07-18-2018, 11:13 AM
The old Mini-Cooper blew a spark plug out of the head on the way to Brodhead on the 7th of July. Had to use my back-up car to get up to Bill's event. Thought it was going to be a major problem but Steve Welte told me Ford's do this a lot and said it would be an easy thing to fix and he was correct. Since was the first real let down for me on that car I thought I would give her one more chance to make 300,000 miles so I bought a Time-Sert tool instead of the heli-coil. The reason for this was these will stay in the block and not come out with the spark plug. The kit is five pieces plus five inserts so I am set for life. American made, great directions (what male ever reads directions). They also sell a material to lock in the insert but I already had high temperature Loctite 266.
What I liked about their inserts is they are solid and not the spring style. They also have a flange on the top that gets seated into the block with a special tool they give you that slides over the tap to put the lip in the block. It is a very nice kit and worked like a charm. When inserting the new threads they have an expander tool that locks the new piece into the threads you just cut. There are four deep grooves in the tap that you pack with grease to catch the chips as you thread the block. It is a very well thought out tool and worth the money. I will loan it out if anyone has a need and have the same spark plug size. My plug is 14mm x 1.25 thread.
I might now have to shoot for 400,000 miles instead of the 300,000. I only have 48,000 miles to go to make the 300,000. The test to see how well I did is next week when I drive up to Avon. I did the job last Friday and it has gotten me to and from work 4 times so I feel very confident I have a winner.![[Image: smile.png]](https://www.vintagekartforum.com/images/smilies/smile.png)
What I liked about their inserts is they are solid and not the spring style. They also have a flange on the top that gets seated into the block with a special tool they give you that slides over the tap to put the lip in the block. It is a very nice kit and worked like a charm. When inserting the new threads they have an expander tool that locks the new piece into the threads you just cut. There are four deep grooves in the tap that you pack with grease to catch the chips as you thread the block. It is a very well thought out tool and worth the money. I will loan it out if anyone has a need and have the same spark plug size. My plug is 14mm x 1.25 thread.
I might now have to shoot for 400,000 miles instead of the 300,000. I only have 48,000 miles to go to make the 300,000. The test to see how well I did is next week when I drive up to Avon. I did the job last Friday and it has gotten me to and from work 4 times so I feel very confident I have a winner.