I have a 2006 saturn vue 6 cylinder and a plug is stuck. How do you get it out wiyhput breaking it off in the head#?

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How do you remove a stuck spark plug in a 2006 saturn vue
It is a 6 cylinder vue all wheel drive. The 5th spark plug is stuck and mis firing. How can you get it out without breaking it off in the head?
by Deborah O'Brien on Jan 25, 2017
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2 Answers

paul fairbankspaul fairbanks
Expert
the first answer you have got is good but another tip is to let the engine get hot before you try to remove the plug sometimes the heat may expand the head to plug thread clearance help
Super Juli MaximoSuper Juli Maximo
Expert
The damage might have been done already. If the spark plug was over-torqued when it was installed or replaced while the engine was hot, some of the threads from the cylinder head may have gotten sheared off and stuck to the spark plug. Options are kind of limited. With a cool engine, spray the spark plug with penetrating oil, put the spark plug socket on the plug and tap it (vibration helps the stuff penetrate sometimes), let it sit for half an hour and try removing it again. Try to use the shortest extension you have and try not to use a swivel. You wanna apply as much torque as you can to the plug without snapping off the porcelain insulator so use two hands, one to apply torque and the other to hold the tool straight. When you get it out, check the threads on the plug and the cylinder head carefully. If any metal had crumbled off, you don't want that stuff getting into the cylinder. If it does get in there, you'll have to get creative with a vacuum because that stuff will scar the cylinder wall. If you did shear off some threads, most auto parts places have thread repair kits but you gotta follow the instructions carefully because those tend to be a one-shot deal. If you mess up, you might be talking to a machine shop or junkyard soon after. Good luck.

Don't worry about it breaking up. The base is all metal, not likely to break up. What is of concern is that the spark plug threads in the cylinder head don't get messed up when removing a stuck plug.
Use some liquid wrench or penetrant around the spark plug, and let it sit for about 20 minutes. Then put socket on the plug and wrench it out. Sometimes the upper part of plug, the ceramic top, will break off, but you can still remove the base part. Buy a tube of anti-seize compound, and use it on the threads of new plugs. You will never have a stuck plug again.