Chging spark plugs....one plug won't engage socket

[Bushyar15]

Man that sucks!!! My big fear too would be that it falls into the cylinder. Wish there was a way to get it unstuck and turn the bike upside-down… GL...

 

[offcamber]

I dont know if the op got the stone out but I would try making a tool with a hook or L shaped end and see if I couldn't get in behind it to get it loose. Some thick piano wire may do the trick or cut thin piece of aluminum. I'd exhaust all avenue on removing it before I tried to get the plug out.
I'm with the others if you get the plug out with it still in there its probably gonna fall into the cylinder.

 

[OldRider]

::017::

 

[corndog]

Are the stock plugs in the ST Iridium? If not shame on Yamaha, is there an Iridium plug available?

Bumped my post in hopes of an answer? I would like to have plugs on hand.

 

[Ramseybella]

Bumped my post in hopes of an answer? I would like to have plugs on hand.

Yes I would like to know for when I have my valves checked I wold like to have a set of Iridium plugs installed along with a new CCT.

 

[Don in Lodi]

With most folks changing plugs every 10-20 thousand, copper is just fine. Iridium is being used in the newest high compression very lean and hard to access autos so they can run a 100,000 miles. The reports don't have them topping platinum all that much, a little less erosion which leads to holding their gap longer, and platinum is pretty damn good.

 

[Ramseybella]

With most folks changing plugs every 10-20 thousand, copper is just fine. Iridium is being used in the newest high compression very lean and hard to access autos so they can run a 100,000 miles. The reports don't have them topping platinum all that much, a little less erosion which leads to holding their gap longer, and platinum is pretty damn good.

I posted a thread on Iridium plugs for our Yams (question) so we can move on on how the rock can be removed from this thread. ::024::
Any body know please post in that thread.

 

[Don in Lodi]

An 'L' shaped pick and compressed air, or with a time allowance, high pressure water spray to float the newly picked debris. As DC found though, once you've dropped a socket on said debris, it can be tough to pick out. His notched socket idea is a pretty good one; crush the debris with mechanical force, then flush. ::008::

 

[behindbars]

I've used a flexible scope camera like this one with good results. Great for hands free viewing of dark places where a flashlight and mirror would have been too cumbersome. Among other things, works nicely for inspecting spark plug wells before removing the plugs. Got mine cheap at Harbor Freight.

 

[ExTriumphExp]

Can you pick up an old style Engineers Scribe from your hardware store? The type with a straight point at one end & a 90 Deg cranked scribe on the other. This should be sufficiently hard so as not to bend if you can hook it under the stone. If you apply pressure from above with a Dremel is there a risk you may force the stone in further if the Dremel dosent work?

 

[Checkswrecks]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've tried repeated blasts of compressed air but it won't budge.... it is wedged in there, perhaps because I've repeatedly tried to push a socket down on it. I've also tried a couple of sharp pointed tools but the fact the spark plug well is so deep, space so limited, and how you're working blind makes this tough. What I don't want to do is get something additional wedged in there or have it break off that is more troublesome than the original problem.

i think my best approach is to take a spark plug socket and grind a slot in the wall so that the socket will go down over the object. Then I bet I can torque is sideways and get it to dislodge. Might even be able to make it so I can get underneath it and pull upwards. Worst case, I can start torquing the plug out with the rock still there, although I want to avoid this if I can as I could see it falling into the engine. The cheapo socket in the toolkit is probably a good candidate for this as I can dremel it to be "stone removal tool."

Wish me luck. I'm leaving on tour in a few days, so I just buttoned it back up with three new plugs and one old. I'll get to it this fall sometime. I'm going to take the tank completely off too which will help.

Thanks for all the help guys.

- Mark

Am just getting back form a trip to see this. When you finally go for it, your slotted socket plan sounds good. I'd personally lay the bike on it's side and put sticky axle grease on the stone when removing the plug to minimize the odds of the stone falling in.

 

[SuperTenSteve]

I have a set of picks with different angled ends on them, one of them should work, but I don't know if they are long enough for this, might be worth a try. I think Autozone has them.
Or maybe take the end of a coat hanger and with needle nose plyers curl the end and try to get it under the stone.
Good luck

 

[Don in Lodi]

::008::

 

[Ramseybella]

If you get it loos you should be able to suck it out with a vacuum.

 

[Curt]

If you get it loos you should be able to suck it out with a vacuum.

Yeah, maybe tape a vacuum hose along a piece of coat hanger, with the hanger protruding past the end of the hose, and run the vacuum while digging around.

 

[Ramseybella]

Yeah, maybe tape a vacuum hose along a piece of coat hanger, with the hanger protruding past the end of the hose, and run the vacuum while digging around.

Damn this is as exciting as Green Acres Mr haney picking out pebbles..

 

[Ramseybella]

So what did you do? ::017::

 

[Don in Lodi]

Somewhere in one post he said he left it till next time, changed three plugs.

 

[markjenn]

As I mentioned earlier, I decided to just swap three of the four plugs, re-button things back up for an upcoming tour, and address the issue in the winter. Well, it's winter and I just got around to it.

When I opened it back up, I was hoping the offending debris might have disintegrated on its own in the intervening 2.5K miles, but no such luck; it was still there and blasts of compressed air wouldn't budge it. But what did budge it was fishing around with a piece of safety wire with a "hook" on the end. Eventually I could tell it was catching on something - you have to do this by feel as you can't get a spot where you can see into the spark plug well - and I must have managed to get it dislodged with the repeated prods/pulls of the wire and blasts of air. I never saw the debris and it must be somewhere on my garage floor now. In any event, the plug is changed and all is right with the world.

One thing I did this time was remove the tank rather than just swing it out of the way. This makes working under the tank SO much easier, especially getting to a few of the air filter box screws, and it is not hard to do really; just pop two electrical connectors, remove a clip from the fuel line fitting, pop the fuel line off, and remove the pivot bolt. (The two breather lines can just stay with the tank.) Just take the extra time to see how the connectors work so you know where you need to prod to get them to release.

I'm tempted to go ahead and tackle the valve check as it is due. But I'm selling the bike so it is also tempting just to let the next owner worry about it. We'll see.

- Mark

 

[Longhaulpaul]

Same issue. Got it out with a long screwdriver abd a hammer. It was cyl 1, plug 2. Plastic melted slidge from the coil arcing.