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Leaking frost plug

SpecialK

SpecialK

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A few months back I installed a frost plug heater. It worked very well until one day on a joy ride the clamp let go and scorched the block on the way out(long drive home and a lot of water). Anyways, I tried to re-seat the heater with no success. Put in a new frost plug, with no success. Put in a new heater with RTV and no success. Everything I have tried has leaked. I'm at the point were I want to throw a frost plug back in and JB Weld it, and be done! Just wondering if anyone has any tips or advice.
 
m16ty

m16ty

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I don't understand when you say the block was "scorched". Do you mean the inside of the hole is damaged? If so, JB Weld may be your only option, depending on how bad the damage is.

Most freeze plug heaters seal with a o-ring. Maybe try a new o-ring and see if that seals it up.
 
LowTech

LowTech

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I just started leaking pretty major out of a freeze plug on the intake manifold.
At the moment I do not have access to the appropriate TM, and only have today to find another one before I'm back out of a city.
Can anyone tell me what size they are?

www.DirtTrackTravelers.com
 
41cl8m5

41cl8m5

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That part is aluminum, I'm not sure of the size of the plug but one possible fix you could look into is getting i piece of flat stock aluminum and have anyone very familiar with welding aluminum cap the "hole". Trying to smooth out the port and keeping it round and straight while on the engine would be very difficult if not impossible to do to make a positive seal with a freeze plug. That being said removing the manifold is opening up a bigger can of "how deep does the rabbit hole go" issue with Murphy's Law that if it can go wrong it will, like snapped bolts, frozen nuts, hard to find and expensive replacement gaskets/hoses .... One other thought is the possibility of using a tap maybe a pipe tap and thread the hole for a threaded or pipe plug just make sure to remove all the material in the process, you don't want any metal floating around in your cooling system.

Sorry on your predicament good luck on getting the old girl up and running again
Chris
 
rustystud

rustystud

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41cl8m5 said:
That part is aluminum, I'm not sure of the size of the plug but one possible fix you could look into is getting i piece of flat stock aluminum and have anyone very familiar with welding aluminum cap the "hole". Trying to smooth out the port and keeping it round and straight while on the engine would be very difficult if not impossible to do to make a positive seal with a freeze plug. That being said removing the manifold is opening up a bigger can of "how deep does the rabbit hole go" issue with Murphy's Law that if it can go wrong it will, like snapped bolts, frozen nuts, hard to find and expensive replacement gaskets/hoses .... One other thought is the possibility of using a tap maybe a pipe tap and thread the hole for a threaded or pipe plug just make sure to remove all the material in the process, you don't want any metal floating around in your cooling system.

Sorry on your predicament good luck on getting the old girl up and running again
Chris
Click to expand...
You cannot tap the hole as there is material just below the opening. You need to install some "brass" 3/4" freeze plugs. At least I believe their 3/4" . Could be 1" . It's been a few years since I changed mine.
 
T

texas30cal

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I prefer brass too, and it shouldn't be as rough on that aluminum bore. You can use a socket of just the right size or a piece of round bar possibly with a slight taper ground or filed on it to expand a brass plug slightly. Expand before installation!! A pair of calipers would be handy to check the size before and during attempting to expand it. This will tighten the fit and some of the "ultra" rtv can be used to seal the scratches in the bore. I hope this makes sense, I've used this before, but I'm tired and may not be doing a very good job of explaining.
 
Last edited:
gimpyrobb

gimpyrobb

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Steel will work right now, but an on replacing when you get a chance. Galvanic corrosion will come into play
 
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