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freeze plugs

CaliXJ

CaliXJ

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Oceanside, CA
91, AW4, NP231 Roughly 136K on OD. (far from stock any more)



So lately i have been having some slight cooling issues. Well when i got home from work today one of the freeze plugs decided to spring a steady leak. Not a drip or dribble. A steady stream of coolent spraying the underside of my intake manifold. Now i have to take everything on the DS apart again! (just did a banks header swap a few weeks ago) :bawl:Figured i'd do all the ones down the side of the block while i have it appart again. I know there is one on back of head. But she will have to wait.


My question is... What the hell causes them to go bad? I have never in all my short yrs had any of my cars/trucks do this. Any tips for the job?

Do i need "deep" or "shallow" ones for the DS of the block? Steel, Brass or stainless?
 
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Once you have the old freeze plugs removed and the pockets cleaned; you can install the new ones with a 1" wooden dowel cut with to a 45* angle on the end that mates with the new brass plug.
 
This has to be a garage fix and motor staying in. Guess the intake and crap are coming out tomorrow morning then.
 
Dorman (and others) make a rubber replacement plug that has a nut in the middle to expand the plug into place. I have used these in a boat and they lasted 2 years until I could pull the engine and do it right. They are easy to install and can get you by as a temporary fix untill you have the time to pull everything and do it right. The problem is getting the old plug out. That can be done with two or three of the plugs. It costs you nothing to first try it with the manifolds installed. YMMV.
 
Just recently got done rebuilding my buddy 2003 TJ straight 6. After install and putting in water I had one plug bad so off came all the intake and exhaust AGAIN.

My advice is get the brass plugs (little more on the price but will last) also to ensure a good seal make sure there just the right side. If they dont go in easy get another set. I had all of them pretty hard to get in thus is why they leaked. Also use blue silcone around the matting surface just to be on the safe side. To drive them in DO NOT use a socket that goes in the middle of the plug, that will just cause the matting surface to be slightly smaller and no longer perfectly flat and will cause it to leak. I used a 1 inch thick by 2 inch wide bar stock to tap them in nice and flush. You will need to ever so liightly tap them to get them started, but make sure they go in flush with the block all the way in.
 
OK kids. All done! Took me about 9 hrs total taking my sweet a$$ time and making sure i got it done right. The 5 freeze plugs can all be done with the motor IN and exhaust man/Intake pulled out of the way. For anyone that wants a real look at how a prev owner took care of the cooling system. The back of a plug will surely show you.
P8180022.jpg


I had one spring a good size leak as soon as i got home yesterday.
P8180025.jpg


The one next to it had a hole to but plugged with crap. Showing signs of leaking on the out side too.
P8180024.jpg


Went ahead and bought all brass plugs for it and handled it!
P8180029.jpg


Also spoke to another buddy that works on hot rods and boats. He said use "the right stuff" gasket maker on the outter surfaces prior to installing them. Helps seal any imperfections there might be in the block.

My advice... If you are planning to do a intake or exhaust header swap. Take the time to change the freeze plugs so you don't have to remove all of it again down the road. (mine was about a month after i put my header on) Not an easy trail fix even with that handy repair plug, and could easily ruin a weekend outing.
 

Mark,

At least it's cool out by the coast.
Inland it is too warm to work in the garage for very long.
If I wasn't working today I would have offered to give you a hand.
Where did you purchase the "right stuff" ?
 
yeah it wasn't to bad. Still had a fan in the garge though. You can get it at O'really's and Napa. Kinda spendy, but you can use that crap on everything damn near.

It was no big deal. The hardest part was removing the intake/exhaust. I think i was more bumbed about having to do that AGAIN more than springing a leak.

Was just out cleaning up garage and noticed that the dumb f%&* at Napa gave me a 160* t stat when i clearly told hime to give me a 195*. :doh: Guess i was paying to close attention to the job at hand to really read the small print on the box. So needless to say, I have quite the ear full to give them tomorrow.:twak:. I just hope they are will to comp the coolant loss to swap the new T stat. Shits not cheap when you have drained and filled the system 3 times in the last month over 1 failed water pump, 1 leaking water pump,(replacement) freeze plug fail, and now a wrong t stat. :gonnablow I think i have lost all faith in Napa auto parts at this point. :banghead:

On a side note... I have really clean coolant now. :rolleyes:
 
Don't generally trust the guys behind the counter; most of them only know what they read in the parts book and even then they get it wrong at least 3 out of 10 times.
 
CharlesS said:
Don't generally trust the guys behind the counter; most of them only know what they read in the parts book and even then they get it wrong at least 3 out of 10 times.
Click to expand...


Yeah i hear ya. I just had other things on the brain when i opened it and put it in. (n) FAIL! :D
 
I need to do this on mine as well. I have one sweating pretty bad but will replace all 5. I bought the brass ones.
I am assuming the coolant needs to be drained, correct?

Thanks for all the good info.
 
Marco13 said:
I need to do this on mine as well. I have one sweating pretty bad but will replace all 5. I bought the brass ones.
I am assuming the coolant needs to be drained, correct?

Thanks for all the good info.
Click to expand...

Yes the cooling system will need to be drained. Yank the intake and exhaust manifolds off. If you start with the rear most freeze plug, (closest to fire wall) the block will drain all at once rather than a little mess one at a time. Use a scotch bright pad to clean block sealing edge of all BS. Get "the right stuff " gasket maker to coat the sealing edge to insure a good seal. I used a 36mm socket to help drive them in. Worked great and its just the right size. By the time you get everything back together, The gasket maker will be nice and cured for you to fill the system. Take your time. Cause doing it again would REALLY SUCK! GL with it.


Oh... And welcome to the forum Marco13!!!!
 
You don't have to drain the coolant first if you don't want to... but it will end up drained either way, you should just choose whether you want it drained in a bucket or all over your hands, legs, and feet!
 
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