Spark plug broke off

Well, he tried to to torque to 200 ft/lbs, but somewhere around 40~50 it snapped.

A couple of times now, I've read here about folks misreading the inch/pound torque rating for the coil hold-down bolt, taking it as foot/pounds, and: you guessed it...

When someone is hauling out a 1/2" drive torque wrench, tensioning it up, preparing to install this wee M6 locator bolt, you'd think they'd have a sober second thought?

 

I helped out a friend who had this exact scenario.
Break up the ceramic (falls onto the top of the piston that you dont want to be at the top of its stroke), use a quality extractor to remove the spark plug barrel remnant , thoroughly vacuum up the ceramic and verify cleanliness with an inspection camera.

 

Ouch, I am not very optimistic on this one. The good news is that it will come off once the head has been removed.
So you aren't hopeless.

Let us know please

 

Get a small attachment kit for shop-vacs.

Vacuum Micro Attachment Kit Mini Tools for All Vacuums - Walmart.com

Use it to get the ceramic out of the center, since it should loose. Hopefully, the ground is the only thing keeping it from falling into the cylinder. Then it's just a matter of getting the easy-out into it.

Sounds simple, but we all know it's going to be a PITA....

 

id foot the bill to the dealer that broke it and have them provide a rental while its being worked on on their tab also

 

@CharlesPrius I like your chances. If that tool includes the right size to grab the ring where the fracture occurred, it is likely to pull it inward slightly, and that torsional bias shrink might be just the thing to free up the thread. Tough to say if one of those has the right size to grab inside and the right outer size to clear the tube going in.

That's where the Lisle kit for the Ford looks attractive- the plug bore is the axis for all work done. I have not been able to figure out if the typical plug for a Ford Triton 12-valve engine is sized anything like the plug for the Prius. I would work on that if I were you.

Have you run the car? I've always believed in pulling plugs from a hot aluminum engine and installing them in a cold one. Food for thought.

 

This should not require a machine shop. A competent mechanic can remove a broken spark plug.

 

What dealer? He broke it while removing it. If this was done at the dealer, we wouldn't be having this conversation now.

 

@CharlesPrius Since you have not done this before I suggest you follow the recommendation given earlier by someone who knows how. The easy-out method works well but probably NOT something you want to learn "on your own" in this situation.

 

You would never be able to prove they broke it, even if they did. The last plug job was likely at least 75K miles ago and who knows how many hands have touched the car since then.

 

My advice would be to not tell the mechanic how to fix it, since the reason you are taking the car to him is that you can't fix it. A dozen doughnuts for the shop always goes a long way to get a good job done.

 

I didn't realize how high up the plug broke. I thought it broke at the threads. If this had happened to me, I could see myself trying a few things. I have so many extra sockets laying around, I would probably just use one of the old plugs to size up an impact socket or heavy wall socket that's just slightly smaller and hammer that son of a gun onto the broken plug ring and then try to unscrew it. Go or blow...