Cool Handmade tool for spark plug tubes - DIY

Hey guys, not sure if anyone has seen this cool handmade tool before to remove the "hard-to-reach" plastic spark plug tubes on the MKI 996's. I found it during my online search and someone came up with this ingenious idea. Btw it worked great, much better than the Transom-Plug that everyone else has been using to pull these plugs out. Again this is not my idea, I just want to share it with RL DIY'ers here... Anyway, I have couple of leaky tubes so I decided to replace them all today. I tried to do this job with just the wheel off the car but quickly gave up, impossible to reach the 2 most rear plugs so I decided to remove the exhaust cans. For me that was the only way I could get his job done using this cool handmade tool, check it out guys... -Pic 1 shows the tool itself, cost about $0.48 at the local hardware store to put together. It consists of a long screw with 2 nuts and 2 washers, one large and one small, that's it. - Pic 2 shows how to insert this tool inside the tube But make sure the spark plug is out first because the little washer at one end has to catch the inside lip of the tube. The large washer on the other end will not allow the tool to accidentally drop inside the hole, that would be very bad :-) - Pic 3 shows the extraction of the tube using a pry-bar (in my case) but you can probably use something else. The idea is to use some type of leverage to easily pull the tube out of there. My long pry-bar allowed me to get the tube dislodged with no force at all, so easy. - Pic 4 shows the final result with the tube out... I have used the transom-plug before and I can definitely say that this new handmade tool is a lot easier and faster to get the spark plug tubes out of there. I hope this tool can help others here as well. Let me know if you guys have any questions OK? Cheers,

Congratulations, you have just discovered the Mediterranean. Sorry so snarky.

"Health Services" was one of the first guys to use this system years ago. It is useful to repeat it for the Noobs who do not use Search because it will save them time and breakage. If you replace the tubes, be sure to measure the inside groove for concentricity/ o-o-r .Some cheapo ones are an offset oval shape and will leak with any new seals.Surpringly I found that some recent shipment from URO(aka You Replace Often) were good.

Oh and by the way, the transom plug wrapped with sandpaper is the easiest way to pull a spark plug tube. Imho. I'm sorry. I shouldn't mock you OP because you were genuinely trying to help.

We watched your video on youtube this morning, the Walmart boat plug doesn't always work and its good to have a backup method

If you install an out of round spark plug tube with new seals, it will be extremely difficult to extract -even with the bolt+washer+prybar tool. Forget the transom plug in such circumstances ! Even better is a tool(I made one) that uses a much longer bolt,an extra washer and a steel tube spacer to bear against the cam cover. Then you just tighten the nut to extract the tube in a controlled manner. Just like some bearing/bushing extractor tools.Obviously the spacer tube must be a larger i.d. than the extreme o.d. of the spark plug tube :-).

"handmade tool" != carriage bolt, two washers, and two nuts. I applaud the McGyver spirit.

Thanks Schnell-Gelb, yes your idea of a controlled extractor tool is the best possible hand-tool design for this application. I never really liked the Transom-plug because it's hard to get a good grip and get enough leverage to cleanly extract the tubes in that restricted working space. The long bolt-nut+washer design was better for me because I can get very good leverage using a long pry-bar. The tubes just come out without any needed force applied. Again that tool design idea was not mine; I found a pic online and decided to try it out on my own car and it worked great for me. Then since I have not seen anyone using it here on RL, I thought I'd share the idea, that's all. For some people the Transom-plug worked fine so that's great, too. Cheers,

When I had to replace one of these that was dripping slightly, I just shoved 2 fingers in there and pulled it out by hand. Maybe mine was odd in that it came out that easy, but I found no special tools to be needed. Just friction and hand strength. If the o-rings are worn out to the point they are leaking, they're not going to have much elasticity, so not much force pressing against the bore. It doesn't take a ton of axial force to overcome O-ring friction and work the tube out.

Once you have removed tubes on a few M96 you will realize they vary in how reluctant they are to be extracted. You may get lucky - hence the Transom Plug tool. The issue is with the difficult ones. Some of the worst are recently installed leaking tubes+seals. Why? Because the seals are plump but the tubes are oval at the inner end.So they leak but are very ,very tight. These recent misfits require the very long bolt +oversize tube tool I described. Normal tubes - easy - not worth discussing.. Just a word of caution - be very careful with the size of the inside-end washer. It needs to be exactly the right size on a stubborn tube. Too small and you will damage the tube and then have an even harder time to remove it. Too large and it will catch on the inner circumference of the alloy cam cover - not good. .

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When you just can't get the right angle on the inside of that hot, well-oiled passage with your fingers, your tool is the next logical choice. It doesn't matter if your tool looks different from other tools as long as it does the job. It turns out that I am, in fact, developing some amount of self-control. Which is nice.

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Sometimes I just like to see how high I can tee one up for everybody.

I ended up using a pipe bushing like this and just threading it lightly into the tube:

+1 on the stubborn tubes that won't come out easily and the restricted space you have to work with, it could be a very frustrating job to get these out, especially the most rear ones on each side; just relax and take your time. Actually pushing the new ones in are also a tough task for me, seems like my fingers are so weak or something, ugghhh... Overall it's still a good DIY to get some "bonding-time" with your 996 :-) Cheers,

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Careful using this method on old, brittle tubes. The NPT bushing threads are tapered and will both cut & expand the old tubes The very long bolt(or studding) +washer+oversize tube (mentioned above)is very gentle and progressive. To fit the new tube + seals , I fit the seals to the tube dry. Then smear just a very light coat of Vaseline on the outer surface of the seals. Use a socket to gently push them in.A flat pry bar helps.If you slather the seals in grease or oil there is a chance they will 'roll' when you push the tube in.That will cause a leak.

Great tips, thanks Schnell Gelb, I will definitely try your method the next time around, hopefully not too soon though. I bought the Porsche OEM tubes and O-rings so I hope they will last a little bit longer this time. Great forum, always learn new tricks and tips. Cheers,

You are most welcome. The OE label on your tubes - it is no guarantee - like the AOS defect problem.To make matters worse there is a generic supplier called "OE" ! Measure the the inner seal groove for out of round. A cheapo HF caliper will do it.Takes seconds ,saves a lot.

I've just used this 5" bolt and washer tool which worked a treat for 5 of the six tubes. Unfortunately one of the tubes broke and a half of the circumference of the plastic from the bottom of the tube has dropped into the void. The piece of plastic that is missing is about 1mm high, 3mm deep and 24mm in diameter and half a circle in shape. It looks like the void that has dropped into would be the rocker/valve cover in a standard 4 cylinder upright engine setup. I'm thinking I have three options to get this piece out 1. Take of the rocker / valve cover. This looks a tricky job probably beyond my DIY capabilities. 2. Try and flush it out by pouring oil into the chasm that it fell into and drain the oil system 3. Possibly take off the sump after flushing the chasm if its not coming out. Probably within my DIY capabilities. So question is anybody had experience with this and what is the best solution. I currently have the car stripped down at the rear with the mufflers off so have reasonable access to the area. Thanks.

Removing the cam cover requires one special tool.It can be made diy. Be very careful to rotate the engine to the correct position before you remove anything. Pelican has a diy. It is a tedious job.It is also quite exacting to get the sealant applied correctly.

Yeah, I had a look at the DIY to remove the cam cover - that is beyond my capabilities unfortunately. Is there a chance it might flush through to the sump if I pour oil into the chasm it fell into ? I am thinking the plastic piece is very light in weight so should not take much oil to move it along. Just not sure on the path to the sump from that location..

The broken piece could move and get caught in the rotating ex cam. Try an endoscope on a smart phone to see where it is?

Schnell - thanks for the replies. Looking at some pictures of the engine with the cam cover off it appears to me that as soon as the plastic piece clears the ex cam it has a clear short path to the oil pan. Is that right? If that's the case I will try and flush oil into the void, keep the cam cover on and remove the oil pan and see if I can shift the piece of plastic to the oil sump. That looks like a job within my capabilities. Does that sound like it will work? Is there anything that could go wrong with this approach and put me in a more difficult situation? Will I be able to see the ex cam from below with the oil sump removed? I don't have an endoscope for a smarthpone unfortunately. Cheers.

an endoscope on Fleabay is really cheap .You'll need it for other tasks - like wrist pins when you rebuild the engine !

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Not do be a downer, but no, and no. It's not an easy path for that big chunk to get to the sump, and you cannot see the exhaust cam from the sump. The sump is only below the block; your loose part is way over in the cylinder head, quite far away. I think the only way is to fish it out where it was supposed to come out through the spark plug hole, or if that's impossible, the cylinder head cover will have to come off. Hopefully somebody else can dream up a more creative way to do this easier, but I'm not seeing it. Good luck.

I've used a dentist mirror to inspect the camshaft void and can't see anything there. I think I am in too deep with this so it will be a trip to the local indy to get this resolved.... I think it was the washer size (maybe on the small side) and cold weather that may have cracked the back of the tube. It needed some torque to pop that stubborn one out that ended up breaking. I may also have used a thinner bolt than that shown that may have flexed under torque. So be warned when building your tool!!

Can anyone please provide the size of the small washer that should be used for this DIY tool. Or at least the 3 letter size identifiers that are engraved on the washers. I believe this would save everyone the hazel of buying a washer that is either too big or too smal.

The best way is to look at Post #1. take an old/new tube to the hardware store and rummage.You'll need a spacer tube/bushing and an assortment of nuts and smaller washers to make a pukka tool.Yes, there is some fiddling to get it right.

Sorry for delay in getting back, but I took some quick measurements on my setup, the long bolt is 12 mm length, the large washer OD is ~3.2 mm & ID is ~1.3 mm, the smaller washer OD is ~2.2 mm & ID is ~1 mm. But as Schnell already suggested above, it's a good idea to take an old tube to HW store and size it up for best fit. I think 12 mm bolt length is good for the limited space you have for this DIY. Please read up on the other tips & warnings from others using this method before starting. Good-luck, cheers...

Probably centimeters not millimeters.

Oops, good catch, thanks cds... Thanks,

Make sure the bolt is thick and the washers are thick as any flex can result in shattered plastic from the back of the tube. If you�ve had long-standing oil leaks these can require a lot of force to extract so you don�t want any flex in your tool.

anyone try URO spark plug tubes (yeah I know, U Replace Often)... but in 9 yrs of ownership, I've had to replace Febi Tubes twice already because of leaky oil.... I am going to have to do it again shortly, and RockAuto has only the URO ones.... Going to add some UV dye to the oil before I do an oil change and just confirm it's leaky splug tubes....

I used some aftermarket tubes. They failed because they were out of round. So even with perfect seals ,they leaked. Just check all the dimensions before you fit. Even a few mm out of round will fail.

I use the Febi ones. Are you sure there isn't any FOD, or imperfection in the seating area causing leaks? Do you lubricate the o-rings prior to install to make sure they seat properly?

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I had to google FOD ---?Foreign Object damage? I honestly can't remember,,, it's been weeping on and off for a few yrs... only becomes a problem when it gets on the exhaust or on the floor during winter storage.... (It's getting on the exhaust and I get a bit of hot oil smell). - Sorry this is on a Boxster S... don't know if you have the same problem with the 996

My 996 with tubes doesn't leak, and I have replaced the tubes with Febis. They shouldn't leak. At all. If you've replaced them a couple of times, I'm wondering if there is some sort of imperfection/damage where the 0-rings seat, or a problem with your installation technique (like installing them without lubrication) that is causing your recurring issues.