Yep, I had this problem with my V6. Pain in the ass to do, but I suspect it should be much easier on a 4-pot as access is much better, plus you can take the cam cover off in about a tenth of the time.
If you have some basic mechanical knowledge you should be able to do it yourself. The kit comes with a tap that is slightly over-sized compared to the original thread, you smear this with grease to catch the filings as it cuts the new thread. Keep taking it out after every few turns to clean the filings and apply new grease. Once the new thread has been tapped, you screw in the helicoil, which has an outer diameter of the newly cut thread, and an inner diameter of the original thread. Once it's in, there's a little tang at the end you have to break off (it's only there to give something to turn when screwing the heli-coil in) and you have to take care to ensure this doesn't fall into the cylinder. Then it's just a case of re-fitting the plug to the correct torque -- it should be at least as strong as the original thread, the heli-coil manufacturers claim it's actually stronger.
I'd recommend changing all your plugs and the cam cover gaskets while you're there, as they won't add much time or effort to the job. All in it shouldn't be too bad on a 4-pot.
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Topic: car thrown a plug <helicoiling needed> (Read 1185 times)