My girlfriend's 02 cavalier was not running right about 1 month ago. Every now and then it would skip or sputter. Not a lot, but every so often I would notice it. Then the one morning I cranked it up and it was running rough. It would hesitate when first pushing the gas pedal. So I changed the spark plugs. When I went to change one of them, it would never tighten down. I believe it is the same one that popped out one time while driving it.

I took it to a shop and they fixed it with a heli-coil spark plug repair kit. It did fine for 3 or 4 days then started skipping again. I took it back to the mechanic and spark plug that was in the repaired hole had a thick grease on it. I'm thinking it may have been the grease they put on the tap to catch any fillings. Well, he put a new plug in and it ran fine for 3 or 4 days again. When I removed the plug, the electrode had been bent. There was pretty much no gap. I hadn't thrown away the old plugs yet, so I put one in.

The car ran fine for about 3 weeks and it started skipping again. I removed the plug and it had been damaged also. I just put it back in and took it to the mechanic. When he removed the plug, the heli coil came out with it. He placed another heli-coil in it with some loctite. He let it dry overnight before putting a plug in it.

So this morning I picked the car up and he told me that it looks like the piston is hitting the plug. He thinks the plug is going in a little too far. So when I left the shop, I was trying to think of a way to prevent the plug from getting damaged again. I bought a non fouler. I know that is not what it is really for but I figured it would help since it sticks in about 1/4" less than the plug by itself.

Well, it ran fine all day. Then tonight I started it and it started to skip a little. The check engine light also came on. I decided to take off the non-fouler and just put install the plug by itself. The skipping stopped and the check engine light went off. I drove it around and it did fine.

My question is this. Could the piston be hitting the plug if the heli-coil wasn't done just right? If so, what should I do to prevent it from doing it again? I had someone tell me to use indexing washers to prevent the plug from going in as far. Am I thinking right about this or am I completely off track here? The car has ran great for the 3 years we have had it. It it still does until the plug becomes damaged. The engine does not run hot and the other 3 plugs do fine.

Any help would be appreciated.

what engine does it have? my old 2.2 ecotec was doing the exact same thing and i ended up with a blown engine after a while

dxdean3 wrote:what engine does it have? my old 2.2 ecotec was doing the exact same thing and i ended up with a blown engine after a while

It's a 2.2 OHV. I don't believe it is the ecotec.

If indeed the plug and piston are making love and the heli-coil didnt fix it is probably replace the head so its all good again its not that hard.

dakota sutherland wrote:If indeed the plug and piston are making love and the heli-coil didnt fix it is probably replace the head so its all good again its not that hard.

That may be what I end up doing. I was hoping to not have to, but if that is what needs done, then so be it. I talked to the mechanic who worked on it and he says that he thinks he may have it so the plug and piston are not going to hit. So I think I'll give it a few days and then check the plug. If it is damaged, then I'll just replace the head. Is there a good guide online? I have a Haynes Repair Manual and I've also replaced a head gasket on one of my trucks a few years ago. I can do it fine, but it would be nice to see a guide from someone who has pulled the head off a Cavalier.

Thank you for the responses so far.

I think you will be best off replacing the head. Basically remove air filter crap. Remove power steering pump remove alt. Motor mount hold motor up with a jack and wood block or bricks something like that. Then remove spark plug wires label them.label all vacuum lines, shook throttle cable iac plug and tps plug. Label everything!!! Then remove valve cover then rocker bolts and pull pushrods out remove exhaust manifold from head and then remove head bolts and take It off. That's on a 96 . They were the same until the 2200 its still basically the same for you. You can remove the head with the intake and manifold still attached. It's easy you can probably have it off in 2-2.5 hours. When I did my first one it took 2 hours now I can do it in about 45 mins if everything goes right. It's really easy just sounds big. If you've done similar work you'll be more than fine.