I bought this 96 z28 and it has a stripped plug hole on the drivers side. I work at NAPA and we sell a kit to repair plug holes on aluminum heads. It requires no drilling and comes with inserts. You have to use the reamer/tap so the insert fits, then put "adhesive" on the outside of the insert and put that and the plug in at the same time. Has anyone ever used this method on aluminum heads????? Any info is appreciated.

 

i've seen this done before but im not sure about how long term it works. id be a little bit iffy about it in my car. good luck if you dont want to pull the heads and have it done right.

 

Lets put metal shavings into the combustion chamber wahoo!

Just pull the head and do it right.

 

i dont have a problem pulling the head but is this the way it should be fixed?? It seems like there should be something more permanent

 

I repaired a plug hole with an insert when I had my heads off last year. Seemed to work ok. No problems so far. I have not needed to remove the plug yet, though.

 

you work at napa great!! i bought a tool from there when i stripped out mine it was 80 bucks, you stick it in the hole then expand it to where you need it and then back it (i guess reverse tap) out that tool was a life saver.... use it, it works i forgot the part number (it was in a red package with a button ro seal it and it was found on a spinning display) it was able to fit in cylinder #2 and it worked great it did the job and all the metal shavings came out instead of going in.

 

I've done this exact same set up also. No problems so far. Only trouble I had was pounding on the tool to "set" the insert in place. Room was limited and ended up cutting part of the tap off so that I could pound on it. All while head was still on the car. Haven't had any problems so far and it has been over a year and a half since. Haven't removed the plug since, but it is nearly time to change the plugs out though.

 

It is called a Helicoil kit. That is exactly what they are made for and work great. I used to use them all the time on helicopters since they are pretty much all aluminum and composite

 

What I used was not a Heli-coil. It was a solid metal insert called a Perma-coil.

 

Autozone has a good kit to do it for 30 dollars i used one two weeks ago on a car I just bought. You can do it with the head on the engine if you are carefull. First get a really clean rag and push it through the spark plug hole into the cylinder. Next coat the tap with grease. Tap the hole then use a swab dipped in brake or carb cleaner to clean grease off the hole. Use a needle nose to grab the rag and pull it back out. Then clean the hole with another swab. Also just to be safe tape a piece of small heater or large vacuum hose to your shop vac and put it in the cylinder and vacuum it out. Then coat the insert with high temp rtv. I used copper seal and put it in. Seat it then let it sit for 24 hours. Put the plug in and fire her up. *note* There is still some risk of getting some aluminum shavings in the cylinder.

 

a couple of metal shavings in the cylinder won't hurt anything as long as they're not big. I would think that some metal shavings in the oil system is worse.

 

Personally if I had the car and I was in the same quandry...pull the heads...heck pull motor to make sure you do it right...and while it is out...put a stroker in...bump up the compression...buy some big AFR's...hmmm...then fix the original problem and sell them on ebay.

Yeap..that sounds like a dang good plan to me!

 

Sounds to me like a good excuse for some new head gaskets, maybe a cam swap.

 

You can also crank (not start) the engine with the plug out to help remove any shavings if you can manage to do the repair with the head on the engine.

Here is something I put together that shows installing an insert.