Spark Plug tubes: anyone replace them yet?
 

I have a constant battle with oil filling my spark plug tubes and its extremely annoying. I have already tried to RTV the balls out of the valve cover and the seals around the tubes and I have stopped the leakage on all but one. The tube looks to be slightly damaged due to poor packaging during the shipping of the heads.

http://www.courtesyparts.com/betasit...7-p-15326.html

you can buy the tubes but has anyone actually replaced them or know how much labor is involved, i can do it if a press isnt involved

thanks,
Jason

Tube seals are built into the valve covers :(

after installing my Vortech my Spark plug gaskets gave out... They were filling up with oil in seconds..... Its at the stealership now getting the valve covers replaced and its warrantied... I am still fighting to see if my compression is indeed good or not but that is another story..... go see if you can get them replaced if you have warranty left..... the seals on the valve cover are permanent kinda like your rear main.... they are covered....

Z valve covers FTMFL!!!!

11095 are the metal tubes that get pressed into the heads. Your problem most likely lies in the valve cover seals which seal against the tubes. I believe they are built into the valve covers.

I have a valve covers, if you need them LMK.

Edit: i'm located at michigan, you can pick them up if you want.

If you saw how bent up the lip of my spark plug tube is you would probably crap yourself. The tube has a very large dent in it and no matter how much RTV is put on the seal it will still leak. Even if I put a new valve cover on it would still leak past it because the tube is no longer a perfect circle.

Have you ever tried to remove a tube Hal?

Update: Im retarded and everything is in the FSM, apparently you are supposed to replace them every time you disassemble the head

http://i38.tinypic.com/20a3u6u.jpg
http://i38.tinypic.com/295bewg.jpg

Just a heads up, they can be difficult to pull out. Also, mark the new ones height before you put them in because you can go too far. A rubber mallet or block of wood and hammer will work. Just make sure they go down straight and cover everything if using wood haha.

Bump, I am trying to remove the tubes now and I am having a hell of a time trying to get them out

Has anyone actually removed the spark plug tubes?

Tips please?

Anger works. I've seen them removed with much anger here at the shop before.

+1 on damned stupid valve cover replacement for seals too. I hate having to tell a customer how much that costs.

so basically im just being a pussy,

did they use channel locks or anything on them?

I don't even remember. I stayed in the office. There was cursing and I didn't want to get involved. They went back in fairly easily though, like Hal said, a good soft rubber mallet and a 2x4 works wonders for that part.

if you could will you ask one of the techs the technique for removing these suckers

Jared won't be back till Thursday. I hope someone else can chime in before then.

I know I've personally yanked out a number of smaller press fit steel vacuum tubes from aluminum intakes using vice grips, but nothing of this size. And I can't imagine having to try and drill it out if the tube cracks or rips. So he must have used some tool I haven't seen sitting around the shop, or he just totally winged it and went with the vice grips.

Trying drilling the tube and sticking a screw driver in there. Step on the head and yank on the screw driver.

Or try crushing the tube so theres less tube/wall contact.

I was acually gonna try drillin it laterally tonight. I just gotta be careful with all the metal shavings

I have only installed them on the cosworth heads (don't come with them for some reason...) But it is just a pressure/interference fit wit the head. I would use vise grips and a propane torch to heat the head up uniformly with the engine cold. The allum should expand faster than the steel tube and you should be able to twist/lift the tube out with the vise grips, getting mad at them will help also!

seriously **** my life lol

i tried drilling them and twisting them out and it didnt work

even tried looking a hook through the holes and using a cherry picker to try and pull them out and the damn thing picked up the whole engine

just shoot me now

bump, UpRev did you ask your tech about this yet?