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Thanks for all the replies. Looks like my plan will be several daily hits with the PB blaster for a week or so. Then I'll see if I can get the passenger side loose using some of the ideas mentioned. I'll certainly drop the starter out of the way to have the best access. And much as I hate to consider it, sounds like it's going to be uneasy out time on the drivers side. The left handed drill bit idea would be great if it worked to actually turn it out. I'll have to see if I can find one and try it. My experience with easy outs has never been good.
You can also try cryo treatment by turning a can of liquid air upside down and spraying the liquid (CO2, etc) on the plug and take it out while cold.
The starter is no big deal. You can easily drop it out of the way. The plug already sucks. Make it as easy as possible to hedge your chances of success. I do not fight these long before removing the starter.
Yeah I was just reading about the upside down air on an old thread. Do you think it would help to hit the area with the heat gun first, or run the truck a bit, rather than start with a cold block. And I just replaced the starter a few weeks ago when I replaced the positive cable so it'll drop out easy.
Spray the plugs with PB everyday for a week and they usually come out easily.
Originally Posted by Walleye Hunter
A little heat on the block before you hit the plug with cold air or dry ice, like mentioned above couldn't hurt.
I would like to retract part of my replies. Since the vehicles is still drivable, Get some small wire brushes that go into a drill motor. While using the wire brushes, run the drill counter clockwise and spray some PB Blaster in there too. This action will bring all rust and Nastyness out rather than jamming it in.Clean that area as much of you can and while the vehicle is still hot from driving, spray it with PB Blaster for several days. You might even put the PB Blaster in the frig or freezer, if it does freeze. A hot block will draw the lubricate into the rusted, frozen, threads. Then when you get ready to drill it out after doing this for a few days, the (Run Way) should be clean and clear. Before you start drilling place some strong magnets close by the plugs. This should help to keep containments from going into the coolant, keep metal shavings from falling... (This is the part I would like to retract) After the coolant stops draining from left handed drilled hole, rather than heat, I would go all cold. Heat makes metal expand, and cold makes metal constrict. Constriction will make the threaded hole larger and the plug smaller. Dry Ice is -109*F and is $1.99 per pound at Krogers. (The only place is know to get it). IDK how cold the upside down air spray gets.
I know this is lengthy and may be extreme, but your working in a small area, on a small plug and the more Microns you can maneuver to your side of the table, the better your chances of success. I'm with Jason on moving the starter out of the way. I have no problem moving stuff to make a more comfortable work area.
Don’t sweat the metal shavings in the coolant. The next step will be running the hose into the degas bottle with block drains and radiator drain open. This will flush everything out of the cooling system with no chance Stuff gets where you don’t want it.
There is no good reason to spend another $40 on distilled water to go this job. Do ALL of the ‘flushing’ with tap water. If you want to go an extra mile because ‘it seems like a good idea’ - filling the system one time with distilled water and draining that will be more than adequate to displace the few teaspoons of ‘mineral contaminated tap water’ that remains in the block.
I'll throw a bone....I wouldn't bother with adding heat. Both my trucks coolant temps, taken from the plug, sees 240*ish. Cooler when at night. So, there's your heat. Run it for awhile then try and remove. That's with spraying penetrating fluid after a few days. If nothing else, weld the sumbich up and forget it
Well I finally set aside a couple days to deal with these drain plugs, and replace water pump, billet thermostat housing, block heater, and oil cooler orings (all Riffraff) as well as radiator, both hoses, thermostat, and flush coolant and switch to Rotella ELC.
I've really been dreading removing the plugs because of them being corroded off and only a piece of the plugs coming out. Wasn't anxious to drill in my engine block. But they were weeping coolant quite a bit so it was time. Actually went far better than I expected. Didn't have to use an easy out at all. Hardware store plug that I located the center of and drilled a hole to use as a guide Original plugs. You can see right through them where they were corroded off. There was only a thin sliver of plug remaining in the hole along with some built-up gunk behind
Nipple from hardware store used to keep drill bit centered and straight
That's a really good idea. I commend you for your ingenuity.
If you have not put coolant in the system yet, put a very thin layer of sealant/RTV between the billet thermostat housing and water pump. They have been known to develop a very slow leak at times a few months after installing. Mine started leaking about 10 months after installing and it was such a slow leak I could only see where the coolant was discoloring the mating surface.
Of course, not all of them leak, but it is easy to prevent now if the system is still empty.
Thanks for the advice Sous, but it's already back together and full, twice actually. I was standing there congratulating myself on a job well done and realized I hadn't put the thermostat in after flushing before filling with coolant. So had to pull the housing and there went 20 bucks worth of ELC. Oh well. But I'll definitely keep an eye on the thermostat housing to water pump joint for leaking.
No worries... If it leaks, you can drain a bit of coolant out of the bottom of the radiator into a clean container, apply RTV and refill through the degas bottle. That is what I ended up doing and it worked well. Just keep an eye on the joint and maybe you will be lucky and will not have a leak.
Yep, that'll be the plan. Now I am hoping I get many years out of the new motorcraft oil cooler orings from Riffraff, instead of the 6 months I got out of the dormans before they started leaking again.
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