Spark plug tip incredibly stuck inside plug cap

[sstone14]

I'm talking majorly stuck. Just the metal piece at the tip. Needle nose pliers and all the elbow grease I could muster and it wouldn't even budge. Tried a couple drops of WD40 and still nothing. Any suggestions for how to get it out?

Thanks, y'all.

[jwinwi]

NO SNARK INTENDED: Would it be easier to buy a new cap and plug?  Never had it happen and cannot explain why...

Did you resolve your engine dying when clutch lever is pulled in problem?

[guzziart]

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/ngk-resistor-cap-for-power-sport-8020/11000125-p?product_channel=local&store=7465&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=7465&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk6fY2tq28wIVXmxvBB1v-w1QEAQYASABEgIScvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

[Dirk_S]

PB Blastr's pretty good stuff worth trying, eh?

Also, maybe blast it with canned air upside down (to get the concentrated propellant can significantly cool the area, allowing it to shrink somewhat and hopefully open the thread gap enough to get it loosened.

[Huzo]

Could you drill in from the top with a 3/32” drill and push it out ?

[John A]

Take a sheet metal screw and run it in tight so you have something to grab onto and yard it on out .your going to replace the cap anyway but I’d be interesting to see why it was stuck

[Cam3512]

LOTS of WD40.  Flood it.

[Wayne Orwig]

Some caps don't use the large terminal on the spark plug. They are meant to press onto the spark plug with only the threaded bit.

[sstone14]

NO SNARK INTENDED: Would it be easier to buy a new cap and plug?  Never had it happen and cannot explain why...

Did you resolve your engine dying when clutch lever is pulled in problem?

Very possibly, and will resort to that if necessary.

And thanks for checking in; I'd say yes and no. It's still happening early in rides if I take off without letting the engine warm up, but for now I'm just going through possible solutions one at a time from simplest to most complex. I had a spare battery in whose terminals were too large for the cable leads (I think that's the term--the metal end of the battery cables); it was powering up, but the cables fit very wonkily to the terminals--were technically touching, but not comfortably or snugly. So I have the proper battery in now. Spark plugs are working, but are old af and not the factory part. So I'm taking care of those now. Then I think I'm going to look at the air filter.

Hey while I'm here, can I do a valve adjustment without changing the oil? Because I think that's next, but the engine oil is in very good condition.

[sstone14]

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/ngk-resistor-cap-for-power-sport-8020/11000125-p?product_channel=local&store=7465&adtype=pla&product_channel=local&store_code=7465&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIk6fY2tq28wIVXmxvBB1v-w1QEAQYASABEgIScvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

Thanks for this! I'm not with the motorcycle right now, but to my memory, the plug cap and cable the leads from it seemed to be a single piece. Am I wrong about this? 2010 MG V7C.

[sstone14]

What are you calling the "cap"?  Is it the part usually at the end of the wire, or is it the part that screws on to the end of the spark plug to cover the lug threads?

This L-shaped bit:

https://www.racing-planet.com/images/gross/138/PI-GU03717450_2D_0002.jpg

(though this isn't the OEM piece--just a visual reference)

The lug threads at the tip came away from the body of the previous spark plug, and are stuck inside it now.

[sstone14]

Unless I had an emotional attachment to the plug wire, I would probably either cut the end off
and replace the entire boot and cap or just replace the entire wire. Maybe even both with orange wires👍

Dan

I dig that idea. Do you know the specs on the OEM wire? Like it's length and thickness, basically? Can't find it in the spare parts, owner's, or service manual.

[berniebee]

If the threaded tip of the sparkplug terminal broke off into the cap:



then the only way to get it out is to grab the tip with a long nose screwdriver and pull it out. If there is not enough in there to grab, you are SOL, replace the cap. Next time, be sure to pull the cap straight off!

  I don't know if your cap and wire are one piece. Look at where the cap meets the wire - does it appear to be molded on? Try unscrewing the the cap from the wire. If it's a separate piece, it doesn't take much force to untwist it from the wire. (A one piece cap and wire will not turn.) Lefty loosey until it comes free. There's a pointy screw on the inside of the cap that screws itself into the center of the cable. You can simply screw a new cap onto the wire until it's snug.

Yes, you can adjust valves without doing an oil change.

[malik]

For the V7C the parts are in the parts manual - Electrical System page 1 (of 2), in the box bottom RHS marked "B".

The V7C uses BR8ES plugs. B8ES work, as does BR9ES. Plugs  are best changed regularly. The plug caps are LB05F. They are cheap. The HT leads screw onto a thread in the cap. The caps are best changed occasionally. They don't last forever. I carry a spare pair on trips - easily broken if bike tips over. It's a good idea to occasionally check the connection between the cap & the HT lead - the copper can corrode (turn green) & need trimming. The HT lead is standard copper core motorcycle HT lead (10mm, I think?).  Standard black lead is cheap. The red stuff from NGK Racing a lot more expensive. I don't know the length off hand , but easy enough to measure once the plug cap has been screwed off - the lead is held on a bracket under the inlet manifold - and the tank removed for access to the coils. Replace the plugs & caps at least . Easy.

[sstone14]

For the V7C the parts are in the parts manual - Electrical System page 1 (of 2), in the box bottom RHS marked "B".

The V7C uses BR8ES plugs. B8ES work, as does BR9ES. Plugs  are best changed regularly. The plug caps are LB05F. They are cheap. The HT leads screw onto a thread in the cap. The caps are best changed occasionally. They don't last forever. I carry a spare pair on trips - easily broken if bike tips over. It's a good idea to occasionally check the connection between the cap & the HT lead - the copper can corrode (turn green) & need trimming. The HT lead is standard copper core motorcycle HT lead (10mm, I think?).  Standard black lead is cheap. The red stuff from NGK Racing a lot more expensive. I don't know the length off hand , but easy enough to measure once the plug cap has been screwed off - the lead is held on a bracket under the inlet manifold - and the tank removed for access to the coils. Replace the plugs & caps at least . Easy.

Looks like the LB05F takes a 7-8mm HT lead. So can I use anything in that range?

[izzuG]

Did you try threading the plug back into the  plug "tip"   then pull it out?

[John A]

For the V7C the parts are in the parts manual - Electrical System page 1 (of 2), in the box bottom RHS marked "B".

The V7C uses BR8ES plugs. B8ES work, as does BR9ES. Plugs  are best changed regularly. The plug caps are LB05F. They are cheap. The HT leads screw onto a thread in the cap. The caps are best changed occasionally. They don't last forever. I carry a spare pair on trips - easily broken if bike tips over. It's a good idea to occasionally check the connection between the cap & the HT lead - the copper can corrode (turn green) & need trimming. The HT lead is standard copper core motorcycle HT lead (10mm, I think?).  Standard black lead is cheap. The red stuff from NGK Racing a lot more expensive. I don't know the length off hand , but easy enough to measure once the plug cap has been screwed off - the lead is held on a bracket under the inlet manifold - and the tank removed for access to the coils. Replace the plugs & caps at least . Easy.







Not BPR8ES?  I’m surprised they don’t use a projected nose type is why I ask. Projected nose plugs are a better design, it’s main feature is the ability to run cooler at higher gas velocities and hotter at lower pressures and velocities.
It is identified by the P in the second letter position. They work great in hot rod applications if there is room in the chamber for them

[sstone14]

Did you try threading the plug back into the  plug "tip"   then pull it out?

Yeah, nothing doing with this approach. Finally just pulled the cap entirely and ordered a replacement.

[Bulldog9]

I had this happen on a 'rescue' bike I pulled out of a side yard some years ago. I was able to get the tip out by screwing a sheetmetal screw into the threaded hole of the cap, then needle nose vise grip to pull the tip out. After looking at the wires and caps, I ended up replacing the wires and new NGK Caps.

[sstone14]

I had this happen on a 'rescue' bike I pulled out of a side yard some years ago. I was able to get the tip out by screwing a sheetmetal screw into the threaded hole of the cap, then needle nose vise grip to pull the tip out. After looking at the wires and caps, I ended up replacing the wires and new NGK Caps.

Any clue how it happened?

[Bulldog9]

Any clue how it happened?

Sat outside uncovered for a long time. If I remember, the threaded stud on the plug rusted and pulled out of the aluminum cap, and the cap was rusted to the metal in the cap.