Bob,
I hope you live somewhere where it nevver gets really, really cold! One of
the purposes of freeze plugs (as I'm sure you know) is to be the "weakest
link" in the event of the coolant in the block freezing. If the plugs are
epoxied in place, they may be reluctant to pop out under pressure from the
expanded, frozen coolant, resulting in the problem they were supposed to
prevent - a crack somewhere in the block.
In my shop, we clean the holes where the plugs go, scrape the 90-degree
angle as smooth as possible with the sharp edge of a straight-blade
screwdriver, apply a small smear of clear silicone sealer into the angle,
then install the plugs and flatten them by holding one ball-pein hammer on
the plug and hitting it with another hammer. (This latter step to avoid
missing the plug and hitting the block, which makes future installations
more difficult once the hole is no longer round!). The silicone sealer fills
the tiny crevices but does not form a permanent bond. Careful flattening of
the plug, rather than smashing a great big dent in the middle, spreads the
sideways load to make the plug hold itself into place.
Lawrie
British Sportscar Center
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Howard" <mgbob@juno.com>
To: <dhh2c@cms.mail.virginia.edu>
Cc: <mgs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2002 9:56 AM
Subject: Re: update: leaky mgb & coolant plug
> Dan,
> In the perfect world, welsh (freeze) plugs in the block are sealed with
> a tiny bit of permatex and punched into place forever. In the less
> perfect world in which we live, we find the seats for the plugs are often
> eroded, the plugs not quite round, and any other number of possibilities
> for trouble.
> One of the leading MG shops around here scrubs the holes with brake
> cleaner, then dries with compressed air, then mixes a dab of five-minute
> epoxy, smears it around the seat, then punches in the plug. It seemed
> drastic to me, but the wrench explains that if you ever have to remove
> the plug again, the epoxy will chip out (it doesn't get a great bond,
> apparently) and that the stuff holds quite well until it's necessary to
> remove it.
> Bob
///
/// mgs@autox.team.net mailing list
/// or try http://www.team.net/cgi-bin/majorcool
///
|