Hi everone. I'm new here, trying to get some input for my brother.

He has a 2001 X with the 6.8, and I think it is up near 200k miles. He had a plug blow out on him a few months ago and got it fixed (helicoil). Now a couple weeks ago he had another blow out on him. But this time it is a bit more complicated.

He towed his travel trailer down to VA Beach (from Detroit area) with his family. On the way back the plug blew out in MD (a good hour and a half or so from a large city). There was a mechanic there that attempted the helicoil, but I believe he claims that when it blew out, the hole is too large to fix with a helicoil. He did sound like he's done a few of these in the past, but who knows for sure.

So now he's stuck. I drove down there to pick up him and his family, so now they are back here, but his truck and TT are still down in MD. We are trying to figure out a way to get his truck back here so we can fix it (my guess is the head will need to be replaced).

So a few questions:

1. Can a 2002+ head bolt right on to his 2001 with no issues?

2. What special tools/bolts/etc. are needed for the swap? I am pretty mechanically inclined, and my Dad is an ex-mechanic, so tools are probably not an issue.

3. Where is a decent place to get a head for relatively cheap?

4. Any ideas to get the X back here? A standard U-haul trailer will not even come close to getting it back.

TIA for any help and ideas!

Jason

 

I had a similar situation. PO had overtorqued and stripped head, had heli-coil installed. It loosened up and blew out with plug (that is why heli-coils are NOT considered a real fix). That left a big hole in head. I was several hundred miles from destination so I just unplugged that cylinder's COP and fuel injector (IMPORTANT!) and drove on.

For the trip home, I tapped the plug hole even bigger and stuck a (non operative) bigger spark plug in there just to seal up the head and stop the POP POP POP. Yes, the CEL light was on non-stop and she was down somewhat on power and fuel economy, but I got home on 9 cylinders with no apparent damage. 900 miles total with that cylinder non-op.

Installed a set of rebuilt cylinder heads from Clearwater Cylinder Heads as the permanent fix.

You can also get a plug to stuff up the hole.
Emergency Plug Kit


To answer the other questions: Yes, a 2002 head will bolt on. Only limitations are that PI intake has to be used with PI heads, and non-PI intake with non-PI heads. And of course, 3V are totally different.
No "special" tools needed. Do have to know what you're doing when installing cam gear to get valves properly timed.
All bolts are metric.
Are supposed to use new head bolts every time as they are torque to plastic zone, but I (and others) have cheated and re-used the originals once. Would not recommend using twice!

 

Where in MD? Some of it is only an hour away from us. Call AAA, have them tow it to Pittsburgh. A guy here localy has fixed many of them. Or have him tow it, got a fleet of tow trucks. Reese Automotive on Streetsrun Road (just off Rt 51). Ask for Rob, he is the owner and will talk you through it.

 

Timesert makes a Thread Repair Kit for over-sized holes that have been previously repaired or a somewhat tried repair that left a bigger hole. Think of it as the fix for the Heli-Coil fix.

++ BIG-SERT Oversized Spark plug thread repair kits ++ spark plug thread repair for oversized holes previously repaired spark plug holes threads stripped

 

Thanks for the input guys.

bakon, the truck is in Hagerstown, so it is about 2.5-3 hours away unfortunately.

mws, thanks for the idea; I think we are going to try the emergency plug route. I am just worried about how long that will hold up. I don't really want to tap for a larger plug, as I don't want any shavings getting down in the hole. Did you drive at all before plugging it with the larger plug? Does any fuel from the other cylinders make it into the open cylinder?

After we get it home, I think we are going to go with the reman head route, rather than swapping everything to the 3v setup.

Any other input is welcome. We are going to head out first thing Sat morning.

 

I don't see any reason why that plug wouldn't last several thousand miles. With no fuel and no combustion, it sees relatively low pressures.

Tapping a plug hole is always risky. I coat the tap in a very thick grease to capture the shavings, and remove and clean it frequently.

I drove about 350 miles with no plug. It was loud - think African Queen on nitromethane. My wife was getting rather annoyed, which is why I plugged it with spark plug.
No appreciable fuel gets in. That is one of the benefits of port fuel injection!

Do check if the Big-Sert will fix the head once it's off. And I recommend doing all the plug holes. If one plug hole was damaged in the past, the others likely were as well.

 

That made my laugh out loud! Good analogy.

I think the guys already have you covered. I would certainly try the insert approach before replacing the entire head, but if you have the time, pull all the plugs, instead the holes with an inspection mirror, and look at the plug threads and see if any aluminum is stuck to them.

Depending on the overall condition, you'll have to make a decision as to whether or not you want to risk it, do 10 inserts on the vehicle, or pull the heads and replace/rebuild them.

 

Jason, Have you had any luck on the plug blow out? I'm in Georia but i have the timesert kit. I had a couple of plugs blow awhile back, got the kit and had 9 out of 10 repaired on the vehicle (2000 f-250 v-10) the 10 th one has a helicoil from the dealership....when i did mine i spoke with the guys at timesert, they told me that the big-sert kit was for repairing the holes after a helicoil failed. i really dont want to sell the kit yet ,as i may need it on the other hole. But if it 'll help you get thru maybe we could work something out. i dont have any more inserts , but you can get them fon timesert for around 10-12 bucks each.if your mechnically inclined you could do it up and that is one less thing to worry about on these trucks. I'm pushing 210,000 miles on mine and this is the only real trouble ive had with mine. if i'd known to re-torque the plugs after a tune up, i wouldnt have had the trouble i did... Good luck...Britt