Need Help/Advice on 1972 Standard Beetle engine problem

[tuggs]

I had #3 spark plug blow out. Need help and advice with repair or replacement. I know enough about repairs to get into trouble but I do tune ups. Don't have engine serial # handy at the moment. Parked at a relatives house. Mileage 148,000 but could be more. Want to know repair/replacement options. All help and advice appreciated.

[Marc]

Do you know much about the engine's history? If that's original miles, it's due (overdue, actually) for a total rebuild - typically the heads need work long before that. The plug problem is almost certain to indicate that the head is severely cracked. If the engine is on borrowed time there are DIY repairs you can make to keep it on the road while you look for a replacement. The cheapest/easiest is a steel insert which comes in a kit at your F.L.A.P.S. with a crude tap you can drive with a plug socket; these are sketchy and all but guarantee that the head can't be fixed properly later without welding, but if it's an original head and cracked as I suspect you don't have much to lose.
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=143899

[ainokea]

The kit you refer to is made by K.D. It does work as long as you use grease on the tap to catch some of the shavings. Once the tap is removed, crank the engine to blow some of the loose shavings out of the cylinder. You will not get all the debris out, and whatevers left
won't harm an engine to badly with the kind of mileage you have. Put the plug insert on the plug with some anti seize and install it in the
head using 22 or 23 lbs. of torque. The kit usually comes with 2 or 3 inserts, so next plug change the installed insert will come out with the plug. just put a new one on. If you have stock heads you will need 1/2 in. inserts with 14 x 1.25mm i.d. threads.

Ainokea