Use grease on the drill bit it will stick to the bits and this will collect the bits to help prevent them from falling. If your ports are bad enough, this will actually be a good thing because the bits will fall onto the plugged holes and you will be able to vacuum them out.

Since you have the IM already removed you don't even need to worry about that since you will be able to completely and totally clean the intake manifold through and through using engine degreaser and brake cleaner without any chance of the bits falling into your engine(intake side).

Just drill through the plugs pull em out and buy new ones.

 

Or me being cheap.....if you do drill thru one or more......use the tap and tap the hole and thread in a bolt???? Knowing that easy access to parts where you live that might be an option.

 

I got started drilling/tapping into a couple of the plugs already, with the #25 drill bit and my tap as shown in the picture. The first plug I drilled through, then tapped, and threaded the bolt into. So at least I know that will work. The second plug, just to see if I could do it, I drilled down just barely 1/4" or so, without drilling all the way through the plug. Then I tried making threads with my tap in that hole but the pointed end at the bottom of the tap bottoms out before the cutting threads on the tap have a chance make threads for the bolt (screw), so seems using the tap I have I'll have no choice but to just drill through each plug (which is fine with me).
If I'm understanding the idea mentioned (quoted above) correctly, it would be in the case where I might want to try to re-use the the old plugs? Just plug up the hole I drill through each plug with short bolt (screw), instead of filling with J&B epoxy?
I'm still having a hard time coming up with a slide hammer. The guy who said he thought he had one to lend me couldn't find it. If I want to buy one I'll have to pay at least 20 dollars plus shipping to use it probably just the one time, so that's holding me up on this whole deal right now.

 

If you thread a bolt or screw into the hole, you may be able to grip screw/bolt w/ vise grips and tap upwards on vise grip w/ a small hammer. The plugs are not difficult to remove (at least mine weren't).

good luck

 

Gave that a try. And as I expected there's just not room to get enough backswing, even with a small ballpeen hammer I have, to hammer/tap upwards like that. Thanks though, it was worth the try just to see if it might work, but nope.

 

How about a long bolt with the proper thread. Place the bolt through a washer and a socket. Then screw in the bolt to the plug. Use the socket as the slide hammer.

 

You guys know these plugs are .38 Honda listed price ? 17199-PT3-AHM

You can get 5 for 2 bucks even at Honda's highest price from any honda dealer.

 

The (only Honda) dealer in Juneau Alaska which is the closest dealer to me wants .69 each. If I wanted five plugs that would be $3.45 right there. Then because I am not in Juneau but 70 miles away, they said they'd charge me 7 bucks for shipping to here (so total cost to me $10.45). Plus they don't even have them in stock and said they'd have to order it and it would probably take a few weeks for them to get them unless I wanted to pay even more for the premium fast freight shipping charge rate.
Or I could order them from majestic. They charge .37 each plus their minimum flat rate shipping of $4.95. Five plugs from them would be less than two bucks but with the shipping charge would then be a total of $6.80. Plus we're talking a week or more for them to get those finally delivered to here after I placed the order. I know because I've ordered from them before and thats how long it took. Not that I'm in that big of a hurry but I don't necessarily wanna wait if I don't have to on this.
And actually I might want to remove/replace all six port plugs, not just five.
That's why in my particular situation I'm considering, and definitely will if I can, just re-using the plugs despite how cheap and ridiculous that may seem.

 

Behold the poor man's slide hammer. (threaded rod with nut, washer, and a socket). And it worked! (plug removed still on rod in picture) Thanks PAhonda





Here's a couple pictures of the first hole, for what they're worth. Hard to say if it was plugged with carbon or not since I drilled all the way through. Hard for me to say whether it looked too bad in the hole, maybe a more experienced eye would care to comment? Thanks.

 

Sounds more like a PAhonda DIY slide hammer.