Leaks...and options..

[kawahonda]

Any problem if I remove that piece?

[kawahonda]

And any problem that these plugs are deeper?

[1 Wild R/T]

They make a tool to drive the freeze plugs in, unfortunately it looks like AutoZone & OReilys don't loan it... Lots of ways to drive them in but having the tool is nice cause it doesn't need to be super straight, you can drive a plug from a 30 degree angle pretty easy, it never drives the plug to deep cause it has a flange....

I have an adapter for my air hammer that fits the inserts for the driver...

When I was younger I drove in a few very difficult to access plugs with a length of pipe that I bent to fit...  You have enough plugs if you damage a few it's not a big deal...   Coat the edges & the backside with RTV..

Remove the brace, deeper plugs are easier to set & seal.... I wouldn't hesitate to change all of the ones in the sides of the block...  And maybe in the front of the block & heads too..

[kawahonda]

I removed 5 plugs. 3 have holes. The other 2 are fine.

The one I'm leaving in is behind the motor mount in drivers side. It looks solid.

Tomorrow I will continue flushing, clean bores, scotch Brite them, lacquer thinner and use black RTV and drive them home.

I may have to fiddle/faddle with a couple of them...."walk" them in by tapping the edges and get lucky since I won't be able to get a square hit on them, especially the passenger side motor mount one where the motor mount obscures 5% of it.

Not too worried...as long as they are in and straight, then they should seal.

Remember the heads are probably 10 years newer than the engine is, so not too terribly concerned with those....

I will definitely inspect the front freeze plugs tomorrow. I've noticed if I'm able to wire-brush them, and if they are clean with no signs of corrosion, they are probably OK to run for a few more years.

[1 Wild R/T]

The one by the mount shouldn't be to hard to change... But just getting done what you have is     After you drive a couple in maybe you'll consider the one by the mount...

Oh, just a picture of the driver so you can see how it supports the plug...  I've sliced areas off the flange to get close to motor mounts & other obstacles...

[kawahonda]

Couldn't understand your last sentence...

The one on the driver's side is literally 90% behind the mount. I'd have to raise the motor up 7" in order to get to it....

The one on the passenger side is 5% behind the mount, which is doable as-is.

I think as far as the ones on the sides are concerned, I feel comfortable with the 5 I pulled. I'll visually inspect the ones on the front tomorrow by wire brushing. Any signs of corrosion then they get removed.

Why RTV the back of the plug? I would think just the bores + spreading a thin film on the sides of the plugs would be sufficient?

EDIT: just looked at the front ones. They are really solid and smooth. Will leave-em. The ones on the heads look great too...nice and blue color. LOL

[1 Wild R/T]

Maybe cause I forgot to add a picture..

[1 Wild R/T]

Reason to smear the back side of the plugs? Because silicone doesn't rust so the plugs don't rust either...

[Chryco Psycho]

  I am happy you are able to get at it & fix it

[kawahonda]

Yea! This work won't fix it completely as I believe there is still a rear plug leak, but instead of it leaking a bunch, it will only leak a little. If it bides me another year, I'd consider the 5-6 hours of work and $10 of repair worth while!

I only put in 3 hours today...started at 5 PM. Got all the plugs out that I wanted out, and flushed it a few times. Will probably flush it some more tomorrow and then start cleaning/detailing the bores. This is a dirty as job...you will get wet....a shower is absolutely mandatory.

Good news is that these plug(s) are leaking from corrosion from the center, not from the edges. I suspect that it will never become a "blow out" leak, but more or less just more of a steady drip. In that case, I'm not so worried. Just keep a pan under it in the future and clean it up. Instead of cleaning it every week, now I get to clean it every 3 weeks. Not bad.

My Zen/approach with this car/restoration is much different than with my other restoration when I was younger. When I was younger, everything went out, it all got redone, many thousands spent, many hundreds of hours spent, many things learned, but burned out and didn't want it anymore. 98% of the time was wrenching. 2% of was driving. That is simply not the right ratio...with this car, the goal almost always is to keep it on the road. If I ever take it off the road, I better have a damned good reason. It's the only way I can stay sane...

I'd reckon after this repair, she will leak about a teaspoon a day of oil/coolant mix. I can live with that.

The first leak I fixed was the transmission leak...it was seriously wayyyy more....and I HATE transmission fluid. Shit is hard to wipe up, stinks, greasy, and it looks like blood. LOL. Zero transmission leaks now.

[1 Wild R/T]

When your bored you can drop the trans.... If you have a friend with a rack it's not a hard job... On your back.. Well I wouldn't want to do it anymore but when I was in my late thirties I could do it in about 1.5 hours...

[kawahonda]

Yeah...you guys are more than welcome to come up and stay and chill out in the garage while I do work....

I'm most worried about getting all that crud and shit up through my new radiator. I'll just spend a little more time flushing the crap out of it...from both sides!

My guess is that I'll be done with this on Sunday. Tomorrow my goal is to finish flushing, make sure it's all clean/dry, and maybe start tapping in some plugs. We'll see. The passenger side front plug (slightly in the way of motor mount) and rear plug (manifold/collector) are going to be the most challenging, but I've been scared by worse before. if I can get all plugs in tomorrow, then that allows the RTV to fully dry overnight, then on sunday put the starter back on, and get her refilled and on the road!

Honestly, I probably won't RTV the backside, since I only would want these plugs to last ~5 years. For a full rebuild, I would consider using brass. These plugs are actually stainless steel, so I really don't think RTV'ing the backside would be necessary either way...

Randy---I saw the pic of that tool. Nice, I like the offset it has. I have a bearing installer tool that is very similar, but is straight. I plan to use that. For the plugs that are going to be slight b*iatches, then I plan to just tap them around in a circle to work them in. Working slow and cautious with this will allow a successful job, even without that tool.
Dirty ass job, for sure.

[1 Wild R/T]

If your seriously concerned install a Gano Filter.... I have one that I've installed in every fresh engine that I've done for the past twenty plus years.... I install it & run the car for a few weeks till the filter stays clean then I drain the coolant down & install the new upper hose....  Some engines stay clean, I've had others that I had to take the filter off & clean it out 3-4 times before the crap stopped moving through the cooling system...

https://www.amazon.com/Scott-Drake-ACC-GANO-8-Radiator-Coolant/dp/B00FGSN7Q0

[kawahonda]

I assume that gets installed inside of the spring in the bottom hose? Good idea.

EDIT: no, it goes in the upper hose. Makes sense.

Perhaps not a bad idea. Maybe I'll just chance it and spend another hour flushing the piss out of it. Good idea, though.

I've decided to wear my swim soon tomorrow. Rusty water is fun to bathe in.

[1 Wild R/T]

Goes in the top hose, cut the hose & clamp both ends.... Water enters the radiator from the top.... Why do you think theres a spring in the bottom hose? Cause the water pump draws water through the bottom hose & pushes it through the engine..