Jim, glad it all worked out.

You owe nothing, my man. Just the thanks was plenty. Good job.

Maybe as feedback and as a learning ( for me ! )..and maybe for others...

consider.....

the spark plug threads should either come up flush against the inside surface of the combustion chamber..or maybe the plug threads penetrate past the inside surface ( only a "bit").

If they penetrate "past"...then combustion products will attach to the threads after some time and the plug will be hard to remove. The products can be soft "soot" ...or maybe they are hard and crusty. The hard / crusty combined with thread extension past flush...may be the issue we're seeing here.

Perhaps routine use of an energetic fuel cleaning agent ( Chevron Techron)...may be the ticket to keep things clean and allow better plug removal... ???

- Wil

Wil, I agree that having the plug too far in has been an issue for some and makes it difficult to get the plug out, but I don't think that was the case here. I think that I picked up the debris on the plug threads when I was inserting the plug into the hole and knocked some of the gunk outside of the hole loose. As Milt pointed out the plug gets inserted at a slight angle and if you are going straight in it's possible to bump the top of the head before you get the angle lined up correctly, and it can be pretty grimy around there. I think next time I might blow some compressed air down there before I remove the old plug, what do you think?

You bring up a good point about the threads going in too far, which leads to a question....does this only happen when too much force is used and the plug is over torqued? If you use the 22lb. factory torque spec getting the threads too deep shouldn't ever be an issue I wouldn't think.

Right on!
A lot of dirt accumulates in those holes.
A blow-out with compressed air is a must but, hardly anyone does it before removing the plugs. :(

I use a little antiseize on the threads despite the recommendation from Porsche not to do it.

As a "build".....would it be "best" to blow-off ( via air) the crud before you start pulling the plugs...or is there some additional benefit by backing out slightly first before using air ??? Would that make for a better "rinse"....as it were?

- Wil