Spark Plugs Possibly Cross Threaded?

[jesse5150]

Basically I keep getting air in my cooling system and I am starting to blow a little white smoke so I'm thinking my headgasket is leaking and letting air/exhaust in my cooling system and visa versa...sound right so far?

Anyways I went to do a compression test and when i went to pull out the first plug it is REALLY hard to get out. Once i got it out i looked at the threads and the begining looked a little bit messed up, so I grabbed a new plug and tried to thread it in and the same thing happened. Im thinking whoever put the old plugs in cross-threaded them.... OR im hoping they just didnt use that anti-sieze stuff? what do you think?
(OH, the same thing with the 2nd and 4th plugs)

AND FINALLY.... is it possible to re-thread where the plugs go in with out getting metal in the motor? I found the rethread tools on ebay, but will that leave debris in the whole?
Your input is appreciated, Thank you in advance.

P.S. ; KA24DE in a s13

[Pacman]

Sounds like your headgasket is going. Send it off to a machine shop and have it pressure tested. They can rethread the spark plug holes while its off, the only time you really want to mess with rethreading them.

[r6_240sx]

AND FINALLY.... is it possible to re-thread where the plugs go in with out getting metal in the motor? I found the rethread tools on ebay, but will that leave debris in the whole?
Your input is appreciated, Thank you in advance.

P.S. ; KA24DE in a s13Rethreading or using a helicoil is usually one of those last case scenarios, but doable.

Just have to grease ur cylinder wall when ur tapping (:keke:), bring to tdc, clean grease and shavings.

I personally would recommend what Pacman said, cuz you always run the risk of getting metal shavings no matter how well u do it with the head on. But if the motor is old, u dont really care and/or u just need to get it going, then eh go for it.

[GSXRJJordan]

I don't believe that someone cross-threaded a KA (iron head?) spark plug hole... it's MUCH more common with SRs and other aluminum heads.

Your head gasket is going anyway, so just re-thread while the head's off. Most likely when you do it with the head on, the shavings will just fly out with the exhaust, but if one of them makes it down the cylinder wall, you'll get a nice scrape that you'll have to hone out later.

[soreballz]

^KA's have aluminum heads. The blocks are iron.

Tap the threads. Use a shop vac with a narrow hose on it to suck out the shavings.

[jesse5150]

Ok , thank you for the advice, I'm gonna go ahead and order the gasket set and the tap, then do it all with the head off. Thanks AGAIN!