One of my freeze plugs is leaking...

[mweishaa]

I thought I had an oil leak from the drip off of the oil pan, but it turns out it is coolant. Seems that one of the freeze plugs is leaking a little on the driver's side.

What are my options for it? Would stop-leak do the trick or is that a bad idea?
It's a 305 V6. How hard are those to get out and replace with the engine in? I have never done them.

I have a manual (PDF) but I can't find anything in there about them. It would probably say "remove the engine" anyway. But I really don't want to go that route. Any help would be appreciated.

[65 on 24s]

Im not for sure how well they work but most auto part stores sell the one the one that get bolted in. Maybe someone will chim in on what the name of them are.
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[bama63]

the stop leak will hold for a while although just a band aid, the only permanent fix is to replace the freeze plug. if yours is accessible they are fairly easy to replace with out removing the engine, you may have to remove a motor mount, or lift the engine slightly to gain access depending on which one it is but in general if you can see it it can be replaced and as far as the rubber expansion plugs i have seen them blow out and leave you stranded, i only use the brass or steel plugs with permatex #2 sealer

[PAPA KENT]

if you can gain any access at all they are pretty simple to remove then you can purchase a tool to drive the new one in weather it is straight in or at an angle.

[Rooster's 67]

Keep in mind If one is leaking, others are sure to follow, replace all the ones you can access, you'll be happy you did.

[dracko]

Go with brass for sure. If you have 2 ball pein hammers, you can use one to sit inside the freeze plug as a drift, and then whack it with the other hammer. works pretty good if you have a hammer face that fits nicely into the plug. For pulling them, if you can tap one side in and have it spin 90 degrees in the hole, grab it with some big ass channel locks and pry it out. Will be an ugly job with the engine in though.

[rbar]

You can use a large socket that's almost the same diameter and a rubber mallet as well.

[mweishaa]

Thanks for the tips guys. I'll have to inspect the other ones and see how bad they look. I may just replace them all depending how they look and how the leaking one goes. Picturing it in my head, I think I'll try a breaker bar with a socket may give me the most whacking clearance. Hopefully it won't be too bad. I also have ball peens and some other things I could try.

[dracko]

You can use a large socket that's almost the same diameter and a rubber mallet as well.

Yeah socket works great too. the hammer is nice because it holds the plug in place from a distance and you can adjust the face of the hammer to tap the plug in nice and straight. But either works fine.

[Rooster's 67]

Use a small screwdriver or awl/ice pick to poke/scratch at bottom of the core plug to find out if it is soft or rusted. Just don't do it till your ready to replace them. you may find with some persuasion more than one will leak.

[mweishaa]

Update:
The plug is the one right near the engine mount on the driver's side.
I've been staring at it.. and came up with this for a plan. Since I haven't replaced one of these before, I thought I'd run it by the forum to get feedback on the amount of force needed and if this would be sufficient.

1/4" flat stock with some bracing for strength, tapped hole for hex-head bolt, 3 washers welded together with a hex-head welded in the middle.



Plan is to clamp it in the engine mount bracket, then just tighten down to press the new plug in. There isn't a ton of room to work with, but I have enough for this plan.

[faribran]

dont forget to coat the edges with RTV.

[dracko]

Yeah looks like it'd work great. Take some pics if you can, interested to see how the removal goes too.

[Heater63]

Very creative solution but I don't think you will be able to create the force needed with that tool,...but let us know if you do try it.

[jbgroby]

I happen to have a clear picture of the areas/plug. You'll probaly need to losen the mounts (remove the one out of our way) you need room to drive the new one in.

[dracko]

I wonder if it'd be all right to heat up the hole with a torch before pressing the plug in? wouldn't be good for silicone, but if the hole isn't all scratched up the plug should seal fine.

[dracko]

Although the torch idea may be more dangerous than its worth. ?? Safety first.

[kieth]

wouldn't the heat cause it to expand making it harder to remove ? try freezing it .....then it will shrink but most of the heat or cold would probably be absorbed by the block anyway.......

[awbrown]

The biggest issue is being able to get the new one in ,of the last couple rebuilds i have done , both had a rubber plug and when I got the rubber plug out I found the old freeze plug in the block .. So it comes down to how much room you have ......

[72freak]

Originally Posted by Rooster's 67

Keep in mind If one is leaking, others are sure to follow, replace all the ones you can access, you'll be happy you did.

Yep, everythime I replace one...within weeks we are doing others! If you drive it daily and dont want to replace them all, take some epoxy with you just in case!

[dracko]

I wasn't too clear there, I was meaning heat up the hole after the old plug is out, enlarging it and the new one would slide in easier.

[faribran]

besides having enuff working room.. my past experience, removing is the most challenge.... please let us know if ur having luck with ur tool.

[Rooster's 67]

You do not need heat, use a pry bar or other suitable "punch" and use a hammer and drive one side of the plug in. it will most likely rotate in the hole, this is desireable. then grab with pliers or any other suitable tool and pry it out. I have had plugs that I drove completely inside the water jacket, they get left there, never had a problem. Now in the situation of an engine with marginal cooling issues it could pose an issue. For reinstalling I most the time use a socket that will fit snugly in the inside dia side of the plug and then use an extension and hammer. Did one last week on a V8 pacer, very snug engine compartment. used a 1/2"drive socket, universal joint wrapped in electrical tape and an extension, had to remove the starter to get the right angle to drive it in, but I did succeed at about 30° off center. And I always install welch plugs dry.

[awbrown]

I install about 240 freeze plugs a month (we are an automotive machine shop ) and you wont need any heat .. if it is a tight spot and you need one to slide in easier replace it with a brass one .. always use some type of sealer on the matting surface and that in it self will help it install easier....

[mweishaa]

OK, well I finally had some time off and so did my buddy so we tackled this yesterday. I definitely needed the extra pair of hands and eyes.

Let me first say it CAN be done with the engine in, but it isn't easy.

Getting the old plug out was the tricky part. I ended up drilling a hole in it with a dremel and a drill bit. Then I screwed in a large sheetmetal screw. I thought by putting downward pressure on it that it might pop out. All it really did was make the hole bigger. Which allowed for various things to be put in there and pried with. Which eventually ripped the hole open a bit more. But the plug wasn't budging.

Then my buddy thought we might have a shot through the wheel well. So the driver's side tire came off, and sure enough, we had a straight shot at it. So we were going to try and hit it on the side and turn it sideways in the hole. A 3 foot steel rod and a large ball peen and before you know it... the plug went right inside the block!

Here's the view:


So now with the plug inside, I fished around in there... and it was pretty disgusting. I used my telescoping magnet, and got about 5 loads of this...



The engine runs great, but these seem to be the original plugs... so who knows what all that was. It was cleaned it out and gave it a good backflushing after we got the plug out. That was done by getting a good grip on it with vice grips and pulling it partway through the hole, then putting a steel bar down between the exhaust manifold and the block and giving it a couple of good whacks with a mallet to pry it the rest of the way through the hole.

After a quick trip to the auto parts store to get the RIGHT sized replacement plug (1.75") which they only had in steel so I had to return my 1.5" brass one, we were in business. I put a light coat of rtv on the hole and set the plug in. We used the same 3 ft steel rod, but I ground down the end to fit inside the hole in the press part of the tool I made in my post above. It worked like a charm. Once we got it about half way in, I got it pressed into the final position using my press tool. It worked great.

Here's what the old plug looked like, front and back. You can see the steel bar and rod in the background.



I'm letting that rtv set up overnight then I'll get the fluids back in and I should be good to go.