Broken spark plug + Broken puller

Question

My 2006 Ford Expedition 5.3L Triton 3-valve with ~140K miles has a broken spark plug in cylinder #3 (passenger side, 2nd from back). My mechanic tried a well-used puller, but it wouldn't grab. He then tried a brand new puller (like this) ...and it broke too!

Pictures: https://photos.app.goo.gl/exyjzMdS5CvWA8QP9

Head removal will be ~16 man-hours of labor, so I'm wondering what else can be tried prior to that?

Updates:

1. The tip of the puller is stuck in the spark plug fragment.
2. Here's what did come out versus a new plug:
3. My mechanic attempted to (carefully) JB Weld his puller back together, but that didn't work.
4. I drilled through the puller screw fragment and got it out. I also ruined the head in doing so, as a mechanic used a bore-scope and said essentially "the casing is punctured so a spark plug will never seal".

Answer 1

Congratulations on your Ford Triton modular V8, you are the first person (other than the other 60,000) to have this problem . . .

I've fixed a bunch of these with the special repair kit. Pricey, but worth it.

If you can drill out the center enough (the porcelain is hollow for the electrode) you can get a small piece of tubing, set the cylinder to BDC by hand, and fill with foamy shaving cream and a little dishwashing soap, from an aerosol can or a turkey baster adapted to the tubing.

You should be able to slowly break up the porcelain with a sharp punch, trying to minimize the size of the bits that fall through. Once the hole is clear, slowly drill out the remaining plug body with a greased drill bit, and chase the threads. Adapt the largest hose you can find that will fit into the cylinder to the nozzle of a shop-vac. Vacuum out the shaving cream and debris while slowly hand cranking the piston back to TDC. Back to BDC, more shaving cream, and repeat.

Inspect the cylinder with a borescope to verify all debris are removed. Repeat with soap, shaving cream, and some brake cleaner as necessary.

If you can't get all the pieces out, unfortunately you needed to pull the head anyway.

If you can get everything out, use plenty of anti-seize on the plug threads, torque the new plug properly, and be sure to change the oil before starting.

I know this process sounds ludicrous, but I've never pulled a Triton head for a spark plug issue, and I've repaired at least a dozen trucks this way - some had more than one plug issue on the same engine. It's tedious but not the 16 hours of head-pulling you may be able to avoid.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I got the plug fragment out. My advice:

• buy a bore scope so you can see clearly
• buy/use a puller with good threads
• do not drill
• do not give up

I bought a bore scope to know what my specific situation was. My dad made a puller himself that was slightly longer and had more teeth than those on the market (This was not ultimately 100% necessary, but it played a role for us). While trying to grab the fragment using my dad's puller, we accidentally pushed the fragment down further about 1/8". We then tried the store-bought puller 3 more times, and somehow it finally grabbed and pulled the fragment completely out. We cleared the cylinder of debris with a vacuum. We replaced the plug with a Champion-brand and she fired right up.

This suggests to me that in my case, the plug was too stuck to be dislodged by puller-teeth alone - loosening the plug fragment first must have been critical. That might could have alternatively been done by carefully tapping down on it carefully with a flat-nose punch.

My drilling was slightly off-center, thus the U shape in the side of the plug fragment.