Was planning on walnut blasting my intake ports this weekend and figured I'll change the plugs while I have them out. I have the all bits I need for the walnut blast, feeling pretty good. Got the plugs, 12pt. Damn. Dont have one of those in my box. Went to every tool and auto parts shop in town. Last place I went has a 12pt 14mm deep. Buy it. Now I'm reading that even regular sockets get jammed in the cylinder head...so before I'm that guy...Can someone measure the OD of their Mini specific 12pt-14mm-thin-wall spark plug socket?

tia,

sani

 

I bought this one from autozone and it fits perfectly.
http://m.autozone.com/test-scan-and-..._0_0?location=

Sorry i I don’t have the od as mine is currently sitting in a buddy’s garage. I can check tomorrow for you though.

 

I'm in Canada, no autozone here. But I checked all the local tool and auto stores and no love. BMW dealer basically told me to eff off lol.

Anyway, if u could measure it that would be awesome. I have a bench grinder and will go medieval on my regular 14mm socket if necessary.


tia,

sani

 

I have the 14mm 12 point thin wall socket "Schwaben" brand from ECS Tuning. 18.3mm outside diameter. Includes a magnetic holder for the plug, works and fits perfectly.

https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben.../001247sch01a/

If you are going to work on your own car, visit our forum vendors and make sure you have the right tools. This socket really has to have a thin wall, going medieval with a bench grinder on a regular 14mm socket isn't going to end well.

 

Thanks a lot for that! I'm out in a bender right now but will check my socket in the morning.


sani

 

Do you have a Lowe's home improvement store where you are? I was surprised to find the socket I needed for my spark plugs there.

As long as it is a thin-wall, it will work. Don't get too worked up.

I changed mine out a couple of months ago when I walnut blasted. Coincidentally, having the plugs out helped me figure out when both my valves were closed on the cylinder I was working on. The hard plastic "wand" attachment (not the bendy part of the vacuum hose) at the end of the vacuum hose actually fit perfectly in the spark plug hole. So I just bumped the ignition a couple of times every time I went to work on another cylinder, then put the attachment in the hole and blew with my mouth. Air getting through easily?=one or both valves are open. No air getting through/apparent backpressure?=both valves are closed. Definitely a critical step, no matter how you verify, to make SURE both valves are closed.

I had an endoscopic camera ($20 on Amazon) for my cellphone, but it was useless until the ports started to clean up. It was just too dark in there with all the carbon buildup at first to see anything.

Your car won't like you bumping the ignition with the airbox disconnected (MAF), no spark plugs, etc., so make sure you have a way to clear all the codes before you restart the engine. As a matter of fact, I cleared my codes with the just the fob inserted, then with the ignition on, but car not started, then immediately after I started the car.
On that first start, I had to be persistent with the starter, like the car was flooded. It didn't start until the fifth(?) try, and had some pucker factor going, but it finally caught - I could smell a little walnut burning for a minute, and then I took it out for a spin. I could immediately tell a difference in throttle response.

It's worth the trouble and investment, IMO. I did my wife's X3 about a week later, so I've realized quite a savings by doing two cars. Good luck! Contact me if you need a little layman's help.

 

Thanks for the info sean! My regular 14mm socket is 22mm OD whereas the bespoke mini socket is ~18mm. Too much to grind off I think, so I ordered one on amazon for $10 and will be here on Tuesday. Annoying because I was geared up to decoke the intake this weekend and got kyboshed by a flippen spark plug socket. Oh well, live and learn.

I'm planning on rotating the engine to close the intake valves by turning the crank shaft/pulley manually, rather than bumping off the starter. U can be more gradual doing it manually. But for the manual engine turning you pretty much have to have the plugs out so your not fighting the compression.

I too purchased an endoscope for this job, noted that the light was poor and have another LED pencil light piggy backed on the 'scope.

I can imagine the pucker factor if the beast wouldn't start after you had finished the cleaning job! Thanks for the tip because I would definitely be #@$ing myself other wise!!

thanks,

sani