She can wrench them out of the sockets with that nice clean spanner.

Tell her that since SHE cleaned your good wrench you need that "other" project so you can make it dirty, greasy and normal looking again! 

5 hours ago, Wrongway said:

Tell her that since SHE cleaned your good wrench you need that "other" project so you can make it dirty, greasy and normal looking again! 

We are in Wanganui for a rod run … pics to follow and while we are close. I am taking the boss to see it Sunday !!! 

Yay! Bring your clean wrench in case you need leverage bro!

JustA 

I am seeing some really bad smoke issues 

over North America …

how is it where you are ? 

Kiwi - we have had some bad air quality of late. Not to the severity that New York City and Philadelphia has experienced but still bad for our area. They have advised people to stay indoors or wear a mask if you suffer from asthma or have severe allergies. Places as far south as Washington D.C, and Georgia are seeing bad air quality from the smoke too.

Forecasters say that once the next storm front from the west moves in, on Sunday, it will shift the wind direction - pushing the smoke to the east and out to sea.

What he said.... hope the rain holds off til I get the car home Sat after the Dustoff.

17 hours ago, Frosty said:

Kiwi - we have had some bad air quality of late. Not to the severity that New York City and Philadelphia has experienced but still bad for our area. They have advised people to stay indoors or wear a mask if you suffer from asthma or have severe allergies. Places as far south as Washington D.C, and Georgia are seeing bad air quality from the smoke too.

Forecasters say that once the next storm front from the west moves in, on Sunday, it will shift the wind direction - pushing the smoke to the east and out to sea.

not good mate,, stay safe from the muck!! i have had some major issues with my breathing of late and i would not be good in smoke at all ! so i feel for you all 🙂

16 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

What he said.... hope the rain holds off til I get the car home Sat after the Dustoff.

you need to be safe too mate !!!

Yesterday I did the 300k service on my work van . It’s a 2015 Ldv g10 2 litre turbo petrol.. and part of the service was to change the plugs …

Well all went fine till number 3 plug … that sucker was tight , so I put everything back together and ran up the motor to normal temperature , then stripped it down and tried to remove the plug , it was still tight …

I added crc 556 and left it ,,, came back and I could move the plug back and forth a small amount … but it was getting tighter as I tried to remove it ..

So ,,,,, back together again and took the thing for a drive and got it really warmed up ….

Pulled it apart again and tried that plug … gently gently it moved then ……. Loose … my heart droppped clean out of my chest and flopped on the garage floor !!!!!!!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

Half the plug came out !!!!

I now have a major job on my hands and I need this van this week for work !!!!

🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬

Edited September 20, 2025Sep 20 by 64 kiwi boni

So , the call has been made .

I am using my ram for a temporary work truck …

What I would like and you all can give me your thoughts … I want to come up with a cool old school signage to get out in the door of the ram …

Any ideas ?????

Kinda something like this

Hello Chris,

Please forgive me for these, I could not help myself. Hopefully, you have somebody in your family in the mortuary affairs business, forensic pathology or is a plumber. People really should set tough limits and constraints for me.

Rick

Number 2 above would be very appropriate for your business Chris.

haha! thanks for the ideas guys!!! i have now been to the sign shop and a lovely young lady is designing some thing for me !!!!

and !!!!!

i have decided to write my van off. the cost to repair is more than its worth !

Did you try an easy out? Looks like you wouldn't even have to drill out the center as the pic of the plug shows.

4 hours ago, JUSTA6 said:

Did you try an easy out? Looks like you wouldn't even have to drill out the center as the pic of the plug shows.

easier said than done mate, the plug hole is near 5 inches done between the cams and the motor is tucked under the screen so there is ony 5 odd inches above number 3 wich makes it very hard to get anyting down there. and it will be tight... very very tight.

i may still have a go at removing it, but not till i have new wheels to keep the busness going. fingers crossed i can get a new one sorted this week. its not fun working with out a complete kit !

4 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

easier said than done mate, the plug hole is near 5 inches done between the cams and the motor is tucked under the screen so there is ony 5 odd inches above number 3 wich makes it very hard to get anyting down there. and it will be tight... very very tight.

i may still have a go at removing it, but not till i have new wheels to keep the busness going. fingers crossed i can get a new one sorted this week. its not fun working with out a complete kit !

Bad news my friend! Can you see the the spark plug hole clearly? If so & recognizing that the van is scrape anyway unless it's fixed. Rotate the engine so that piston is all the way down. Than take a hacksaw blade, thin it in height so it fits in the hole size of the broken spark plug. Shorten it in length as much as you can, but still have enough to hold on to. Saw the sleeve till it almost splits. Now take a awl or screw driver or whatever you can break the sleeve & curl the sleeve inward like opening a old style can with a key. Now using small needle nose plyers, the kind like they use circuit boards & continue turning the piece till you can pull it out. Retap the hole, if it works.

8 hours ago, Last Indian said:

Bad news my friend! Can you see the the spark plug hole clearly? If so & recognizing that the van is scrape anyway unless it's fixed. Rotate the engine so that piston is all the way down. Than take a hacksaw blade, thin it in height so it fits in the hole size of the broken spark plug. Shorten it in length as much as you can, but still have enough to hold on to. Saw the sleeve till it almost splits. Now take a awl or screw driver or whatever you can break the sleeve & curl the sleeve inward like opening a old style can with a key. Now using small needle nose plyers, the kind like they use circuit boards & continue turning the piece till you can pull it out. Retap the hole, if it works.

Thank you for the idea last Indian , the number 3 pot is way under the screen and down near five inches tucked in between the cams , I certainly like the idea but doing a cut by feel only maybe impossible . I did think about setting up a scope camera … which I have one .

It would aid the cut and maybe try and do 2 cuts to collapse a section out of the threads … worse case is the metal drops into the cylinder.

Here is the bottom line … the van is worth 2k

So it’s really hard to justA fy spending any money on it .

I am about to pull the trigger on a brand new one

Which should see me to retirement !

Edited September 23, 2025Sep 23 by 64 kiwi boni

9 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Thank you for the idea last Indian , the number 3 pot is way under the screen and down near five inches tucked in between the cams , I certainly like the idea but doing a cut by feel only maybe impossible . I did think about setting up a scope camera … which I have one .

It would aid the cut and maybe try and do 2 cuts to collapse a section out of the threads … worse case is the metal drops into the cylinder.

Here is the bottom line … the van is worth 2k

So it’s really hard to justA fy spending any money on it .

I am about to pull the trigger on a brand new one

Which should see me to retirement !

OK, one last thought! If you have a right angle drill, long enough drills, steady hands & a long enough tap. You could try this. Again lower the piston all the way down. Measure, on the existing spark plug the minor thread diameter. Whatever it is take a drill that is about .050 under that diameter, I.E. .025 on a side. First pour a little stoddard solvent in the plug hole. Now drill out the center of the broken sleeve. Now use a drill that will remove another. 015 total or a drill diameter that will leave about .010 total material inches hole without hitting the treads. Know use the tap to retap the hole. To clean out the debris pour more stoddard into the hole, rotate the engine to move the piston to TDC. Leave it there. Use a suction bulb to suck out all that you can & repeat once.

All that said, if you plan to dump the van anyway, than I wouldn't bother! Way to much work!

10 hours ago, Last Indian said:

OK, one last thought! If you have a right angle drill, long enough drills, steady hands & a long enough tap. You could try this. Again lower the piston all the way down. Measure, on the existing spark plug the minor thread diameter. Whatever it is take a drill that is about .050 under that diameter, I.E. .025 on a side. First pour a little stoddard solvent in the plug hole. Now drill out the center of the broken sleeve. Now use a drill that will remove another. 015 total or a drill diameter that will leave about .010 total material inches hole without hitting the treads. Know use the tap to retap the hole. To clean out the debris pour more stoddard into the hole, rotate the engine to move the piston to TDC. Leave it there. Use a suction bulb to suck out all that you can & repeat once.

All that said, if you plan to dump the van anyway, than I wouldn't bother! Way to much work!

awwwww ! i like your idea Last Indian !!!!!

and i do have a good right angle drill, its the distance down to the thread i need to work out.

Thank you

11 hours ago, Last Indian said:

stoddard solvent

Last indian, what does the white sprits do ?

8 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

Last indian, what does the white sprits do ?

Stoddard is a more refined kerosene. Less likely to burn, but it will burn. It will tend to keep the debris that goes into the cylinder area from sticking. That way when you empty the cylinder, I.E. raise the piston the debris will flow out the plug hole. Hopefully! Obviously no guarantees, sorry. Flushing with a second round is just a hopefully safeguard to remove any debris left behind. Additionally it will aid in the lubricating of the drilling & tapping.

The other thing that may happen depending on how frozen that sleeve is, is that it could break free & go the rest of the way into the cylinder.

If you have local machine shop supply shops by you they should have extended shank taps & long shank drills. Using a suction bulb & if needed a hose attached to it may help evacuate the debris.

4 hours ago, Last Indian said:

Stoddard is a more refined kerosene. Less likely to burn, but it will burn. It will tend to keep the debris that goes into the cylinder area from sticking. That way when you empty the cylinder, I.E. raise the piston the debris will flow out the plug hole. Hopefully! Obviously no guarantees, sorry. Flushing with a second round is just a hopefully safeguard to remove any debris left behind. Additionally it will aid in the lubricating of the drilling & tapping.

The other thing that may happen depending on how frozen that sleeve is, is that it could break free & go the rest of the way into the cylinder.

If you have local machine shop supply shops by you they should have extended shank taps & long shank drills. Using a suction bulb & if needed a hose attached to it may help evacuate the debris.

i feel this is my best option !

i am thinking i need to create a sleeve to keep the drill bit centred and maybe use a few drills, slowly incresing in diameter to prevent the thread from walking back down into the cylinder.

the sleeve will help to stop the drill from damaging the alumium thread above the steel thread and help guide it, justA not sure what i will make th sleeve out of yet.

i will need to work out what lengh drill bits will fit down there first !!!

4 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

i feel this is my best option !

i am thinking i need to create a sleeve to keep the drill bit centred and maybe use a few drills, slowly incresing in diameter to prevent the thread from walking back down into the cylinder.

the sleeve will help to stop the drill from damaging the alumium thread above the steel thread and help guide it, justA not sure what i will make th sleeve out of yet.

i will need to work out what lengh drill bits will fit down there first !!!

If I can help you step through it, you know idea wise, just ask! Kiwi, this is going to take some explaining. & it may be more effective with a drawing so if you can hold on a day maybe 2, I'll put something together. Tomorrow is completely gone for me. But that said you are on to it maximum amount of material you want to remove is .010 total maybe .015. We'll talk.

Edited September 25, 2025Sep 25 by Last Indian

Judging from the pic, it's the threaded sleeve that broke, it's already Hollow. When you drive in the EasyOut or bolt extractor, it is set to bite in reverse. No worries of it going down the rabbit hole, and should back right out. No mess, no debris. Biggest prob I've ever had using them (EasyOut) or extractor, is drilling the pilot hole without messing up the threads. Sounds like the correct size extractor would be too short. Weld a correct size bolt to the end to add extension (as needed) it would already have the head to drop a socket on. Only going from what I can see in the pic, have no idea what your motor looks like. No pressure knowing your gonna junk it, worth a shot and bonus points if it works!!!

Edited September 25, 2025Sep 25 by JUSTA6

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=easy+out+bolt+extractor&&mid=AECD82E420A03CD5B5B1AECD82E420A03CD5B5B1&mcid=099F903AC5734750A8EAB2FFF65DA54E&FORM=VAMGZC

I would drop a torch head down the hole N heat it good, then let the tool go to work for ya.

Edited September 25, 2025Sep 25 by JUSTA6