Ever since small engine manufacturers began building their engines out of aluminum, users have been plagued with one common and irritating problem: cross-threaded spark plugs. Unless one is extremely careful to screw the plug into the hole by hand for at least a couple of turns, the chances of getting it cross-threaded are pretty high. If this ends up happening to you, you basically have two choices:
1 – Take the engine to a shop and have it professionally repaired (which will cost you a significant amount of money).
2 – Visit an auto parts store and buy a “Thread Chaser” to match your particular spark plug and fix it yourself.
If you’re not very handy with things mechanical you might be better off choosing option 1. But if you don’t mind doing things like this yourself and you’re good at carefully following instructions, you can save yourself a considerable amount of money by using a thread chaser to fix the mangled threads.
If you decide to do the job yourself, make absolutely sure that you buy a thread chaser that exactly matches the threads on your engine’s spark plug and follow the directions for using it to the letter. Otherwise you might end with a much more expensive repair than you would have had if you had simply taken the engine to a shop in the first place!
About the author: Frank Delmonico has been repairing and rebuilding small engines ever since he started working part-time in his father’s shop at age 12. He now makes his living by teaching others the art and science of small engine repair to others.