HPOP Plug Leak Fixed, But Differently
Without removing anything else, I was able to get a socket and ratchet down in there to remove the plug. The o-ring was, indeed, toast, and there was some evidence of hardened sealant on the threads.
Of course, I didn't know beforehand what size o-ring it uses, but figured I could find one in my stock that would "be close". I did. A little smaller and a little fatter, but when stretched over the plug, it worked fine. Oh, did I mention it was buna (not -N) and used for water, and I used no other sealant at all? I knew it was only a shot-in-the-dark, but it fixed the leak.
So I order an o-ring kit from ebay seller "cluxie" (hmmmm, do we know him here) on that same Saturday, with the hopes that it would transit from Idaho to SoCal within a week. Got an email that it went into Monday's Idaho outgoing.
I HAD to have the truck on the road the following Sunday morning, so I was getting antsy when the rings still weren't here on Thursday when the leak RETURNED (what did I expect...), this time with some extra flow. I drove to my local plumbing house and got the correct-sized o-ring (once again just buna, not -N) just in case, and got it back to the driveway and put a drain pan under it and pulled the plug again. I let it all drain out until Saturday afternoon, so it was no longer flowing at all. That evening's mail comes. Nothing. Uggghhhhhh! Gee, why didn't I just assume that the USPS would fail me?
So, I used brake cleaner and a whole bunch of Q-tips to VERY carefully clean ALL the oil residue out of the HPOP's threaded hole and the plug. Then I put on the correct sized (but wrong material and hardness) o-ring on the plug and used Loctite "242". That was all I had in the shop that is "removable", and I figured I'd be doing this job yet again sometime soon, so didn't want to use the more permanent stuff.
Let it set up until Sunday morning, when I filled the HPOP reservoir, and got on the road with a couple of gallons of reserve behind the back seat.
That was a month ago, and everything's still dry.
Yes, the o-rings arrived that Monday afternoon, and they're in the center console, awaiting that day...
I suspect that this fix could be done without an o-ring at all, as the Loctite is what's probably doing the job, all on it's own.
It isn't leaking, and if it doesn't start again, I ainna' gonna' do it over. And if it does, I'll let you all know. At least now I have the parts ahead of time. ;-))
Pop
Last edited by SpringerPop; Apr 19, 2007 at 01:39 PM.
Keep a good eye on that repair as I have found through experience that an o ring that is pulled tight in the groove will break.
They have to be in a relaxed state while sitting in the groove to last.
The o-ring I replaced is the one pictured below.
Kwik,
This o-ring is the correct size, and is, indeed, relaxed when in the plug's groove. But I don't believe it has a THING to do with sealing this hole. I'm reasonably certain that it's the Loctite doing ALL the job. But, those threads, both male and female, gotta' be SPOTLESSLY clean and oil-free for the Loctite to work the way it's designed to.
For anyone interested, these o-rings are AS568A-906's, available from Grainger for under $3 for 25 of 'em. Loctite is extra. ;-))
Pop
Last edited by SpringerPop; Apr 19, 2007 at 04:20 PM.
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What do they do if it starts to leak there??? Throw it away?
I don't know what it takes to fix that but it may require disassembly and repair from the inside out.
Ford Trucks for Ford Truck Enthusiasts
Given the helpfulness of the folks we have here on this forum, when someone springs a leak at that plug, and looks into it "in depth" to fix it, they'll write it up and let us all know.
Then, another page in this extremely accurate maintenance manual called "FTE", will be completed.
Pop
I've been trying to locate the leak, but so far???
Thanks,
Richard
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