I think I berkeleyed up...

I broke a spark plug off in my bike's head

Quick backstory... So I put my motorcycle (1997 Suzuki Bandit 600) on Craigslist last weekend looking to either trade it for a winter vehicle or sell it to finance such a vehicle. After getting no bites for a whole week, a guy emails me yesterday with a seemingly rust free 1990 Toyota 4x4 pickup to trade ('Learn Me'thread to follow.) Pretty much ideal.

As I am waiting for him to call me after work, I decide to try to fire up the bike since I haven't run it in a month. She won't fire. Figures. So I go to pull a plug to diagnose potential fuel/spark issues. Threaded metal part broke off in the head. He is suppossed to come Sunday am to see the bike.

What is my best option here for extracting the threaded metal part? The plug is located probable 5-6" deep in the head. Do they make an extended reach EZ Out? How do I do this without having to pull the head or dropping chips in the cylinder? Should I just take it to a shop?

Some Ford Explorers had problems separating. My neighbor had that problem on his and took it to the dealership. They used a special tool to remove it.

Maybe you can swing by a Ford dealership and ask them to see the tool and whether they sell you one for a reasonable price.

Hmm, that's an idea. The broken part is probably 1/4-5/16 I.D. Does anyone happen to know the approximate dimensions of a broken ford spark plug?

If you put an ez out in thee you'll have to use a punch to knock the porcelain down. Unfortunately this will put bits in your cylinder. Do not brake off the ez out off in the head. If it will not come, don't force it.

Take the whole bike to a machine shop. They do more of these than mechanic shops.

I think I'd rather swing by a Suzuki dealership than a Ford dealership, chances are they've had to deal with the problem on other Bandits.

Dang, that sucks. Probably gotta pull the head though, I have no idea how you get a broken spark plug out.

In reply to f6sk:

The porcelain came out cleanly. I REALLY hate using EZ Outs for anything, my success rate has been terrible. But i doubt its stuck in there all that badly, I think I probably just over torqued it on installation. I think I am going to order a better quality one than the set I have and give it a shot.

Easy out with an extension. After you apply liberal amounts of your favorite rest buster. I would NOT recommend the use of heat

Same old trick... probably applies here. Move the piston to the bottom of it's travel and fill the cylinder with shaving cream in case you are grinding bits of metal or porcelain with the EZ out. When done... turn the motor to push it out.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Same old trick... probably applies here. Move the piston to the bottom of it's travel and fill the cylinder with shaving cream in case you are grinding bits of metal or porcelain with the EZ out. When done... turn the motor to push it out.

This is brilliant. Does this require any further cleanup or do you just blow it out and let anything left burn off?

Pro tip: once the cylinder head is off, clip the tang of the end of the spark plug and drive a square EZ out in. Then you can screw it clockwise and out.

How about just drilling it out and then rig up a shop vac to a small diameter bit of hose that can fit through the spark plug hole?

I've dealt with this situation a few times. Back when I worked in the motorcycle industry, I often had problems with stuck or stripped out sparkplugs. Perhaps not coincidentally, almost always on Suzuki's. Usually what happens is the whole plug comes out, taking the threads in the head with it. These can most often be repaired, in place, with a heli-coil.

I've dealt with plugs broken the way that the OP described, most recently on a Mazda industrial engine just a few weeks ago. That is pretty rare, and usually ends with the head going out to a machine shop. The situation is not really the same as what happens with the Ford mod-motor sparkplugs, so I doubt that the special tool for them would help.

I would try hitting it with penetrating oil, then try the easy-out. If that doesn't get it turning with moderate effort, don't waste anymore time on it, just pull the head, and send it out.

The moral of the story is: always use antiseize on sparkplugs in aluminum heads, always, no exceptions.

Isn't the Bandit 600 engine the same as the Katana 600 and oil cooled GSXRs? If so, maybe another head is as easy/cheap as the machine work.

I've got the Ford type extractor tool and I'm fairly certain it won't work for your issue. The mod plugs break off leaving an non-threaded long tip in the head. It's not really set up to deal with threaded remains. It's a straight pull action once you get it installed.

GL though.

Number 5 easy-out on the Ford. Research the right size for you.

http://youtu.be/6zZZrfPZLXc

Breaking off a conventional (read:not ford 3 valve) plug in the head on removal makes me think it was either cross threaded or overtorqued(at some point in the bikes life), or the aluminum threads were just plain fatigued, and tried to take the threads out with it, jamming it up.

Head will need to come off either way with one recessed like that.

I echo the sentiment to take it to a machine shop. If they can't fix it, you're no worse off and they have the tools and expertise (read: gifted old farts) on hand to fix such things.

We used to have a similar problem On ac VW heads. Champion spark plugs tended to seize in the head. Took the threads in the head with it. Other brands did not. strange. Napa had a nice kit and insert.

Great success! Ordered a decent quality screw extractor and tap extension from McMaster Carr and tried the shaving cream method mentioned above and turned the little bastard right out. The bike is now up and running once again and ready to be sold. Thanks for the help and encouragement everyone.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: Same old trick... probably applies here. Move the piston to the bottom of it's travel and fill the cylinder with shaving cream in case you are grinding bits of metal or porcelain with the EZ out. When done... turn the motor to push it out.

BRILLIANT!!!!!!

Nice freakin work! I'm impressed. Post a link to the extractor you got? I can say that I have never personally been in a situation where a screw extractor didn't make things way worse ( usually by breaking off in the fastener I'm trying to remove).

That's an impressive amount of luck. Question, what brand of plug was it? If it wasn't an NGK, start using NGKs, and use antiseize.

rcutclif wrote: Nice freakin work! I'm impressed. Post a link to the extractor you got? I can say that I have never personally been in a situation where a screw extractor didn't make things way worse ( usually by breaking off in the fastener I'm trying to remove).

Yea, I am shocked as well. I think historically I have had about a 10% success rate at best using easy outs. I think the difference here is that the plug was probably overtorqued in the first place and broke as a result of that rather than being rusted in.

The extractor was part number 2563A14 from McMaster Carr. Definitely much nicer than the Kobalt ones I have, the material is some kind of hardened tool steel. My cheapie ones don't seem to be heat treated or anything.

In reply to Kenny_McCormic:

It was actually an NGK and I always use anti sieze on plugs. I think I just overtorqued it when I put it in.

Also, the kid came today to look at the bike and is very interested. I still have to make it down to his place to see the truck some time this week. Definitely got lucky here.