front cyl. blow out

[07xb12sgrin]

so im riding home and i goosed it a couple times to lift the front end(just for fun(light lift)) and i hear a pop and then suddenly the bike sounds like the exhaust popped off. i was right around the corner from the house and got it home on one cyl, when i got home i found the front sparkplug had come out of the head. so when i tried to see about putting it back in, the threads are ruined. the sparkplug just slides down in. this sucks! so has anyone had this problem before or am i just the lucky s.o.b. this time. well ill be down for a while this year, maybe i need to get a second buell.

 

[anrkizm95]

you need to install a timesert to repair plug hole.most auto parts stores will have them.

 

[black_xb12r]

heli-coils work... but not the greatest in my opinion... we have some really really good thread inserts at work but i forget the exact name of them...i will get it tomm and post back up... i will see if we have the right thread for a buell plug as well and i can just ship one out if you decide to go that route...

KC

 

[jerseymayhem]

how the hell does that even happen?!

 

[anrkizm95]

timeserts 14 mm get the install kit also.never use helicoils on plug holes.

always use heavy grease on taps and reamers to prevent metal from getting into engine

 

[07xb12sgrin]

jersey, i have no flippin clue how this happened. i thought i heard a noise yesterday and spent 15min in the driveway with it running to try and find it, but couldnt. im guessing this was what i heard. i know the timeserts are what i need. getting to the area without separating the frame seems impossible. im not excited about this at all but it will get done.[mad]

 

[anrkizm95]

i do tons of these on ford engines,just take your time and follow instructions with kit.good luck

 

[1001yos]

Do you have any mods?

 

[fishgutz]

Should the head be pulled off to do this or is there an easy way to ensure that no metal fragments get into the head? Just curious.
I've done inserts and heli-coils on non-engine stuff and it generates a lot of of metal particles.

 

[Red93stang]

Dont pull the head. Rotate the motor if anything. Grease is the key for the metal frags, just like anrk said. Shop vac works good too after drill and tap is done. We install a ton of these things on 4.6 and 5.4 Ford modular engines and usually dont have one problem.

 

[bguinn]

Yes you do work on a lot of Fords for this problem. I had the rear passenger plug blow out of my wifes 5.4 liter Expedition.

I repaired my self. It is either the hardest or second hardest plug to get to. The actual work only took about 15 minutes to drill, tap, and insert the bushing. I was kind of anal about trying to make sure I removed all the metal shavings, so that took about another 45 minutes with air hoses and shop vacs.

Over all a very easy job, just take your time and do it right it definetly saves some expensive engine work.

 

[07xb12sgrin]

my mods are...hawk muffler, ecmspy, k&n filter. the normal. nothing special. if i was running boost or nos i might understand why this happened but i dont. i worked on cars the last ten years, so ill be able to get this taken care of. just know that even rotating the engine is going to take a while since i have other responsibilities and projects to get done before this winter. i think ill do some of the other mods i was thinking about while its down this winter.

 

[anrkizm95]

if you use a heavy grease on the tap and reamer it will hold the metal so it dosnt fall into cyl,ive also stepped down a shop vac hose to about 3/8 and stuck in the hole then crank it over.ive done hundreds on the fords alone with no problems.the grease will catch 99% of the metal the other two steps is just insurance.

 

[dondick]

do what anrkizm ses . I also fix alot of fords like this . sounds crazy but the grease works great at keepin a hold of the shavins .