Complaint Review: Bale Chevrolet General Motors - Little Rock Arkansas

More than likely, some genius decided to use an air-wrench to install the plugs. When he did this amazingly bad trick, he probably stripped the threads. With next to nothing holding the plug in, it came out under pressure. Rethreading the head and heli-coiling it would have sufficed. Chevrolet doesn't heli-coil the spark plug holes at the factory. There are sveral aftermarket designs that work fine. NONE of them require much effort. Also, NONE of them require removal of the head to repair. The Saturns had issues with the heads being bad, but so far, I have not heard of any issues with the Chevys. Ask your local dealership to look up any TSBs for you concerning this matter. Good luck.

OK, I took this to a trusted mechanic that says this is the way this engine was designed from the factory because GM denied this was a "Heli-coiled engine". Thanks for the correction because only master mechanics know what a heli-coil is(not the average consumer) It is a heli-coiled engine with a cast aluminum head. GM has to heli-coil this engine to even get the spark plugs in this design. Why not stick by the truth of this engine design? My trusted mechanic says the cast aluminum head looks defective because you can see flakes of aluminum (kind of like styrafoam). In his opinion, the head caused the spark plug to shoot out. I don't think the average consumer knows what heli-coiled is and I think this provides some important information. The pros and cons of an engine head and block,and spark plug assembly, something I will look at fully when ever purchasing again. If you have a Chevy Cavalier with the same problem, report it to your State's Attorney General because this is how recalls get started, and companies can improve engine design.

I'm a Master Mechanic, I have no connection with anyone, or any dealer here. The cylinder heads on most engines are aluminum, Heli-coils inserts are stainless steel, much stronger. Some cylinder heads come factory new with inserts to strengthen the spark plug holes, some are helicoiled in fvery boly hole there is on the engine, it's all for added strength. In fact all new Continental Aircraft engines are Heli-Coiled brand new from the factory, and aircraft engines have to meet standards much higher than any automotive engine. You have NOT been given any used or repaired engine, you are wrong, simply send the car back to the dealership for repair, they will either reinstall a new heli-coil insert, or replace the head with a new also helicoiled cylinder head.

You said the "healy-coil" was brass. Heli-coils are made from stainless steel. As was mentioned, they are stronger than the original threads. This is because they are generally used to repair a stripped hole in aluminum. I've never had one let go. They just don't. You use a special oversize tap and cut new threads. Put loktite on the insert and screw it in. After about 5 minutes, the new threads are ready for whatever you want to screw into them. If you had a spark plug shoot out, someone rigged it up to begin with. ALL threaded holes in high performance parts are heli-coiled. This makes them as strong as their iron counterparts. I don't know what you had done, but Heli-coils aren't to blame.

You said the "healy-coil" was brass. Heli-coils are made from stainless steel. As was mentioned, they are stronger than the original threads. This is because they are generally used to repair a stripped hole in aluminum. I've never had one let go. They just don't. You use a special oversize tap and cut new threads. Put loktite on the insert and screw it in. After about 5 minutes, the new threads are ready for whatever you want to screw into them. If you had a spark plug shoot out, someone rigged it up to begin with. ALL threaded holes in high performance parts are heli-coiled. This makes them as strong as their iron counterparts. I don't know what you had done, but Heli-coils aren't to blame.

You said the "healy-coil" was brass. Heli-coils are made from stainless steel. As was mentioned, they are stronger than the original threads. This is because they are generally used to repair a stripped hole in aluminum. I've never had one let go. They just don't. You use a special oversize tap and cut new threads. Put loktite on the insert and screw it in. After about 5 minutes, the new threads are ready for whatever you want to screw into them. If you had a spark plug shoot out, someone rigged it up to begin with. ALL threaded holes in high performance parts are heli-coiled. This makes them as strong as their iron counterparts. I don't know what you had done, but Heli-coils aren't to blame.

If you have spent thousands of dollars on repairs or maintenance this is not a "new" Cavalier. It is HELI coiled not HEALY coiled. If you do any kind of research on helicoils you will find that this is stronger than just tapping the raw metal for threads and putting in the plug or bolt. It is not a "rigging" device. Several engine builders will helicoil all threaded connections in the engine or transmission. Spark plugs dont just blow out without some help. It sound like you have an older car that has a problem that you think someone else should pay for. How many miles are on this car? Have the plugs been changed before? Have you checked to see if this is a common or recurring problem for GM in any of their engines? Try to get all of the facts together before you start bashing a company as a ripoff.