Camry 4 banger owners, or people that have worked on them....

[Fish]

I was changing the plugs in my moms and sisters 4 banger Camrys'. My moms had one plug that just sat in the head and spun and spun. Wouldnt come out, wouldnt tighten. This is an 01 Camry with 125K miles. I just ASSumed that it was stripped and would have to remove the head. Not that big of a deal now, so onto the back burner it goes.

Go over to my sisters car. That thing had 2 plugs that did the same thing. Wont come out. Wont tighten. Just spins. This is a 97 with 117K miles.

Is this common? I just have a hard time believing that this happens a lot. This has never happened to any other car I have done plug changes in.

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[Mike K]

How old are the plugs? I almost wonder if they didn't come apart... Are the plugs loose enough that they can be spun by hand? If so i'd get a pair of needle nose pliars on the tip and pull upwards while turning them.

 

[Fish]

Original plugs. Probably could be spun by hand, but I needed a 6 inch extension ontop of the plug socket to reach them. I couldnt get the needle nose pliers I had far enough down to get them. The plugs on these are pretty deep into the head.

Upside, is that they are on top of the engine. Easy plug changes if they come out.

 

[Outlaw]

Original plugs. Probably could be spun by hand, but I needed a 6 inch extension ontop of the plug socket to reach them. I couldnt get the needle nose pliers I had far enough down to get them. The plugs on these are pretty deep into the head.

Upside, is that they are on top of the engine. Easy plug changes if they come out.

for sure... alot easier than my old regal and the formula for sure... try and see if you can spin the plug and socket by hand... if you can i'd say it's probably broken... if it was stripped out and sitting in there you couldent spin it that easilly without it popping out under a normal piston stroke

 

[Fish]

I can spin the socket and extension by hand. I didnt want to break anything and risk pieces of the plug falling into the engine.

 

[Mike K]

Yeah, it definetely sounds as if the plug is broken. There's got to be a tool to remove them, especially if it's that common of a problem. Otherwise you'd have to remove the head and that just seems almost silly. You might try drilling and tapping the plug but ceramic has a tendency to shatter and that won't end pretty either way.

 

[Sinister]

Take the valve cover off and pull the spark plug tubes. That should give you enough room to grab them. Quick and easy. I don't know where you are, but I have the spark plug tube puller tool that you could borrow if need be.

 

[Fish]

I just may need that. Lemme convey with them first. They might blindside me by taking it to a shop again.

 

[Sinister]

I just may need that. Lemme convey with them first. They might blindside me by taking it to a shop again.

Just let me know!

 

[Eurocharged6]

I have seen it before but its not common. As stated by Sinister, if you pull the V/C and the tubes you can grab ahold of them. If the timing belts havn't been replaced, I would suggest to do that at this time too. V/C gasket $15 and the timing belt is $59 from the dealer.