Ell after hitting a few good twistys on my way to work. Had to pull over because of this gem. Can I just screw it back down in and call it good or should I be worried about other things. I drove probably about 10-20 yards.

 

Sometimes there are enough threads left to screw it back it....but it is unlikely to stay....
Find a shop (imo) that can do a helicoil....it will add new threads...in place.
A dealer will just tell you to remove the head....then replace it or machine it....
Doing a helicoil in place, while slightly risky, works for most, and is fairly safe if done right....and about $300 (less likrly depending on labour)or so compared to $2000+.....

 

Yuck. I'm not happy with this. I think I will put it back in and limp to my parents place then investigate more.

 

Did I miss some related posts? I would simply retorque the offending plug and move along. Check the other 3 as well. Plug backing out is not without precedence.

Greg

 

Generally the plug gets loose & wobbles about talking the threads in the head out with it. This is not always the case.

Look at the plug threads carefully before trying to re-install. Are they covered in aluminum dust & thread shards?

While you are fixing things get that MSD coil pack off there before you fry the brains.

 

Mine did this on cylinder 1 and took a part of thread with it. I'm not a fan of standard helicoils, so I went for a Timesert. It's basically a solid sleever with threads inside and out. Haven't had an issue with it yet! The process is a bit scary, even if I'm a mechanic, tapping the new threads take quite a bit of material out and with the head still on the car, you want to make sure to remove as much crap before completing the job. (Used grease on the tap and made several passes while cleaning and re-greasing it each time, then used a shopvac with a small tube taped at the end to clean the top of the piston).

 

Had the car taken on a flatbed down to my mini shop. He will be able to take care of it all.

 

Your shop will probably give you options all at different price points. Since you were going through the twisties, my guess is it was under boost and took too many threads with it to be able to simply ree-threaded with a BackTap and move on. I like Time-Serts better than Heli Coils. But it takes a delicate hand, patience, the right tools including an old piece of pantyhose, and some luck. Less luck the more skill and patience you have.

I wouldn’t remove the head until I tried a Time-Sert but that is me.

Keep us posted and good luck. But the moral of the story is to check your plug torque regularly. Stone cold in my opinion. I do it every 5000 miles at every oil change. But that is me.

///Rich

 

^^^ Do it every oil change. Prevention is key.

 

If the threads are still go you should be able to reinstall and retorque it. This is why torquing spark plugs is so important.
If you do put it back in, before starting it close the hood just in case it blows back out again. If you have the hood open and it was to fly back out it could serious injury or kill someone. I made this mistake once and got really lucky.
Also we only recommend these NGK plugs as we see the Denso and Brisk plugs come loose all the time.

 

My used R53 w/135K miles blew out #3 sparkplug.It was fixed with a time sert and has had no problems for 5K+ miles.Also had #2 blow out,repaired w/time sert that went about 1500 miles and then blew out the time sert-!There is not enough alum. left to cut new threads for another time set,so I'm looking for options.Can the head be welded(enough so new threads can be cut-?Or is a replacement head my only option.The Mini is mint and has been well maintained.I bought it 10K miles ago,NGK plugs only,although I never checked tourge.With all these problems I don't think tourge is the answer to all the blown plugs.

 

Can you explain the MSD comment?

 

They are known to fail/crack. The oem coilpack is more than enough, even on modified Minis.

 

Yes the OEM is probably sufficient, I have been running MSD coil and wires for 4 years though and have not skipped a beat, guess I am just one of the lucky ones.