72MachOne99GT

Well, it's not so much that I don't really know HOW it works, or WHAT you do. My dad will help me since he uses helicoils at work and stuff, but never over an open combustion chamber in an automobile.

My main concern is the shavings.. so vasoline, or some sort of other petroleum based jelly sort of stuff?

Just put it on the tap? AND the helicoil? or what..

Believe me guys, i feel like im asking too many questions, but i guess thast what this site is for...*better than exhaust questions over and over i guess though *

72MachOne99GT

edit : really retarded question..

The SOHC 4.6 motors have aluminum heads too ? right? *god, smacks head*

4.698GT

Go back to your orginal thread and look at the link I posted. That is the easiest kit I found because you did not have to use a drill for anything. The tappered tap allowed you to just use a socket wrench. The end of the tap should be a hair bigger then the original hole. Thread this down into the head with a little bit of heavy grease on it. This will catch the shavings better then the petroleum jelly. Like stated above, try and rig up something attached to a vacuum to suck out the aluminum shavings, even though at the temperatures inside the combustion chambers, those little shavings will be burnt up and shot out the exhaust. The just thread the new helicoil onto the tap after you have cleaned it off and thread it into the newly formed and threaded hole till it bottoms out, it WILL NOT go any further, so you don't have to worry about that. Then you can either wait like I did for a day for everything to settle or pop a plug in and start her up. Trust me that it will work, I have had one in the number one cylinder on the driver side for at 40k miles and it has NOT blown out again, even after racing the car numerous times down the track. Make sure you use antiseize on the new plug. You will find this to be a strong perminent solution to your problem.

ShadowDrake

Yeah, Clint, the heads are aluminium, so be gentle. Another option for you is to just get a new bare head casing from a junkyard, and transfer all your valvetrain stuff over to it. Hell, a new bare 4v head is only $280 from Ford, how much can a used 2v bare head be?

Also, heavy grease will catch any shavings, then wipe up what you can.

Jexey

I just sold a set of PIheads for 275. You can get a single head cheap as ****.

72MachOne99GT

Well, as long as everyone else I talk to seems to be that confident about a heavy grease catching the majority of the shavings, and then the combustion heating up and getting rid of any damaging particles, it is likely the path I will take.

I'll go back and find my other thread to find that link that you posted.

I was 99.9 % sure our heads were aluminum, and probably have been on the 4.6 since it was put in teh Mustang, but I just had a doubt because I thought someone had said otherwise.

Clearance won't be an issue, and neither should having room to get a vacuum rig in there since we've removed the fuel rails, and the throttle body is removed as well.

I'll let you guys know what, if anything else I find out, and maybe even consider doing some kind of write up on it or something fancy... that'd be useful at least for someone else attempting to undergo such a task, as easy as it may or may not be.

Darkcrime

+1 Try a junkyard.

Sorry to hear about the car man.

Sap

Use lots of heavy grease on the tap, then use a vacuum to get any other shavings. If it works, great, if not, as mentioned one "head" isn't too expensive, you just need the head, a new gasket and some time to install it. Might even be members on here who might help.

E.

viper104

if your going to tap it take the head off. i was amachinist for 6 years and now am a tech for ford. i have personaly seen engines get ****ed up because people took short cuts. just my .2

72MachOne99GT

If I'm going to take the head off, I'm not putting the stock heads back on it, it just seems like a waste to me.

Ford doesn't take the head off to do a heli coil in their shops, so I don't understand what the big deal is.

If I get some sort of vaccum attachment that will reach well down into it I can suck out the majority of the debris after running the tap down through. All the while doing that like someone mentioned, with a heavy grease, going a few turns, and cleaning it off. Rinse, and repeat is basically what I got from it.

To be completely honest, there are not many threads left in the head on taht particular plug to begin with. I would guess 80% of them are gone, which means that much aluminum shavings has already been either blown out, or incinirated...