Spark plug socket boot fell into cylinder 2 - PLEASE HELP
 

Ok, so I was checking my plugs and decided to take out #2 due it being loose for inspection.

I guess I didnt realize it, but the boot must not have been secured in the socket very well, because it got stuck on the plug and I couldnt pull it from the engine.

After fishing it out with a wire hanger, I guess I must have pulled the boot off, because its not there. Im assuming I poppee it off while pulling out the plug with the wire.

Wtf do I do about this? Any risks of trying to vacuum it out?

Thanks for ANY ideas. Its the 3/8 size rubber boot.

I'm not getting it.

Are you saying that the boot inside the socket that you used to remove the spark plug is missing?

If the socket fit down in the well to remove the spark plug, that rubber boot is smaller than the diameter of the well, therefore, it should be able to freely move around. You should be able to ue a hook, etc to pull it out.

Since the boot fits around the spark plug, it is too large to fall through the whole and into to the engine so it has to be in the spark plug well unless you dropped it somewhere else.

I can lose stuff all of the time.

BTW, the spark plug sockets still work without the boot in them, just not the extraction part.

I think this is the rubber inside the spark plug socket based on the description.

Are you sure it is inside the cylinder? Triple check the driveway and crevices around the engine. Look in daylight with a bright spotlight if you can.

Your cell phone might be able to take some pictures. Else maybe a small mirror. Or borrow a cheap scope with light.

I would be careful about fishing metal in the cylinders for scratches but there maybe some softer plastic hooks.

Ill try to be more clear..

Was extracting cylinder 3 (not 2) plug, and I put a rubber boot inside my 5/8 spark plug socket for extraction. Long story short, the spark plug just kept spinning after it was loose because the rubber boot came off the socket and stayed on the spark plug.

After using a hanger to get the spark plug off, the rubber boot wasnt there, which I assume means it fell into the cylinder as 1 piece.

Are you saying this wouldn't fit inside the spark plug well?
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...00e84c0a93.jpg
I know for a fact the black rubber was on the socket before trying to extract the plug. After fishing out the plug, the rubber wasnt there. Thats what im afraid fell into the cylinder (if possible)

Unless I get a micrometer out and measure everything, I'm not going to stake my life on it. Just by looking at your pic, the rubber boot looks like it's a larger diameter than the threaded section of the spark plug. So, I'd say it is highly unlikely that the rubber boot is inside the engine. Do you think it could have dropped some place else?

Ive looked everywhere. Cant find it. Im 99% positive its in there.

What if I just started the car without the plug in for a fee seconds. Would it blow out, or bad idea?

Ugh this sucks

Do not start car. Downstream sensors and cat are expensive and a pain to fix.

You need to look in cylinder to confirm it is inside. Then go from there.

Shit, so Im gonna have to take the head off?

NOOO. I really hope im wrong and it fell out somewhere in the engine, but i doubt it.

First, is the rubber boot off the end of the coil pack or is it from inside the spark plug? Either way, it should be too large to fall into the cylinder.

Do you have the OEM skid plate / engine cover still installed on the car? Many times mine stuff like push pins for the cowling and even the cap for the for the windshield washer reservoir ended up down there. I bang on it to hear if it is there 'dancing' around and then bang on it until it falls out or look for the part on the road out front. I know, I should loosen it and reach in but .....

If that engine cover is not there, look for it on the ground.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...89eea7be2e.jpg
This is what im afraid fell in. (This is a spare one that I have)
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...354ae5b6f8.jpg
Took a pic unzoomed on my phone of the well in question.
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fit...2390d6d728.jpg
Zoomed a little


I cant tell if that black ring is the boot or not

Good photos. Get more light inside m8! They have some cheap small flexible arms with LEDs at the end. You might find in autopart store, Wal Mart, Tex Mart, etc.

You will not need to remove head!

I went ahead and just reinstalled the spark plug, went in fine with no issues and torqued to 20 lb. I'm starting to assume that maybe you guys are right and maybe that I just lost it somewhere in the engine bay. I doubt that that thing would be able to fit in that hole.

But I'm not going to start the car until I'm absolutely positive nothing bad could happen, or until I locate the Mia spark plug boot

I'm confused... how does a rubber boot used to remove a spark plug, fall into an engine... while the spark plug is still there? The hole is not double the diameter of a spark plug, so there's no room to move the spark plug to one side for anything to that big to get past it.

The only way for something to fall in, is AFTER the spark plug is fully out. By then, the rubber, if it was there, would've fallen away from the engine onto the ground or whatever is back there (plenty of places to hide).

What happened is since the boot got stuck on the spark plug while trying to extract it, I'm afraid that the wire hanger pulled up on the boot and removed it from the spark plug as I was pulling it out, and it fell Underneath It or went to the side of it as I was pulling it out and then dropped into the cylinder after I removed the spark plug

Again, there's no way that can happen as there isn't enough room in the spark plug well for BOTH to get past each other. The only time the rubber can get past the spark plug is if the plug is FULLY out of the well. And by then the rubber would've fallen away from the engine.

Think about this... when you put a new spark plug onto the socket (to install), you should notice that the plug can't fully go inside the socket, as there's a gasket ring just past the part the socket fits over. That gasket is almost as big as the socket you're using. Now think about this, the socket itself is just small enough to fit in the cylinder well... where you have very little side to side movement. So, even if you were to directly hold a spark plug and try to move it around in the well, you wouldn't get much room either.

So, how does a rubber boot almost as big as a spark plug, get past the plug that doesn't have that much room to move around?

Now, even if you refuse to accept that, look at the following three things: your first picture, you last picture and the first response to your post by Spike. According to your first picture, the boot is bigger than the threaded end of the spark plug. Which means it can't fall into a hole the threaded end barely fits into. And according to the last picture, there's nothing in the well, so just like Spike said... it didn't fall in there.

Thanks for the replies.


Sorry if I was being redundant , and or confusing. Just wasn't hundred percent sure if that were to be possible or not oh, it looks like I'll be okay though and if any must have fallen out in the engine somewhere. Thanks guys

If you want to check, get good access to the plugs by taking the upper cowls off, plug out, then if you can, have someone hold a straw in the cylinder while you rotate the engine's crankshaft slowly until the straw is at the highest point. (The reason for having someone hold the straw is for them to keep it around the center of the piston. You dont want to deal with it getting squished along the side of the piston and losing some in the engine, even if a plastic straw isnt the biggest deal.)

Once the piston is at the top its easy to fish around in the cyl with the straw to see if you could knocj the rubber about. Given the diameter of the rubber nublette, youd need needlenose pliers of a fair length and narrow diameter. I would also consider using heatshrink tubing on the tips of the jaws so as to make the points non-marring. Good luck with finding appropriate needlenose though. If they aint at harbor freight you... oh, harbor freight has hose pliers. The smallest of which may fit, and theyre hella long..

i am with the other guys. Youd hafta force that in there. But if you think its possible then go with your gut. For future reference I'd recommend ditching the bushing and manually lowering in the plugs as much as possible, droppin em the last little bit, and after the deed is done use a telescoping magnet chingas to pull the loose plugs out.

I'd rather break my foot than deal with another head removal. Youd need all new head bolts, a torque-angle meter, assy lube or ptfe thread sealant as per manual's request, lots of razor blades to remove the old gasket material, head n shytload of other gasket whatsits.. the list goes on and on.

If you dont feel anything in the cyl then screw it, wherever the bushing went it cant hurt anything.

Good luck dude.

hahahahaha

UPDATE: SolvedUpdate ( for now )
 

Thanks for all the replies, gentlemen.

I agreed with the logic behind the fact that theres no way I wouldve been able to get it through without some downward force, and just started the damn thing.

After starting I immediately ran over to the hood and listened for any abnormalities, and didnt hear anything unusual, and didnt smell any rubber whatsoever. I did see my belt tensioner wobble for about 5 to 10 seconds before stabilizing, which makes me wonder if the boot fell off somewhere in that vacinity.

Who knows?

The whole reason I was even bothering with the plugs in the first place was to regap from .37 back to factory .048(.047-.051is the range think).

Only thing I noticed besides a cooler engine was less MPG overall. Went back to stock for the milage boost.

Floored it for about 20 minutes around the city, no issues whatsoever. I was being pretty liberal with my throttles and still managed to get about 27.8 MPG through city.

Overall, appears to be ok. Lesson learned.. magnet > rubber anyday. (auto rubber)

But the question remains... where's that damn boot?

😱

Lmao as Im typing this out I realized where it probably is. Its probably still in cylinder 2 (cylinder 3 is the well in question), on the plug I installed..probably forgot to take the boot out of the socket before installing.

🙇*♂️

:rotfl: ive had em get stuck on plugs so many times before tryin the magnet. Hard earned!
The idea of it being on the serp is funny. You uh.. ive been noticing folks on here mention gappin their plugs, you... arent using iridiums, right?.
27.8 is perfect. Load her up with premium! 87 still has shreds of corn cob in it.

Make sure those plug wires click into place! Dont want any arcing going on in there.

Also, mr. Fiting, thanks for the laugh, was worried some of the nonsense fell on deaf ears.
P.S. thanks continuing to post solid info around the forum, I always make sure to check out your stuff, learn a few things.