Spark plug burst from cylinder head
No one expects a spark plug to pop out of their engine while driving down the road. But if the unexpected happens and your spark plug falls out of your engine, what does it mean? And more importantly, how do you fix it and how much will it cost?
Read this guide before you take your car to a repair shop or try to fix it yourself. There is a lot of misinformation out there about blown spark plugs. We want to help you get the facts right before a shady mechanic tries to scam you. What is a burnt spark plug? A burnt spark plug is an issue that primarily affects certain Ford vehicles. The spark plug is blown directly out of the cylinder head.
Usually it remains attached to the ignition coil wire but is no longer in the combustion chamber so it doesn’t function at all. This is a known issue with certain Ford vehicles, especially the 4.6L, 5.4L and 6.8L engines. However, it is important to note that while this is much more common in these vehicles, it is not the only vehicle on which this can occur.
Also, because this is a common problem on these Ford vehicles, there are repair kits that are easily available. If this were to occur on another type of vehicle, it might be a little more difficult to find the right repair kit.
What Causes Spark Plugs to Blow Out?
There are a few possible reasons why a spark plug may blow out, but the most common reason is that the spark plug was slightly loose after it was installed. Over time, the spark plug will continue to loosen until eventually the threads alone are no longer enough to hold the plug in place.
When this happens, the spark plug will jump out of its hole while the engine is running. To make the problem worse, some older service manuals for certain Ford vehicles list torque values that are slightly too low.
These manuals call for approximately 20 ft-lbs of torque, while newer service manuals recommend 28-30 ft-lbs. Using a lower torque will put you at risk of having the spark plug jump out of the cylinder head later. There could be too much pressure in the combustion chamber, but that’s only really a problem if you’ve added a lot of high performance parts to your vehicle. Even then, the frosted plugs should crack before the spark plugs.
Finally, some manuals say that excessive torque can cause the spark plug to jump out of the cylinder head, but I can’t imagine how that could happen. Too much torque would risk cracking or breaking the spark plug itself, but not jumping out of the cylinder.
How can I tell if my spark plug is blown? Some guides list many symptoms of a blown spark plug, but this is another area where you don’t need to worry too much about diagnosing.
That’s because when the engine blows a spark plug out of the cylinder head, it sounds like a shot being fired.
The sound is loud and very noticeable, so anyone near the vehicle will know it’s happening. Not only that, but when the engine is running, it makes a horrible noise when it’s running at all. And that only happens when a spark plug is burned out. If you look under the hood, you’ll see the spark plugs dangling from the wires, making diagnosing the problem fairly easy.
How do you fix a blown spark plug?
If you take your car to a professional repair shop for repairs, you won’t know how much they’ll charge you. Some shops will charge around $800, while others will try to replace the entire head and charge you closer to $4,000.
With this in mind, it’s a good idea to know how to fix the problem first. In fact, there is a repair kit just for this problem that contains everything you need.
With this set, you can re-thread a burnt out spark plug hole. There is also a sleeve that you can install so that you can insert a new spark plug. Don’t just screw the spark plug back in, you risk it seizing up again. Also, make sure you use the correct torque on the sleeve to prevent the problem from happening again.
How to Prevent Spark Plug Seizure
You really don’t want your spark plugs to burn out of your cylinder head. To prevent this, you need to install your spark plugs correctly using the correct torque specs. Don’t use the lower torque ratings found in old Ford service manuals.
Other guides recommend checking the torque on your spark plugs more frequently, but this is not necessary at all if you use the correct torque specs the first time. Not only that, but you’ll waste money if you pay a mechanic to do it, and a lot of time if you do it yourself.
Also, don’t use anti-seize or other lubricants when installing your spark plugs. This can distort the torque, but it’s the only way to prevent spark plugs from burning out. Can glow plugs in diesel engines burn out? It is possible for glow plugs to burn out in diesel engines, but this is rare. Furthermore, the most common reason for glow plugs in diesel engines to burn out is that the compression in the compression chamber becomes too high.
However, there are no known issues related to glow plug misinformation or torque specifications, so mechanics usually install glow plugs correctly the first time.