New to this

[Stuckinmud15]

Alright, I haven't gotten to the brakes yet, but I'll use the hot soapy water lol. We encountered a new issue which may have been making the bike run like crap in the first place. The spark plug second from the right side will not seat fully due to the threads on the motor being stripped. It sticks out about 1/4". Suggestions for the best way to remedy this? Helicoil?

[petejw]

if its stripped, then helicoil would be the way to go,
u can do it with the head still attached to the engine
just use a lot of grease on the tap and clean it often,
i usually have the piston near top dead centre, that way u can
pick up the bits of alloy that drop with a screwdriver dabbed
in grease,

heres the part number for the helicoil 460875
its a M14-1.25 X 3/4.

[petejw]

if its sticking out a quarter of an inch,
u could be lucky and get away with just using a
stock spark plug tap and cleaning up the threads,
but if it was me and u can get hold of a helicoil kit id still
be going that way.

[cywelchjr]

+1 on what pete says. A helicoil is the best way to do it, but if it's sticking up it sounds like munged threads in the lower part, which may well be fixable by running a proper size thread chaser down it. I would not use a tap, as that will actually cut the threads, likely actually removing munged threads, where a chaser is designed to push the threads back into place. Of course the problem might be that that plug had been cross threaded, in which case the only option that would likely provide a proper fix would be the helicoil, which should be readily available being that this is a common problem on a common size spark plug. Plus IIRC the helicoil makes it so you're putting the plug into steel threads instead of aluminum ones after the repair.

[Stuckinmud15]

+1 on what pete says. A helicoil is the best way to do it, but if it's sticking up it sounds like munged threads in the lower part, which may well be fixable by running a proper size thread chaser down it. I would not use a tap, as that will actually cut the threads, likely actually removing munged threads, where a chaser is designed to push the threads back into place. Of course the problem might be that that plug had been cross threaded, in which case the only option that would likely provide a proper fix would be the helicoil, which should be readily available being that this is a common problem on a common size spark plug. Plus IIRC the helicoil makes it so you're putting the plug into steel threads instead of aluminum ones after the repair.

Ok, Im going to get the helicoil this week then. How easy is this procedure? I have never done this before, just heard of how to do it. I dont wanna f it up lol.

[natemoen]

Ok, Im going to get the helicoil this week then. How easy is this procedure? I have never done this before, just heard of how to do it. I dont wanna f it up lol.

The kit will come with a drill bit, a tap, the heli coils, and a little tool to install them. The hardest part of it all I guess would be to keep the drill bit and the tap straight when running them into the hole.

[petejw]

i borrow the kit i use,
with the tap that comes with it,
theres no need to use a drill, as the tap
has a starter thread which is the same size as the spark plug hole,

once the tap is started it increases in thickness to the correct
size of the helicoil, once the tap starts to cut into the alloy it will
take out a fair bit of material, so use plenty of grease on the tap
to catch the bits that come away, also when the tap starts to cut,
turn the tap a quarter/ half a turn then turn it back out again, then quarter/ half a turn then back again keep doing this till it cuts the thread all the way thru.

but pulling the tap out in between to clean the grease and gunk off once it starts to build up.

once the thread is cut, dab a bit of grease on the end of a screw driver
into the plug hole to pick up the alloy that didnt stick to the grease, if uve cleaned the tap throu out there shouldnt be to much that has fallen, i usually have the piston sitting just b4 top dead center.

clean the thread of grease and then screw in the insert, u need to be carefull here cause if u screw it in to far, u wont be able to screw it back out, i usually put a dab of loctite on the insert but its not necesarry.

theres a 'tab' at the bottom of the insert where the special tool grabs onto it,, grab a pair of needle nose pliers and twist it off, if the piece drops, again use a screwdriver with a dab of grease and pull it out.

thats about it, i think, just make sure the tap is square to the hole.

[crazy steve]

The kit will come with a drill bit, a tap, the heli coils, and a little tool to install them.

They've cheaped out on the kits; they don't come with a drill bit anymore, they just tell you what size you need. But Pete's right, the spark plug kits don't need to be drilled.

Heli-coils are wonderful things....

[Ken Talbot]

Here's an oldie but a goodie - a method of using a shop vac to pressurize the cylinder when performing a helicoil with the head still on the engine.

JAT