Earl K (10851CS) was on his way to Vegas this morning and had a problem. He blew a spark plug out of the head, frying the wire & possibly damaging the head. The sparkplug itself seems fine.

Earl's asking me to pose the following questions:

Anyone else had this problem?

Any ideas of the cause?

What's the fix & how much will it cost?

 

I think I remember, he said something about loose spark plugs on this web site, he knows something about it for sure.

 

More than likely no properly torqued. If the threads in the head did fail it can be fixed with a Heli-Coil insert.

 

Graham, the Master Motoring Advisor at MINI of Pittsburgh, told me the exact same story. It happened on his MCS.

Spark plug not torqued down, and worked its way loose.

If it damaged the head, at least $1500. However if it was like that from the factory, or the MINI dealer was the last place to service the car, then I would ***** enough to get it covered under warranty. That is if it is still in Warranty.

Steve

 

Due to my extensive mods, my warranty would not cover the repairs to the head. I elected to have it repaired with an insert and then have the whole thing ported and polished at http://www.chrracingproducts.com in Colorado. $1100.00 plus half of the shipping. Talk with Jeff if you need this service. I also got the larger valves. See my website for pics www.chandler-motorsports.com.

My car was a blast to drive with this cylinder head, however the increased exhaust flow proved too much for my stock cat. So I have a Madness V2 header and cat on order.

Graham
MA at MINI of Pittsburgh

 

Big problem. It happened to me, but since I had changed the plugs last when I had the pulley and ECU done by Randy, it was on my nickel. To do the repair, if repair is feasible depending on the damage to the threads, the head must come off (Henry VIII' line). I used the episode an expensive excuse to upgrade the head and cam. Do a search for my thread or PM me if I can assist you.

 

Aftermarket plugs require re-torquing every few months. Some people torque every month, I try to check them at least every 3 or 4 months or when I hear of someones plug getting loose. Hope the head wasn't damaged. Good luck.

 

LOL - 'aftermarket' plugs?? What exactly are those? All plugs require checking periodically.

 

I have been driving for 48 years and have NEVER re-torqued a sparkplug in my life (never heard of anyone else that did either). Now I find the 02 and early 03 MINI requires you to re-torque the plugs because of the material the head is made of.

Blew out #1 plug, had a guy put in a time cert (sp) and new plug wires and it is as good as new.

Anyone with an 02 or early 03 RETORQUE your plugs.

Earl

 

While you all are telling everyone to go out and re-torque their spark plugs, how about posting the suggested torque setting for MINI spark plugs?


edit: 21 ft/lb according to Ryephile

Just went out and checked mine and found that my #2 and #4 plugs were loose! Thanks for the reminder to check these!

 

This is just a fact of life with aluminum. On our engines (my company, not MINI) you also need to retorque the heads periodically.

 

My father and I have put more than 500,000 miles on old Alfa's that have aluminum engines. I have never had a plug come loose! Now admittedly we have these cars apart a little more often than your average Camry, but it hasn't been reported in the Alfa community either.

I wonder what is "unique" about the MINI head that causes this? And yes, I will get the torque wrench out tomorrow.

Dave
Sunny San Diego
July '03 build DS/B MCS 15%, window tint next week, still trying to get hub rings for the new RO_JA's

 

what happens to people that dont know about this? There plugs explode?

 

They get blown out of the head. Then a tow truck, then timecert cost $$$, plus labor $$$$, plus new plug wires $$, plus new plugs.

The guy that did mine said he does them on Ford V-10s all the time.

Earl

 

Thats not cool at all.

 

And I'd agree, this pretty much sucks big time. I've NEVER had a plug come loose before this. I'm peaved that there wasn't a technical service bullitin on this one. And my car has 50,450 miles on it......

I wish I'd seen this thread a week ago. Looks like I'm in for a bill......

Matt

 

One of the reasons I have not purchased a larger IC is that I re-torque my plugs monthly. And if lose, I take it out to inspect it. I agree, this is not right, and I feel not acceptable...

Here's the sticky on Randy's website:

http://www.webbmotorsports.com/forum...opic.php?t=305

 

That is exactally (almost) the millage on my MCS when it went, however, I had had the plugs changed when I did the pully etc.

Get a time cert (sp) put in. It worked for me.

Earl

 

Thanks a bunch for the notice of this potential problem. I will be sure to retorque my plugs.

I experienced this in an old Mustang where a plug had not been tightened. The sound of that plug striking the steel hood was amazing. The look on the drivers face was priceless.

 

for evaluation. I'm hoping it's an easy fix, but I fear for the worst. Too bad performance heads are so expensive, as I'd love for an excuse to upgrade.... But if it's only a few hudred $ to fix this one, then I'll do that..... I'll let evry one know how it comes out....

Matt

 

After reading this I decided to check my plug status. I usually pull them out when I do an oil change, but MINI did my last one. So the last time they were torqued was at the Yarrow Sport pulley party back in November when I put the Densos in.
Irregardless, #2 was hand-loose! Prolly .25-.50 backed out.

People, check your plugs!

 

OK, I'm now a believer... for you "tool Guys" out there: where should I go to buy a torque wrench that will do this job and not cost me a fortune???

 

Well you could get the old style torque wrench at Sears $28. (reads 0-75lbs, saw one today). If you get the type where your dial in the ft/lbs, it's more like $75-$100 at Sears.

 

It's a very common problem with the Ford modular motors too. Plugs blowing out of the heads. On my Lightning I found if I use a tiny amout of anti-sieze on each plug they do not back out between changes. Seems weird that a lubricant would act that way but it works.

 

As I might of said above, anti-seize indeed! My monthly checks might now move to every two months Still snug... The anti-seize seems to allow for a better torquing of the plugs.