Snapped Spark Plug

[insurerman]

Hi everyone, I must just about be the unluckiest guy alive right now.......first of all I have now gone through 2 engines on my ZXR although the first one was my fault but not going into that now!!! I have bought another 3rd engine and put it into the bike but couldnt get it to fire up so thought I'd check the spark plugs and they were so tight in there, the 2nd one from the left snapped inside the engine!!! All the spark plug came out but the thread is still inside so I have nothing to grip hold of to pull it out!!! I have heard that it is a case of removing the head but I really don't wanna be doing that so if anyone has any ideas of how to get it out, please let me know!!! :smt013

[masterofinsanity]

thats bad news mate!! would a stud extractor move it? otherwise i reckon your right & gonna have to remove the head, whatever you use you gotta make sure nothing falls inside anyway.

[RedexRobB]

Flippin eck mate, you could have bought another ZXR by now surely? toad luck! Thats a proper akward place for it to go. Id think its best to get the head off not just so its easier to take out, but incase theres any swarf inside the chamber thats come from the plug when it sheared.

[insurerman]

I think that may be the only way to get it out other than stripping the engine is to use the stud extractor if it will fit down the hole, don't know if I can get one long enough, just my luck though really, nothing seems to go smooth......was looking forward to a nice spin on her over the weekend but then this raises it's ugly head!!! lol

[insurerman]

Yeah tell me about it Rob, the cam chain just snapped on my last engine, no warning at all so don't really know what happened there!!! Aint had time to split the last one and found another engine for £100 on Ebay, so rather than mess around with the oldone, I thought I'd save the time and buy yet another engine......classic me really!!

[RedexRobB]

lol, it weird, most zxr's are absolute gems, but every now and then we get a member who has nothing but bloody nightmares with thiers.

[insurerman]

Well I'm not going to let it beat me Rob, I really love my ZXR, my girlfriend has just bought a brand new GSXR600 and I wouldn't swap mine for hers at all mate, it handles really badly....my bike seems to stick to the road like glue wheras the Suzuki don't!!

[Northern ANdy]

if its so tight that it snapped off in the first place I doubt a stud extractor will be much use.

[insurerman]

Well I thought about trying it after dousing it in WD40 or something, do you think that if I do that, it may release it a bit easier??!!!

[rover220]

wd40 wont be any good.

plus gas would be your best bet and i doubt even that will sort it.

[carsounds_dan]

coca-cola is a really good bet, sounds really odd but worked a treat on my exhaust studs... It's a de-greaser and should get in there nice.. just pour a little in the hole and try it the next day... worth a try.
cheers
dan

[rover220]

coca-cola is a really good bet, sounds really odd but worked a treat on my exhaust studs... It's a de-greaser and should get in there nice.. just pour a little in the hole and try it the next day... worth a try.
cheers
dan

coca cola is absolutley no good as a penetrating fluid or degreaser.

mythbusters disproved it and its general tosh.

[tobomoto]

coca-cola is a really good bet, sounds really odd but worked a treat on my exhaust studs... It's a de-greaser and should get in there nice.. just pour a little in the hole and try it the next day... worth a try.
cheers
dan

coca cola is absolutley no good as a penetrating fluid or degreaser.

mythbusters disproved it and its general tosh.

yeah but it goes great with a big mac and fries!!!

[Caz]

my girlfriend has just bought a brand new GSXR600 and I wouldn't swap mine for hers at all mate, it handles really badly

first of all - gixxers - yes Im biased, but you cannot say it handles badly.
I was asked to ride a brand spanking new k7 gixxer 600 because the owner didnt have the confidence in it that he wanted. So , i rode it, and prefered my K4. IMO the stock suspension on the new gixers is too hard for the road, and I absolutely hate the stock tyres. Soften the suspension and the bike works much better on the road.

my suggestions would be
Get rid of the slipstones that it comes with, and put some proper tyres on it. Recommend Diablo Corsa IIIs or Sportec M3s - both work really well on the bike.
set the suspension up properly, IMO its too hard as standard for the road (on the track - different matter). If you dont know what you are doing, take it to someone and they'll set it up for your weight and riding style - makes a big difference!

secondly - your snapped off spark plug.
Personally i would take the head off, if you start using stud extracters you are probably going to get some shiat into the cylinder.... and that certainly isnt going to make the engine run any better

I've used ACF50 to loosen siezed bolts before - I'd never consider attempting to use coke to loosen things. It's not a degreaser - its slightly acidic.

[rene]

not to mention how sticky coke gets when its warm, after all its mostly suger!

Vilagar is much better (still not as good as a Penetrating oil). As for the plug id have the head off as well. After all if it all goes tits up you've got 2 heads you can use!