Hey, this is my first time to this site. I just bought an 01 f4i and absolutely love it. Unfortunately, I want to say the previous owner may have cross threaded the plug or was not tight enough causing it to strip out. It is the #1 firing plug and its kind of in a difficult position but Im assuming I can fix it by retapping with a heli coil kit. Does anybody have any useful info for me? I appreciate it..

 

Oh man....I am sorry to hear that. This happened to my F3 and it really sucked to repair. I myself wouldnt do it again. I am not trying to discourage you but this was really difficult for me on that bike. My personal suggestion would be to have a pro work on it, but if you decide to tackle it good luck and I hope you get back out on the road quickly.

 

Hey iRIDE, did you cross-thread, overtorque it, or not tight enough? I'm just curious. Don't mean to jack the thead

Sorry to hear about your plug graf4 ~ how did you discover it was striped?

 

Mine was actually not tight enough as I didnt have a torque-wrench. I didnt know what to do when it popped out my bike started to sound like a freakin Harley.

The job was such a pain because you dont want to put the coil in and have shavings in the engine. I read of people that put objects in there that would be covered in tape to get the shavings out, but I didnt think that really the correct way to do it. On top of that the plug really didnt thread all that well with the heli-coil kit installed. Then you have to put it all back together and dealing with the timing was a whole other pain in the a$$. Its easily my least favorite jobs.

 

Thanksyou gave some useful information. I personally do not want to do the job but I also don't want to pay the quote I received at $650.

 

Keep your eyes peeled for a used head for cheap.

 

If I decide to try and do this project, would using grease when tapping the plug help decrease shavings along w spraying compressed air into the exhaust?

 

It will make your life a lot easier and you won't have to worry about getting crap in the cylinder if you remove the head then tap it, there is a **** ton of compression in that cylinder it is possible that the helicoil won't stay in very long either

 

Removal of the head would mean I would need to remove the engine? Also would I need to buy a gasket or would the create agasket work? Finally, would it be safe to use thread locking on the plugs?

 

I read of people using grease but I dont think thats going to prevent all of the shavings from entering the engine. I pulled the head off of mine and didnt drop the motor. I cant remember what all I removed to have enough room to maneuver around but I definitely didnt drop the entire engine. It will be a lot easier to remove the head and do it than keeping it on. The only issue with removing it is that you are going to have to deal with the timing and that is no fun at all. If you arent comfortable with dealing with timing or dont know someone that can take care of it please dont remove the head. When I pulled off the head I did get a new gasket. I dont think I had to but it was recommended. I suppose the loctite threadlocker could work but I didnt try it so I cant say for sure. I can make a case for it but I am not sure of how safe it is. Whatever you decide to do I hope it works out.