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Spark Plug Shot out of Head - 6G Celicas Forums

Topic #80874 13 posts Started by touandcim
so I've noticed knocking before from my motor (5sfe) and it has been doing so for a while. Today, after leaving my driveway for work, I heard a loud pop and now the motor is making a really awful sound. I parked it and popped the hood and a spark plug wire and spark plug were pretty much sitting on top of the head. There was plenty of smoke but I could not immediately identify any oil (I had to get to work, so just left it there). I'm thinking I blew a rod bearing, but I'm not sure if that's exactly the situation. Anyone have any thoughts?
an engine running without a sparkplug WILL make an ungodly sound as the piston forces air in/out of the cyl through the spark plug hole. get a new plug on there and try running it again. i would think the "knocking" you heard was actually gasses escaping the cyl as well before it finally let go.

QUOTE"And, as always, your friendship, help, and dedication to the advancement of Texas Celica dominance is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks bro." -DEATH1994 GT:V6 swap, 5speed E53 W/ LSD, All Power, now RED1995 ST:SOLD @273k miles, Auto, all power, CarPC, White1994 ST:Totaled, 5spd, all power, RedRIP 07/09/09 @ 241,8101994 Lexus LS400:This is my new DD
You must have a 5S. This happens quite a bit. Put the plug back in, start the car up, and drive many more happy miles.

"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others labored hard for." -Socrates. Even Socrates told us touse the search button!2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage.1998 Celica GT-BEAMSSwapped.2022 4Runner TRD Off Road Prenium.2021 GMC Sierra AT4.
the most common fix i have seen for this is to Helicoil the head so that the plug will lock back into the cylinder head.

When it happened to me, I was young and naive.... I had the head completely rebuilt and the plug threads retapped.

~bloodMoney
thanks for the quick responses... hopefully i don't have to helicoil - which would require me taking it to a shop since I wouldn't know the first thing about it.
Like I said, I just put mine back in, tightened it down, and never had another issue.

"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writings, so that you shall gain easily what others labored hard for." -Socrates. Even Socrates told us touse the search button!2006 Aston Martin V8 Vantage.1998 Celica GT-BEAMSSwapped.2022 4Runner TRD Off Road Prenium.2021 GMC Sierra AT4.
more likely it was never torqued correctly and finally worked loose

QUOTE"And, as always, your friendship, help, and dedication to the advancement of Texas Celica dominance is GREATLY appreciated. Thanks bro." -DEATH1994 GT:V6 swap, 5speed E53 W/ LSD, All Power, now RED1995 ST:SOLD @273k miles, Auto, all power, CarPC, White1994 ST:Totaled, 5spd, all power, RedRIP 07/09/09 @ 241,8101994 Lexus LS400:This is my new DD
Hopefully its just come unscrewed and not fncked the thread in the head.

ST205 Group A Rallye GT-Four, #61 of 77............600hp GT3582rGRX133 Toyota Mark X 350s
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QUOTE (Cuts_the_Pilot @ Sep 13, 2011 - 8:48 PM) *
>Hopefully its just come unscrewed and not fncked the thread in the head.


It totally did that... went back to screw in the spark plug and it's not letting me do it... really really sucks. Anyone know how much it might cost to get fixed at a shop?
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QUOTE (touandcim @ Sep 13, 2011 - 8:41 PM) *
>>
QUOTE (Cuts_the_Pilot @ Sep 13, 2011 - 8:48 PM) *
>Hopefully its just come unscrewed and not fncked the thread in the head.


It totally did that... went back to screw in the spark plug and it's not letting me do it... really really sucks. Anyone know how much it might cost to get fixed at a shop?

You should be able to use a flashlight and look at the threads to evaluate whether you can screw it down or what the damage is.
If it is just the last thread you may be able to run it back down.
That sux dude. Helicoil it is then, or another head.
I wonder if there is any spark plugs that have a larger thread diameter that could be used (so drill and tap the plug hole to a larger thread size), just thinking out loud.

ST205 Group A Rallye GT-Four, #61 of 77............600hp GT3582rGRX133 Toyota Mark X 350s
Called my mechanic today and they told me 75 - 100 bucks to fix. Hopefully that's all that is wrong with my motor.
its possible the threads just need to be cleaned up. get a spark plug tap and just run it over the threads.

2001 Celica GT-S Turbo1997 Supra TT 6speed1997 Celica 3MZ/1MZ swap1990 Celica All-Trac