Ruined Cylinder Head Repair... In The Truck!!! 

One thing I like about Kenny is the basic tools and the calmly way he does things. All this new mechanics is like they go crazy on expensive tools and equipment. Long life Kenny .

Literally the only mechanic on RU-vid that makes a 50 minute video and packs 60 mins worth of useful information into it. I would be willing to use his videos to do a job I've never done just because he not only shows everything but also highlights his mistakes instead of cutting it out for pride. Literally deserves the subscriber count that Scotty Kilmer Has (his arm flailing drives me nuts) and doesn't give really any useful information past what a forum full of asses, ohhh I mean opinions (did I use my outside voice on that🤫😂) and not any actual how to ACTUALLY FIX something. Hats off to you sir you should be over 10 million subs with the quality of information you provide.

RU-vid has got to be the best thing for mechanics nowadays I love you old heads please keep passing on your nails to the 20 year olds like me 👍

I got a lot out of what you said no antics no B's just the process thanks for that

Like the way you work and your honesty and old school attitude and thinking. I myself have been wrenching for the past 52 years and I am retired at least I thought I was Lol . Have three granddaughters who drive and my own 2 vehicles . I am 68 and I guess I’ll stop wrenching when the good Lord calls me and I guess he will probably put me in charge of keeping some heavenly transportation going!! Keep up the good work

Hi Kenny. Appreciate your channel and knowledge. I worked at the Stealerships for 13-14 years before leaving to work for a natural gas transportation company. I miss the work, as it was rewarding, but I enjoy the steady pay and benefits much better. I am now living vicariously through your episodes without the bruised knuckles. Lol. Again I appreciate you very much.

Great video. You explain everything someone would need to know without them going through the pain of messing up and learning the hard way 😂

Hell coil kit 👍. I’ve had to use this great technique several times on forklift engines Because SOME so called tech think you Gota tighten the hell out of plugs ALWAYS ALWAYS use anti seize on threads you be happy you did when you replace plugs Excellent tool / repair

Pure Genius! Thank you. I have this repair coming in the future on a ‘90 Volvo B230F.

You Kenny need to be cloned,amazing Man

Kenny - Nice Video! Interesting to see how you can repair this problem without replacing the head. I liked your comment about telling the customer it's a 'temporary fix' when in reality, it is a permanent fix. I was a Manufacturing Engineer for 30 years and learned early on, "Under promise, and Over Deliver." Always keeps you out of trouble.

I used this same technique on my 2006 f150 with 4.6 but did not have any videos as detailed as this, so I screwed up! After dropping about 6500.00 dollars and three weeks of down time I figured out what I did wrong! I appreciate the detail you go into with your videos and I’m glad you put that disclaimer in about this possibly not working. Keep up the good videos cause some of us need all the help we can get

Hi Kenny, Kenny here! Good job! Kudos to the creative owner who jury-rigged the 'fix' earlier.

Hello Kenny..I can’t tell you how helpful this video was for me this weekend..I helicoiled my 04 ford f150 and used this video,step by step and all worked out fantastically! Thank you thank you thank you!

It's always good to watch someone who has been around the block a couple times ! Thanks for the video !

I did the hardest cylinder to do(can’t remember the number,but it was on the passenger side before the last on the rear)on a van with the 5.4L… it was not fun😢! I used a washer that barely slides thru the treads and stops at the angled flange to keep it from going deeper than it should and used a thin metal tube to blow-out the metal shavings from the combustion chamber! Did the repair at around 200k miles,it’s close to 300k miles now and still running well and passing smog in California (if you know what that means😮)! Nice work you did there,having done this myself,I most say… you did a great job! Me not being a mechanic,took me all day and a lot of cursing due to lack of accessibility!

Remember having to do this to 98 cavalier. We used a thinned out socket and some silver solder to make a tool that would work. Crazy after all these years they haven’t adapted these kits to fit today’s engines.

Guy is selling this exact truck for a Grand says this is the only thing it needs and will also provide the tool..after watching this i feel confident

Always like to watch and see how to repair auto systems. Never too old to learn something new!

I have been searching for the info that you just gave. Thank you!!! How deep to thread it, BDC, closed valves, to start with. Now, a useful comment. I bought a HeliCoil brand sav-a-thread. Instead of just the bolt head, on the cutting tool, it has a 3/8" driver in the center of the bolt head. It snaps on like a socket. Next, duct tape I piece of large fuel line, tubing, whatever you got, to an attachment of your wife's vacuum cleaner, and vacuum out all the greasy aluminum that falls into your cylinder. Lastly... a big easy-out bit can back out your insert, if you go too far. Ask me how I know. I had a nightmare of a time tonight, I hope I didn't hit a valve, or score my piston, I was told to do it TDC. I'm going to spring for a scope, before I permanently seat that sav-a-thread. I'm subbing to your channel. Best, concise information I've gotten.

Very difficult to find a good mechanic these days. You sir are a real engineer. Most mechanics only want the easy fix jobs.

I splurged on the calvan tool kit took less the 15 min for repair. It also helped that it was an easy one to get to.

...I've seen this done before but have wondered ....If the aluminum is that soft that it can't hold the sparkplug, what stops it from blowing out the insert ? .....I would have thought JB Weld would be more secure than red threadlocker at bonding the insert to the cylinder head.... I do like your way of doing repairs and sharing tips.......I'm 76 and have learned a lot from mechanics that were as old as I am now, but there's always something new............................John (west coast, Can.)

Thanks Kenny, I learnt a lot watching you. Backyard wrencher for 30 yrs, always more to know.

I really like the way you work and appreciate your honesty. I'm 73 and started repairing cars and trucks when I was just 13. My question about this particular repair is why, if you like the Cal-Van scope so much that you didn't use the Cal-Van repair kit for this repair? I used their kit on my 1999 F250 V-10 and it was fantastic. The guides that are included, pretty much, guarantee a straight hole and the insert fit perfectly with additional threads for the spark plug.

I've lost count on the number of popped plugs I've repaired for Ford owners, the kit you use is identical to mine, unfortunately I wasn't brainiack enough to use a sparkplug to install the insert on the occasional one that had a smaller bore down to the hole and I "modified" the installation tool with my bench grinder. So... excellent tip there. At about 6:16 minutes into your video you have a good shot of the hole, it shows the reason the plugs were popping out for a few years, for some reason Ford decided to thread the very bottom of the hole, so there was only three to four threads engaged on the plug. The original plugs were designed with three or four threads at the very end of it too. With the exception of the two plugs on the right rear under the heater hoses and other crap it's usually not too bad a job. Your videos are excellent, very informative. Thanks.

I've always use a piece of rubber hose when installing the spark plugs this works really well I'm a retired mechanic my father had a garage I've seen a lot of people do this technique of fixing spark plug holes but truthfully I prefer to take the head off especially on a cast iron head I prefer to take off a cylinder head and fix a spark plug hole I've also we built lots of motors aluminum is much softer metal I really don't like getting any type of metal into the cylinder so I always told my customers I want you take off the head this way there's no chance of starring of the cylinders especially on cast iron heads this is my preference when it comes to fixing spark plug holes that are stripped out you have a great video and you are a very skilled Automotive technician great video

I had this done twice(so far) on my 2001 4.6L 150k miles. Great video.

The extension of my extension is my friend. Retired Ford tech here. I have no idea why I'm watching this, except maybe to see if you did it 'right'. And I can undoubtedly say "nice work, Sir.". Cheers and best wishes from the great state of Alaska. Stay warm.

Thanks for showing us the tools, and all the hard won advice for using it. I feel confident to tackle that should it come up. Another great video.

I love the idea about packing the tap with grease to catch the shavings. Thank you!

I will love to have a beer with this cat and fix and learn about cars , he is an encyclopedia of vehicle repair

Thank you Kenny you are very easy to follow and very knowledgable..great personality..I enjoyed your video very much sir!

Kenny you are teaching this lady so much! Thank you 😎💙

I've seen a dozen or so videos about this topic. This is the first one in which the detail was on the money. The grease on the cutter is genius. The less shavings you get in the bore, the better. I actually had a plug's porcelain section on a Toyota 3.4L V-6 engine break off and get gobbled up. The engine had a misfire and I did not know what the problem was until I removed the plug with no porcelain. I'm assuming that the porcelain piece is in my catalytic converter. I replaced the plug and life is good. There was no damage to valves or the piston itself, but I'm still baffled as to what caused that to happen. That 3.4 is not an interference engine. It does, however, have 205K on the clock and still runs great.

Thank you Kenny! Another great video. You were honest in everything that you did and said

Nice job of explaining how to for all the young guys wrenching out there. It's always faster to take your time and do it right than doing it twice.

Casper is looking strong Tony. Tony the Dollar Store should pay you a commission for promoting their oven cleaner.

Hey nice work and video coverage including bore scope. I work on plenty of small engines needing this type of repair when customers cross thread spark plugs.

This is the first video I have seen by you and I can tell you this , you are very informative and you covered every aspect of this fix and even the worst case scenario and I really enjoyed that ! I definitely feel confident in doing this repair myself after watching this ! And I like the fact that you used ordinary tools nothing elaborate ! Awesome job !

I've been seeing so many vidoes about tapping and repairing these spark holes and I gotta say you are the most wise of them of all, kudos.

I have an 1835cc air-cooled engine in my 1971 VW. Back in 1986 the machine shop installed heli-coils for my spark plugs (wasn't too happy with that). Anyway, over a decade ago the #2 heli-coil came out with the spark plug. It turned out the the solid threaded insert kit I purchased had same threads as the heli-coil used. I used red Loctite on the insert's outer threads and never-seize lubricant on the spark plug threads, and it's been fine ever since.

Wow Kenny! A friend of mine that I do side jobs with, brought a 2004 Lexus GX470 I think it was, and someone had done a tune up on it and left a spark plug loose and it blew out the plug and they kept driving it (as the coil kept sparking) and it torched the plug and coil and boot and everything and absolutely destroyed the threads in the cylinder head. Had I known about this I would’ve tried it first, because we put an engine in this Suv! It really sucked because the engine that came out of it had like right @ 100k miles and it had been serviced religiously its whole life and they had already done valve cover gasket a water pump timing belt front main seal all kinds of work had been done to this engine. Those Toyota/Lexus 4.7 V8 engines are such a pain to tear down just to pull a head off, it was SO MUCH easier to just pull the engine and replace it with another. I had never heard of using a kit like this to cut new threads into the cylinder head so that you can just put a thread insert in and be good to go! We got it done and the customer was happy but I hated that the engine that came out had so much invested in it that went to waste. I made sure the new engine got a timing belt kit and water pump, spark plugs and all new belts, a new starter (mounted under the intake manifold) 😂😂 and new intake seals and new valve cover gaskets. That way they were as close to starting back right where they left off regarding needing any major service. Boy that was one nice clean good running Suv when I was done with it! You could eat off that engine! Lol that has been the one thing that has sucked for me being a mobile mechanic is coming in to a situation like this after someone else did subpar quality work and because I am a good mechanic and I have a heart in a conscience I always end up trying to make sure I take care of people because I can’t stand seeing people get screwed over or used. I fixed this thing like it was my own vehicle and my wife was driving it.

Good job I had to do this many years ago! You made it look easier then it is but definitely told the main things to look out for.

Kenny, just found your channel and enjoy the video's. I like the way you explain the repairs step by step!

Woof. I've heard Fords without blown-out spark plugs, sound like that. 😜 Seriously, bunged-up spark-plug ports frighten me the most about aluminum heads. Give me iron. Great job. 👍🏼

Thanks for this video. It is what is needed. Trick someone shared with me was to use old spark plug boots to start the new plugs cut off the old wires.

Thanks for the knowledge, now I know what the shop in Topeka did to my expedition. They did it right too. Put another 40k on it since and still going. I appreciate your great videos. Keep wrenching,best blessings to you.

Many old motor bikes have been resurected using this same method , an excellent and very informative video .

Very nice job Kenny. My trick is to SECURELY attach the blowing side of a shop vac to the tail pipe. (block the other on dual exhaust) With the blower running I rotate the engine in the proper direction until there is a good flow of air coming out of the plug hole. I unusually find that the piston is half way up on the exhaust stroke and there are no valves in the way. Now light oil can be used for tapping and no chips will enter the cylinder. I spray the new threads with carb cleaner with the blower still running. The resulting clean threads will insure that the thread locker will properly cure. The fun part in when you forget to remove the shop vac!

Magnificent !!! Saved a head & labor.good job

The same plug blew out on my 01 expedition.i used a similar repair kit from Doorman. The doorman kit gives you an insert with self tapping threads. You actually leave the insert installed in the spark plug hole and the kit comes with a skinny spark plug that you screw into the insert. the kit also comes with a shortened spark plug boot. The kit works with the factory style coil pack. That was about 7 years and fifty thousand miles ago.shes still holding and that was the only spark plug I had an issue with. The truck has 250,000 miles on it today and it still runs great!

Out of all the video's I have seen on this yours is the best. Very informative and covers all the bases. Unfortunately, my spark plug hole is stripped on a 6.0 ls engine. I am going to try to do it with the head on. It is the last part of using the punch I need to get creative. My plan was to use a universal socket and an extension and hammer the extension itself for the spreading out part.

Recently had to recut some damaged threads in a spark plug hole...in a marine engine that was only two years old! Fortunately, it was near the top of the hole and the threads were mostly still intact -- not a threaded insert situation. But! throughout your video I was comparing the two procedures and I felt confident that with the tutelage you provided here I could easily tackle this should the situation arise. 😁👍 Thanks!

I recognise myself in this man. No nonsense, practical work getting good results with warnings learned from occasionally doing something dumb, even down to the physique, hair and glasses. I have not performed a helicoil insert, but inevitably will since wife's Renault has a cross-threaded plug wound in hard. (not caused by me!) Seeing this is just what I needed to get cracking on this. I do worry a little that the larger bore hole might break through into the water jacket... and how to get it cutting straight when it is already cross-threaded and down a deep hole... Oh well, just got to go for it and trust the fate, I suppose. Subscribed.

Have the exact same kit. Only ever did one job in my life with it. Worked flawlessly if done right, like anything else. It was pretty pricey, though I think around $40-$50. Cheaper than a new head. The key was to use a high temp. thread sealant for the heli-coil insert, though. Nice videos sir.

BRAVO. KENNY ! Another job done right the way it should. You are a master at your trade. Keep up the good work, and the videos comming. GERRY G. from canada.

New to this channel. Nice to see careful hand tightening, and did like the plug insert repair process. When I observed the upper knurled sleeve flush with the treaded spark plug hole, I under stood the excellent desgn of that repair kit. The knurled top, slides down to stake the threaded insert in place.

Another great video kenny! What I did with one of my tools to extend it and make sure that it was as true as possible was to take a nut the same size as the hex of the tool, hold it together with vice and weld. I then threaded a bolt into the nut and tacked that together, no "wobble" or off center issues. Keep up the great work !

Impressive repair! You saved your customer big $$$! Tip: when welding two round anything end to end, clamp them in angle iron to hold them in line. Shim a smaller diameter object equally on both sides to bring it centered to the larger object. C-type Vice Grips work well for clamping. Tac-welding 3 places (rotating every 120 deg. then re-clamp) your work will help hold it straight while being welded. Let cool before removing clamps. Won't be perfect but better than eyeballing it.

That is definitely an extremely well done fix. I have never seen those tools before, but will keep it in mind if I ever need to do something like that. On thing about Ford, I really like that 4.6 engine, it seems to be fairly trouble free, and good power for how small it is, and very good gas mileage. Sir there's a lot of people on the internet doing mechanical work, out of all the ones I've seen (a bunch) you have got to be in the top 2. Very clear, concise, and understandable. Great video Sir!

Great video! I bet this will help a lot of people and save them some time and money. Nice job

Thanks for your videos. Dad was mechanic, me now my great grandson . He keeps me busy. On head off vehicle repair suggest rubbing bees wax on plug tap or any other tapping in aluminum, you’ll love the results. Aluminum is so bad about gauling and pulling threads from cuttings piling up. Bees wax has oil in it and the threads will be smooth and shiny. Thanks again. RB

Incredible video. Thank you Sir. Another quality job!!!

My son-in-law is probably going to scrap a VW bug that blew a spark plug out. I told him he needs to try this but I doubt he'll do it. Pity. Keep the good stuff coming buddy.

Wow thanks for sharing , that’s the first time I’ve seen anybody doing the process, now I’m ready to tackle the project when the problem arise :-)👍🏽

Great video. New subscriber. Very nice presentation , easy to understand, and well spoken. Looking forward to many more.

First time seeing your content Kenny. Awesome know how with humor. Great video for the archives, and to share. I hit the 👍🏼and subscribed

That was a very interesting video. Good pictures and video. I’m enjoying your channel and down to earth manner. Thanks

I always learn from your videos, I am not a mechanic but I always have wanted to learn.

I really enjoyed this video. Great work fixing this problem. Been watching your channel a little while and just subscribed. Keep it up!

Hey !! That’s awesome! I’ll try that tomorrow on my wife’s Honda fit.. exact same issue,, I’ll post how it went✌️

You are and honest man, shops in new york.city will never do that, they will ask you to replace the engine or cylinder head, and if you agree, they will repair the spark plug hole thread the way you did, and charge the customer for an engine or cylinder head replacment, most of them crooks, i have seen that with my own eyse, that why i learned car repair, a laddy went to mechanic shop for a cooling leak from the cylinder head gasket outsude the engine, and they charge her 700 dollar for head gasket replacment, but they just put a blue devil head gasket repair solution inside the radiator, and the leak stopped. But after one 6 momths the head gasket start leaking cooling again outside the engine, it us crazy.

Very well explained, very good work!!!!

Great video! I seem to remember a more expensive kit specific to Ford, maybe with a guide busing that went in the well, and a drill, tap and insert. Nice to see there is what I assume is a more reasonable price repair kit.

Hey kenny good job i learn a good lesson keep up the good videos

Kenny I don't wanna jinx you or anything like that.When you said I'm not sure I can fix it.I almost said if you can't fix it nobody can.You impress me

Great work.. Old school skills. Loved it.. :D ..

Great job sir 👏!

You can pull the threading tool out every once in a while and clean the grease. Reapply the grease and continue. Helps with the clean up. I love the open start up evacuation 😅

I have the same tool but with a 3/8 swivel welded onto it. It makes it 10x easier to go straight especially on the back cylinders.

That's wonderful Kenny

Great job on the video thanks for doing it.

Interesting. .. I watched the whole video. I rarely watch the complete video for anyone. I subscribed.

Thanks for the video. Watching this reminded me of the time I had to re-thread the spark plug hole on my 76 dodge colt. With the die, and by the grace of God, it was a successful job. The things you have to do when you have three kids and a broken car. I'll tell you about how the yolk on the drive shaft broke on my 72 Dodge Polara wagon and how I fixed it next time. Thanks again for the Vid! Oops! Almost forgot to subscribe and thumbs up! Thanks!!!!!

Great job!

Really like watching your videos .

I would like to say thank you for this video I appreciate this video. God bless you. I did everything you said to do in this video and it was successful. Thank you.

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing.

Awesome video..... Explains in detail

Great video. I have always wanted to see this donw.

Real nice job Kenny.

Looks like someone torqued down his spark plug down to 80lbs + 90°🙄🤔😂 Great video explanation and repair sir 👌

I just had this done on my focus. The mechanic used the truck engine kit, but it works on the focus too if the valve cover is removed first.

Thank you so much I just had my van blow out the spark plug I’m going to try this thank you so much

Awesomeness Extreme. Thank You!

Nice job . I hope i dont need this information but its nice to know. Thanks

Well done on the video Thank You

Nice job thanks for sharing

I had to do this to my 1988 cavalier in 1990. Lasted me the rest of that cars life; including two head gaskets.