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Well crap. Spark plug blew out

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Joshua
Was pulling away from a stop sign on the old GS1000 and heard a loud POP followed by the sound of compressed air. Crap. Looked down and saw the #3 spark plug hanging down by the side of the engine.

Tried to thread back in but won't tighten down.

So I'm guessing my options are basically replace the head or helicoil/thread repair kit.

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Extreme powersports here in San Antonio installed a timesert in my klx110 head for something like $25. Heck of a lot cheaper than a new head! I like the timesert fix over helicoil because they are staked into place.
 
Extreme powersports here in San Antonio installed a timesert in my klx110 head for something like $25. Heck of a lot cheaper than a new head! I like the timesert fix over helicoil because they are staked into place.
AutoZone carries the "oem" brand thay is also staked in place. Has good reviews and is avaliable locally. I'm mainly worried about clearance between the hole and the valve seats. Not sure how much material is avaliable to do the insert repair.

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On my KLX head the timesert is shorter than the plug hole, and just slightly longer than the plug. Obviously these two bikes are worlds apart, but maybe you'll have the same luck!
 
Just got off the phone with a forum member from www.thegsresources.com and he said he had the same cylinder blow a spark plug on a couple of years ago. Did a helicoil repair and it's been running great for the last 10 or 15 thousand miles. So looks like I'll be going the thread insert route
 
Yup
Those are your options

If you repair the head, it really should come off for the repair.

You will find or be told “ya pohieeee it can be done without removal”
Yes it can, and sure
Folks fall out of aircraft without chutes and live as well but it’s not a great plan
 
Yup
Those are your options

If you repair the head, it really should come off for the repair.

You will find or be told “ya pohieeee it can be done without removal”
Yes it can, and sure
Folks fall out of aircraft without chutes and live as well but it’s not a great plan

What a load of.... I've done 23 of theses without removing....

Yeah, just kidding. I completely agree that he head should 100% come off for a repair like this. Or if you really want to leave the head on, a suitable plan B repair would be to just JB weld a new spark plug in place and call it good for another 50-100k miles. ;-)

Just kidding about the JB weld part of course. Besides, I don't know if JB weld is a suitable enough conductor to be used in this application.
 
If this was a beater bike, you would have options. It's not. Take the head off. You can heli-coil and it will work. It's really easy once the head is off. They say timeserts are better but I have never used them.
 
I only thought that happened to air cooled VW"s. On my move back home (Texas) from Hawaii, I shipped my 1966 VW to Oakland, Ca. I flew over with a 1973 Penton 175 Jackpiner in boxes as excess baggage. With a friend along, we had a huge stack of boxes and luggage. We told a porter at the SF airport that we needed to take a bus to Oakland, retrieve the VW and drive back. He assured us the massive pile was safe and to go ahead.
Ads we pulled back into the SF airport, there were tons of folks standing around. I had conducted a pre-load at home...It took us about 3 minutes to put the Penton, a tool box and 4 suitcases into the Bug, tip the porter, and burn rubber out of the loading area with most spectators amazed.
Anyway, I digress. We hauled across Ca., Nv., Az., NM... all the way to Junction, Tx and the # 3 plug blew out of the head. I screwed it back in and drove another 100 ft. We spent the night in a roadside park and waited for my Grandpa to come and rescue us.
You do have to remove the head unless you want metal fillings modifying your cylinder walls. That was in 1976!
 
That's almost a project that should be done on a drill press , if the new insert is not perfectly straight with the old threads the plug gasket will not seal . The insert kit with the seat cutter will eleminate that problum . Pulling the head is the safest option because any metal chips left in the motor could cause major issues . Or they may blow out the exhaust in the first few revolutions , how lucky do you feel .
 
I'd never heard of these kits.

http://www.timesert.com/html/sparkplug.html

Thank you.

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Thread repair coils have been a main stay in thread repair for so long and to this day, because they work, and work very well when installed correctly.
There are also a better choice over a thread repair insert for some applications.

But thread repair inserts are better in some applications as well..
A spark plug hole repair,..,,Id use a thread insert like the Timersert. You get a spark plug seating surface that is perfectly concentric to the new threads, is at the correct angle, and in effect you get a new and refreshed sealing surface as well as new threads.

A down side is the cost of course,
$50 for a 12mm spark plug thread repair coil kit from HeliCoil
$140 plus more $$ for the inserts for the same size TimeSert kit

If the user is only going to need this one spark plug hole repaired... pull the head take it to a automotive machine shop.. Have it fixed right the first time, at a cost = or less then buying a TimerSert kit that your only going to use once.

These kits add up quickly in terms of $ invested.... quick count I have about 9 Time Sert kits and packs of inserts, and 16 Thread coil repair sets....
Let the shop absorb that investment and pay them a slight increase over what you might spend on just one kit.
 
Let the shop absorb that investment and pay them a slight increase over what you might spend on just one kit.

The older I get, the more I firmly believe this...

Between their vastly greater experience, the cost of me doing it, screwing it up, trying to fix it, and then eventually paying the shop to do it anyway, it is just a LOT less money and hassle to start with the shop :-P

The real trick is finding a shop that does good work. Dealerships are rarely at the top of that list... :huh2:
 
The older I get, the more I firmly believe this...

Between their vastly greater experience, the cost of me doing it, screwing it up, trying to fix it, and then eventually paying the shop to do it anyway, it is just a LOT less money and hassle to start with the shop :-P

The real trick is finding a shop that does good work. Dealerships are rarely at the top of that list... :huh2:

Dealership., or even an independent shop for this repair is an iffy thing.
Tis why I suggested an Automotive machine shop. A place that machines and rebuilds heads, blocks, flywheels, rods, cranks and the like.
They are the experts at removing broken fasteners, repairing threads.

And on may applications or projects, installing steel threads is done preventively in aluminum parts, or known problem areas in steel parts.
I do a lot of that in my builds,, steel threads for head studs, oil pan or cover studs or screw holes get steel threads. Oil drain drain threads as well if the case is already apart ..(this is one thread coils work better most times than thread inserts)

But if I did not have the stuff on hand or the thread size was not a common one, Id likely take it to a shop as well,,,,,,well ok no, thats why I have 3& 4mm repair kits with only a single coil used in the last 10 years...lol
 
But if I did not have the stuff on hand or the thread size was not a common one, Id likely take it to a shop as well,,,,,,well ok no, thats why I have 3& 4mm repair kits with only a single coil used in the last 10 years...lol

How much of the space in your shop is taken up with stuff that you won't get rid of because you might need it some day...? :lol2:

My superpower is getting rid of stuff like that one week before I finally actually DO need it after holding on to it for YEARS!! :doh:
 
How much of the space in your shop is taken up with stuff that you won't get rid of because you might need it some day...? :lol2::

Too much..
Spares left over from every bike my son or I raced and ride, spares from my wifes bikes..Tools made for a bearing, part to be pressed, indexed, ect on a bike model that has only been on my lift once and likely never again...

I've had two remote control Halogen work lights on the shelf for 10 years now.. Just found a use for one of them on my new trailer...Might just mount both as I'll never find another use for them....lol so might as well....
 
Way back when my 950 KTM was a youngster and after I discovered what parts had to be pulled of and replaced for normal maintenance pretty much all of them got helicoil inserts in any aluminum pieces that had to have bolts unscrewed and screwed back in on a regular basis . 14 years later I have had no issues with stripped threads and I can tighten things so they don't fall off between check ups . Any thing I plan on keeping around gets whatever it needs to make sure it will stay around and stay together . I had a Penton some years ago ,it came from the factory with helicoil inserts in all aluminum parts , too bad Sachs motors were such a *** , the bike was awsome .
 
Been there done that on my 80 GS1000g 40 miles from home at 70mph.
Had a hard time getting stain out of the seat.
Used a time sert and did it on the bike and put another 30k miles on the bike.
 
I think it is a good thing to check tightness ever so often. I just changed the Wee Stroms plugs . Rear top plug was not tight and not real smooth coming out. The new one went in fine and tightened fine. It had 20K on old one. I always use just a touch of anti-seize on all plugs. Some say don't, but I have never had a problem. Oh the loose plug was installed a factory, but probably just loosened up.. Glad I caught it. Took me six hours to change plugs and air cleaner. Speeded up when I quit following the service manual.
At least you didn't get metal in bore
 
Just curious, does anyone have a suggestion as to a quick fix should this happen a long way from home. I will file away the two permanent solutions should this ever happen to me. Thanks Ken In Katy.
 
Just curious, does anyone have a suggestion as to a quick fix should this happen a long way from home. I will file away the two permanent solutions should this ever happen to me. Thanks Ken In Katy.



Well the simple fix is a U-Haul truck.
Any decent independent or most NAPA parts place will generally have the helicoil or time sert kit in stock and any additional tools needed to fix it in a motel parking lot.
Mine blew out #4 plug making it much easier, you can use a ratchet with extension to drive the tap and you coat the tap with grease to catch the chips.
Screw in a bit, pull wipe and re grease and repeat.
Use brake clean to clean the hole before installing insert.
With time sert you apply lock tight to permanently secure it.
I did mine using basic tools I already had and picked up the time sert at Napa.
 
Well that was pretty easy. Sorry didn't remove the head. Used a modded shop vac hose, grease and brake cleaner and about an hour of time taking my time and habe it back together. My kit recommend using hi temp RTV so im waiting on that cure time and I'll take it back out on the road.

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Well that was pretty easy. Sorry didn't remove the head. Used a modded shop vac hose, grease and brake cleaner and about an hour of time taking my time and habe it back together. My kit recommend using hi temp RTV so im waiting on that cure time and I'll take it back out on the road.

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

you siliconed the insert??:eek2: mine used the super strength locktite to permanently glue it in.

all else fails I know where a 83 1100 engine is to perk the old girl up.
 
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