Broken Plug During Removal

**The Silver Goat** · 09-28-2009, 07:07 AM

I assisted a buddy of mine, on Saturday, with removing plugs on his buick lasabre'. Actually I brought over the beer and watched him work...

As you know it's transverse monuted motor and he cracked the porclain (SP) on one of the plugs. He did not have the plug socket properly seated.
He's also not sure if he got all the porclain out with the socket or if some fell down into the chamber...

If not what kind of damage is he looking at? I told him I'd ask in this forum...

Anybody had this experience??

**0rion** · 09-28-2009, 10:26 AM

mostly would depend on the size of the piece I would think. I can't imagine it being very good though regardless of the size of it. Might want to borrow/rent a bore scope and look in there and see. How would he get porcelain in there though? It would have to fall off to the side until he pulled the plug out then fall down into the hole....a long shot IMO.

**Smittro** · 09-28-2009, 10:38 AM

Agree on the scope. But shall I guess it was one of the rear ones? Did he tilt the engine? One of the biggest mistakes folks make is not tilting the motor before attemping to remove the plugs on the firewall side (left bank)..

**pajeff02** · 09-28-2009, 11:35 AM

Rig up a small piece of hose to a shop vac and poke it down the spark plug hole for safety sake.

How would any of the plug material fall into the engine? If the plug broke when he first attempted to loosen it, all the debris should have been held in the socket by the base of the plug.

**WikdWs6** · 09-28-2009, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by 0rion

mostly would depend on the size of the piece I would think. I can't imagine it being very good though regardless of the size of it. Might want to borrow/rent a bore scope and look in there and see. How would he get porcelain in there though? It would have to fall off to the side until he pulled the plug out then fall down into the hole....a long shot IMO.

Agreed on the size comment, the larger it is the more damage it will do, as previously stated a bore scope would be your best and cheapest bet, unless you want to pull the head and all that non-sense only to find nothing in there.

**cammed goat** · 09-28-2009, 05:43 PM

I have never heard of the porcelain falling into the cylinder after the top half breaking off. But that's just me.

**Hi-Po** · 09-28-2009, 08:05 PM

How would that piece make its way into the engine? Seems impossible to me.

**The Silver Goat** · 09-29-2009, 12:21 AM

The socket wasn't seeded properly when he started turning the wrench, I heard a cracking sound and told him to make sure the socket was seeded properly. When he pulled the socket out the top half of the plug with broken porclain was in the socket. The thought was some of the finer material could potentially be laying around the ledge. Once he removed the plug he took a rag with oil on it and tried to get what grit was there to stick to the rag. Nothing came back.

It was on the back side of the motor and no he didn't tilt the motor, he thought a socket with a universe joint attached would get the angle he needed.

I told him to take it to a shop...

A vacuum was good suggestion - wished I would of thought it.