[SkeeterRock]

This weekend I've attempted to DIY a spark plug swap on my 08 E90. All went well at least I thought. Once completed I decided to get on the highway and push it a few miles. I only made it about a block from my home before the SES lights up and the engine was roaring. So I immediately got back to the garage. my findings were that two coils has become loosened with the spark plugs broken leaving a piece of metal in both cylinders. Suction using a wet/dry vac hasn't proved any luck. I'm guessing maybe i've put too much torque into the plugs? The only reasonable option is to now take apart the engine cover to get to the broken tabs. Is there anyone out there that has some sort of familiarity with engine cover removal? Oh yeah... no warranty. (Screwed!)

[datbimmer]

You may be able to use a magnet to remove the piece of metal. If the thread is destroyed, you're in trouble.. Did you use a torque wrench to screw them ? Which spark plugs did you buy ?

[TeinBMW]

ouch

hope it didnt mess anything else up

[kdbryce]

Jeez. I've had some DIYs go wrong before, but this seems kind of serious.

If it were me, I'd have a friend who knows more look at it.

Otherwise might be best to take it to a mechanic

[SkeeterRock]

I've used NGK plugs... with a torque wrench. I've also tried magnet but that didn't help much. I believe the head tad bit too large for the cylinder being that i have to actually dig into the cylinder.

[drexplode]

been there done that brother:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=864258

My decision was to stop, have the car towed to bmw dealership and let the professionals take over. Again, my decision.

[SkeeterRock]

Good looking out drexplode! Your post has settled my panic attack a bit. Your previous situation exactly describes my mishap. I'll have a tow to the indy shop in the A.M.

[parabola]

Depending on the thread lubrication , roughnes , dirt on the threads,etc.. torque wrench can
easily give wrong readings by 25-30%.
Hope you haven't done much damage.

[pits200]

Yes torquing is an issue with spark plugs but more importantly is if the engine was hot when you did the replacement. With aluminum you can easily overtighten plugs even using the proper torque if the engine was very hot when doing the replacement.

You should not be working on this new problem if you had a hard time doing a plug replacement this follow-up job should be left to the pros or else you might as well start checking for a used engine online.

Goodluck

[John 070]

Originally Posted by child_in_time

Depending on the thread lubrication , roughnes , dirt on the threads,etc.. torque wrench can
easily give wrong readings by 25-30%.
Hope you haven't done much damage.

I think we went through a thread before Labor Day, no lube on the plugs when 17 lbs. ft. These posts made me a bit nervous before doing mine, to the point that I must have read instructions 3X, and one youtube. I never read instructions under normal circumstances....I even have one spare coil as a just in case that I will probably never use, they were not as delicate as I would have thought.

[drexplode]

Originally Posted by SkeeterRock

Good looking out drexplode! Your post has settled my panic attack a bit. Your previous situation exactly describes my mishap. I'll have a tow to the indy shop in the A.M.

sorry to hear this happen and I hope indy shop can get her on the road again quickly.

[Efthreeoh]

Okay, explain this again because it is not clear. When you say "with the spark plugs broken leaving a piece of metal in both cylinders", what are you trying to explain? Do you really mean there are parts of the plugs that dropped down into the cylinders, or are the parts just still screwed into the cylinderhead.

So it sounds like you snapped two plugs off when installing them. What part of the plug was in the coil? Was it the entire plug body including the bolt flats, or was it just the ceramic stem? The bolt flats (hexagonal shape that the spark plug socket contacts with) should be intact somewhere, either still on the electrode-side of the plug and still screwed into the cylinder head, or attached to the plug body that came out with the coil. If the bolt flats are still screwed into the head, then you should be able to unscrew them and pull them out with a magnet.

[5tony]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Okay, explain this again because it is not clear. When you say "with the spark plugs broken leaving a piece of metal in both cylinders", what are you trying to explain? Do you really mean there are parts of the plugs that dropped down into the cylinders, or are the parts just still screwed into the cylinderhead.

So it sounds like you snapped two plugs off when installing them. What part of the plug was in the coil? Was it the entire plug body including the bolt flats, or was it just the ceramic stem? The bolt flats (hexagonal shape that the spark plug socket contacts with) should be intact somewhere, either still on the electrode-side of the plug and still screwed into the cylinder head, or attached to the plug body that came out with the coil. If the bolt flats are still screwed into the head, then you should be able to unscrew them and pull them out with a magnet.

It actually appears that parts of the spark plug have dropped into the cylinders! If that's the case, he could actually have piston and cylinder wall damage resulting in low compression. Bad situation! Good luck OP!

[ronmeister]

Originally Posted by drexplode

been there done that brother:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=864258

My decision was to stop, have the car towed to bmw dealership and let the professionals take over. Again, my decision.

Curious...Drexplode...what was YOUR outcome/damage/cost? (didn't see a follow up - if there was one...sorry).

[The Cleaner]

Sounds like you are in the middle of a very expensive lesson. if you dropped anything in the cylinders you are screwed badly, not easy to candy coat a disaster like that.

It sounds more like you put the wrong plugs in to me, the head will generally strip when over tightening plugs. It sounds more like you had interference with the plugs and they broke apart.

[DRock3d]

I did mine with anti seize, hand tight and then a smooth half turn no problems. I also did my valve cover gasket without a torque wrench (only have a 1/2 tw) and there are no leaks, I AM the human torque wrench

[drexplode]

Originally Posted by ronmeister

Curious...Drexplode...what was YOUR outcome/damage/cost? (didn't see a follow up - if there was one...sorry).

Final outcome from my issue:

Dealership was really cool about the whole thing - they charged me 3h labor to remove, install new plugs, and put car back together. The threads were successfully removed including the electrode so no need for a cylinder vacuum or anything. Big props to Jason at Erhard Farmington Hills.

Also, here are the comments from my spark plug engineer:

You are a rare customer, one that tells the truth!

I would say that is for sure an over-torque situation. Adding any type of lubricants to the spark thread makes ensuring the proper torque, especially on smaller plugs like you have in that engine, very difficult. We do not recommend any type of anti-seize or lube due to this reason. The Bosch spark plugs are designed with a nickel shell to prevent any type of rusting or seizing in the cylinder heads.

In the future, when changing your plugs install them finger tight, then go no more than 90 degrees to seat them with a gasket (if a torque wrench is not available). Also the 12mm design has a lower torque setting than the standard 14mm spark plugs that were used for so long. The proper torque spec is 20 – 26 Nm.


So, I take back my previous comment regarding lubrication/oil - I was wrong.

cost was ~$500 including inflated spark plug price ($40) and misc hardware.

[DASHOCKER]

damn..

[parabola]

I recently changed plugs on my 2008 Subaru Legacy, and did without torque wrench (had one but could not fit it on a boxer engine without removing some engine stuff). I did hand tight + 1/4 turn with a wrench.
This is pretty much how I used to do it on couple of VWs in the past, always without problems.Haven't done this yet on a BMW model though.
Let us know what actually happened.

[Avenged328i]

Originally Posted by SkeeterRock

This weekend I've attempted to DIY a spark plug swap on my 08 E90. All went well at least I thought. Once completed I decided to get on the highway and push it a few miles. I only made it about a block from my home before the SES lights up and the engine was roaring. So I immediately got back to the garage. my findings were that two coils has become loosened with the spark plugs broken leaving a piece of metal in both cylinders. Suction using a wet/dry vac hasn't proved any luck. I'm guessing maybe i've put too much torque into the plugs? The only reasonable option is to now take apart the engine cover to get to the broken tabs. Is there anyone out there that has some sort of familiarity with engine cover removal? Oh yeah... no warranty. (Screwed!)

Ouch. Sorry to hear.
Possibly could be an issue with the torque. How else would they come loose?
I also need to change mine as well, but after looking at the DIY on youtube, I think I rather have a shop do the work.
Because I am sure I will mess something up, and if the shop (or dealer which I planning on) mess anything up, I can go back and complain or something.
I am only used to doing simple work on my car.

If I were you, and if you have the money, take it to the dealer to get it check. They charge $100, though. But safer than sorry?

Good luck.

[Potty_Pants]

stop and let the professionals deal with it.

ppp

[raj55]

Never use lubricant. It messes up with the torque strength applied. I do not use torque wrench either. They are rarely exact and are difficult to use. You have to use in one sweep and that is not always easy. The best method is first finger tight (I use a rubber tube attached to spark plug to seat it withoud cross threading), then use spark wrench to tighten till you feel the crunch as the sparkplug washer gets squeezed and stop, no more. The BMW garage here changes spark plug without lubricant or torque wrench. I am convinced that if you had not used lubricant or torque wrench , you would have done it right.