I had a spark plug blowout of my 2003 F150 this weekend. Apparently, I'm an idiot because I didn't check here first, but I bought a Helicoil repair kit and started the repair. I have tapped the hole now to fit the Helicoil insert, and I came on here to find out how to use the punch to set the insert. Now I have read post after post that the Helicoil inserts are crap and I'm really bummed.

Is there any chance that I can use a Timesert insert and tools to finish the job? I watched a couple videos on youtube showing the process with a Timesert. If the timesert insert is the same size/threads as this helicoil, I might be able to salvage this job still.

I talked to the guy at www.blownoutsparkplug.com who says he can fix it. Seems like he has good reviews here on the forum, so that's my last resort, but I am seriously strapped for cash right now, so I need to fix this on my own if possible.

Thanks!

 

Send a private message to a member on here, Galaxy. He knows a lot about using the Timesert and actually rents out the kit. Another tha may be of some help is a guy that goes by glc.

 

I honestly don't know - and if Galaxy doesn't know, I'd ask the Timesert people directly.

 

All hope is not lost. I would PM Galaxy and see what he thinks but I know that Timesert makes the Bigsert as well that is designed for people that have had other less effective repairs blow out leaving a bigger hole. So if the regular Timesert won't work the Bigsert should.

 

I repaired a cylinder with a Time-sert that had a helicoil in it. The helicoil came out with the plug. I have not put many miles since that but it seems to work just fine.

I got the kit from Galaxy. No problems whatsoever.

 

Don't worry guys, he's being taken care of. The tap he used for the heli-coil (14 x 1.25)is not larger than the reamer for the 5553 Triton kit. It'll clean up just fine.

 

Thanks for letting everyone know.

 

you da man!

 

Thanks everyone for the input. The TimeSert Kit (from Galaxy) arrived today, so I'm going to get in there and figure it all out tomorrow, and I'll report back.

Galaxy has been super helpful... Thanks again!

 

First of all, thanks for everyone's help, especially Galaxy. I rented his Timesert kit and he was super helpful figuring this out. Everything appears to be fixed, but the next few weeks/months will be the real test to see if it holds. I'll post here if I ever have problems.

Just in case anyone else has similar issues, here's what I learned.

- The insert for the Helicoil is 17mm and the insert for the Timesert is 18mm.
- The threads on the Timesert are not the same as the Helicoil - the Timesert are more coarse.
- You have to use the reamer in the timesert kit so that you get the counter sink cut. You need the lip on the countersink so the Timesert inert will screw in flush. (this is the major design flaw in the Helicoil - there is nothing to prevent you from screwing the insert all the way through into your piston.)
- Since the Helicoil insert is smaller, you can re-tap the hole with the larger Timesert and be ok. Just put the Timesert tap in the hole and turn it with your hand until you feel it start to thread into the existing threads. Be careful not to push down too hard, like you normally would with a tap - you run the risk of stripping the existing threads and not having enough material to re-tap. Once you have the tap hand tight, put your ratchet on and tap as usual.

Everything else is exactly the same as the normal Timesert instructions.

Thanks again to Galaxy and his rental kit!

 

Good to hear you got it done....

 

Hello all,
I recently purchased a 2003 Ford F150 with the Triton 4.6l engine. Last night I had a plug blow out. After inspection, web searches, and a consultation with a former Ford Tech I purchased the Helicoil kit to repair the blown out plug. When I started the repair process this afternoon I found that the existing hole is larger than the tap, leading me to beleive this repair had already been done once before...
Any advice on what to do now?

 

DO NOT USE A HELICOIL.

Contact member "Galaxy" and rent a Timesert kit. You may need a "BigSert".

 

Everywhere you look and search on this site, - it will tell you NOT to use a Heli-coil kit in these engines. So,- if we take the time to help you now, chances are, you'll wonder off, search some knitting patterns site or something and/or consult yet another Ford tech reject before listening to anyone over here.

I suggest you try it one more time, -this time for real. Search this site, as what you describe can be fixed fast, cheap and correctly.

Good Luck!

 

Crap. glc beat me.

To much detail I guess.