Ceramic pieces 0f plug in cylwnder

[Brian7743]

I took my 01 Tahoe to a shop to have my intake manifold gasket replaced. They put it back together and told me when they started it up, it was making a noise so they pulled plugs and the ceramic on #6 plug was broken and prolly in the cylinder so they had to pull the head so see what's up..
I know they did a smoke test to figure out the intake gasket 2as leaking. I don't know if they did a compression test, but the guy die tell me that cyl 2 and 6 were not firing... I had no problems with the Tahoe when I drove it in. Except for the miss.
I say that the ceramic didn't just come off the plug and fall into the cyl without help. It was Something they did.
So I am trying to find out if I am correct in my theory..I'm thinking they took the plug out and put it back in and messed it up in the process.
What are your thoughts?

 

[B-train]

Hmmmm......

I'm going to call human error possibly. Do you have a picture of the plug? Also, how old are they (miles)? I've never seen a ceramic end break off in the cylinder, seen the porcelain Crack from side load and improper socket used. Maybe they dropped a plug, brushed it off, and put it back in not realizing it was damaged?

 

[iamdub]

I took my 01 Tahoe to a shop to have my intake manifold gasket replaced. They put it back together and told me when they started it up, it was making a noise so they pulled plugs and the ceramic on #6 plug was broken and prolly in the cylinder so they had to pull the head so see what's up..
I know they did a smoke test to figure out the intake gasket 2as leaking. I don't know if they did a compression test, but the guy die tell me that cyl 2 and 6 were not firing... I had no problems with the Tahoe when I drove it in. Except for the miss.
I say that the ceramic didn't just come off the plug and fall into the cyl without help. It was Something they did.
So I am trying to find out if I am correct in my theory..I'm thinking they took the plug out and put it back in and messed it up in the process.
What are your thoughts?

I'm finding the story hard to believe. They had the intake manifold off, which means there were exposed cylinders. It started making a noise at the first start following that work? My suspicions are that they dropped or knocked something into the cylinder. The ceramic wouldn't just break while it was sitting with the manifold off. Maybe what they dropped into the cylinder was pushed up and beat against the cylinder head and it hit the ceramic.

Call me a pessimist, but it sounds like they messed up and are trying to cover it. Proceed with caution.

 

[B-train]

^^^^^^x2^^^^^^ what he said

 

[ivin74]

I took my 01 Tahoe to a shop to have my intake manifold gasket replaced. They put it back together and told me when they started it up, it was making a noise so they pulled plugs and the ceramic on #6 plug was broken and prolly in the cylinder so they had to pull the head so see what's up..
I know they did a smoke test to figure out the intake gasket 2as leaking. I don't know if they did a compression test, but the guy die tell me that cyl 2 and 6 were not firing... I had no problems with the Tahoe when I drove it in. Except for the miss.
I say that the ceramic didn't just come off the plug and fall into the cyl without help. It was Something they did.
So I am trying to find out if I am correct in my theory..I'm thinking they took the plug out and put it back in and messed it up in the process.
What are your thoughts?

Did the shop remove the plugs for any reason prior to the removal of the intake manifold? If the plugs get over tighten the ceramic breaks off and can fall into the cylinder.

 

[strutaeng]

Umm, yeah sounds a bit suspicious.

Only real way the spark plugs get smacked is either piston falls apart and crashes into the head, dropped valve gets hammered by the piston back into the head or timing chain breaks. Since they removed the intake manifold, it's possible something fell inside the intake on the head and that could also cause damage to the spark plug if it went into the cylinder.

None of these scenarios are good news.

 

[Brian7743]

Your comments are exactly what I thought. I just needed confirmation .I went in there first thing Monday and it seems there was a ball bearing that beat the crap out of the piston and top of the head. No idea where the ball bearing came from. Needless to say they are replacing number 6 piston and replacing the head.
Is there any problems that could arise with one new head and one new piston?
Thanks for the comments guys.

 

[strutaeng]

Your comments are exactly what I thought. I just needed confirmation .I went in there first thing Monday and it seems there was a ball bearing that beat the crap out of the piston and top of the head. No idea where the ball bearing came from. Needless to say they are replacing number 6 piston and replacing the head.
Is there any problems that could arise with one new head and one new piston?
Thanks for the comments guys.

Oh wow. Sorry to hear that. Stuff like that happens, unfortunately. We're all human and make mistakes.

I don't see an issue with that plan. Plenty of guys have replaced single cylinders on these engines and keep on trucking.

I would probably just request that new piston be measured against the others to make sure it's the same (out-of-hole measurement with deck bridge and dial indicator), otherwise it would indicate a bent rod if that cylinder measures significantly less. Not likely, but worth a check. They are probably going to do that, but better to get confirmation.

 

[03yukXL]

That sucks that they messed up, but good they are fixing it. I would think they are going to remove the engine to do this job. If they are you should think about any other items you want to knock out with the engine out of the truck and the heads and oil pan off. New o ring on the oil pump, new timing set, any studs you need drilled out of the exhaust manifold ports, firewall located coolant tees etc

 

[tom3]

I'm trying to imagine how a ball bearing got into the intake.