Time and money saver.
Worked like it should. Saved a teardown job. Well made. Read more

Cal-Van Tools
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Rated 4.7/5 across 2,681 reviews — highly regarded by customers.
Customers find the spark plug repair kit works well, with one mentioning it fixed their stripped spark plug, and they appreciate its quality and ease of use, with one noting the process of drilling and tapping the ports was easy.
Generated from the text of customer reviews
Worked like it should. Saved a teardown job. Well made. Read more
This kit works fantastically! Everything you need to replace that spark plug that got launched out of your engine is included. The reamer and tap are excellent quality, as are the threaded inserts. Since buying it, I’ve used this kit on three different spark plugs. The first time took me about four hours because I was nervous about drilling and tapping the head. But in the end, I realized how easy it really is to use—it’s pretty foolproof. The most time-consuming part is making sure all the metal shavings from drilling and tapping are removed from the cylinder. Just have a borescope ready so you can peek down the hole after blasting it with compressed air to make sure all the metal debris is gone. Once you do that, it’s a piece of cake. Totally worth the money. Read more
Worked very well on my 1999 SD 2 valve V10. Owned it since brand new. It finally popped a plug. 2023. I had one problem using this kit. The E clip came off "my fault" the tap during my 2nd run in #5 on the passenger side closest to the firewall. The tap went all the way down the cylinder as in the picture. Just the hex end of the tap was exposed at the bottom of the spark plug well as pictured. To retreive the tap I put some JB weld on a deep thin walled 3/8 socket and glued it to the end of the tap. Add a few short extensions useing some kind of tape. I use electric tape. Wait 24 hours. It was then fairly easy to lift up the tap and then by hand I reversed the tap out. Also for #5, if you have a automatic transmission it's helpful to loosen the transmission dip stick tube support bracket located on the back of the block. The tube is in the way. There is also a ground strap attached to the same transmission tube bracket that you could clean or replace while back there. I use hand tools only when tapping. Go slow and easy. You don't want to break off the tap. Again, go easy. After tapping look carefully for any broken casting pieces where the plug enters the cylinder with your bore scope. Breakage can happen there. A bigger piece of that could cause engine damage. I chose to lightly lube the tap with 4 in 1 oil just once befor tapping. I wanted to avoid trying to remove greasy. oily drill shavings and a possible smokey first startup that is most likely not good for your new plugs and o2 sensors. Dry and slow machining resulted in smaller debri. I used compressed air at 150 psi that cleaned the cylinder of dry shavings quickly and very well. Good luck and enjoy your new permanent inserts. I sure do. I give 5 stars easily. *update* The truck has been used for plowing snow since the repair for 2000 miles. Its been runnng perfectly since the repair. Up 3 mpg. I then checked the plug and it felt nice and snug. Added a new coil and now feel extreamly confident with the repair. Read more


I just wanted to help someone else who was on edge with all the negative/mixed reviews on this tool. I got all my inserts and everything, used wd40 on the cutter and thread tool. I used a small impact drill for the first tool to drill out the threads, the I used my ratchet and put the threads on by hand. It was super soft and easy. Now if you have other thread inserts what I done cause I did have the stuck was I put a little bit of loctite on an old spark plug and waited two hours, then it came right out. I used the JB weld like it said and I’m waiting 24 hours. Nothing crazy and I torqued the to 25 ftlbs. So for the next guy by this tool and follow the instructions, but don’t use an air ratchet, use something you can finesse the cutter in the whole with and have some feel to it, then cut the threads by hand. I used a 1/4” tubing to attach to my air gun and blow out the shavings, got them all out. Good luck! Read more
My 2003 Lincoln Town Car blew out a spark plug. The spark plug threads on the 4.6/5.4/6.8 are the Achilles Heel of an other wise great engine. I did a lot of research on what to do next, and everything pointed to the CalVan Tools kit. I ordered it, followed the instructions, and my car is running correctly again. The kit is well engineered and made, and is about as foolproof as you can get....plus it includes 8 inserts, enough to do the entire engine if you want/need. The included sleeve that fits into the plug well ensures that you drill and tap the new threads completely straight. Here are a couple of tips that might help when you go to do this repair. First, ensure that the piston is at the bottom on the COMPRESSION stroke. I used a long drinking straw down the cylinder and turned the engine by hand until it reached the bottom of the stroke. Attach the hose to your compressor and turn the valve. If the hose blows out, the exhaust valve is closed and you're ready to ream the remains of the old threads out. If it doesn't, then you're on the exhaust stroke and need to turn the engine one complete revolution so you don't drill a hole in the exhaust valve. Very simple. Next, use cutting oil on the tap when tapping the new threads. The instructions say to use an air ratchet, but I turned the tap by hand, slowly and carefully. When you're done tapping, use a compressed air nozzle to blow the shavings out of the cylinder. Then rotate the engine by hand to top dead center and do it again. I recommend sending a camera down to ensure the cylinder is clear. Finally, use a thin ring of JB Weld on the shoulder of the insert, and red Loctite of the OUTER threads of the insert. Torque to 13 ft lbs. Allow 24 hours for the Loctite to cure before you fire the engine. The insert is now a permanent part of the engine and the repair is complete. I took my time and worked slowly and methodically, and it took about 2 hours. If I have to do another one, it will be finished in an hour. If you're on the fence about ordering this kit, don't be. Just bite the bullet and order it. Remember, you can fix it cheap and hope for the best, or you can fix it correctly and do it once. Read more
Great support from the company when I hit a snag. A little bit costly for a single-use kit, but doing the job myself saved me a couple thousand dollars. Bought for a V-10 Ford Triton. Read more
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