the various components.

Honestly, if the motor is coming out so I can pull the heads, a 3800 is probably gonna go in its place. This 2.8 has been giving me trouble for a long time LOL

The swap sounds like the way to go. Ford trucks 2001 to 2014 had opposite trouble with spark plug blowing out of the heads. It was very common. Heads had to be re-threaded and special plugs had to be installed. The idiots designed it with 3 or 4 threads to hold the plugs in the aluminum heads and the plug design was poor. Factory came out with a special tool and "spark plug" to solve the problem without pulling the head.
Just google "Ford spark plugs blowing out". Makes you glad you have a Fiero.

http://www.fordproblems.com/spark-plug-ejection/

Spoon

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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

The motor doesn't need to come out to pull the heads.