Freeze plug help
 

I was just about ready to wrap up my intake gasket and the deleting the oil cooler line project on my 95 Blazer when I noticed antifreeze dripping from a freeze plug located in the far back near the motor mount. It's not behind the motor mount but it is near the far end of the motor. There really is no room to work a tool in there so my only option was to take the fender off and remove the motor mount. I jacked up the motor giving me minimal access to the freeze plug. The plug was rotted in the middle and I tried hitting it with a screw driver but it will not free itself from the block. I poked a hole into it and tried to get needle nose pliers in there but there is no room to manuever the pliers around to grab the metal.

Can anyone recommend what tool I could use to break this free. or some how cut into it? Right now I am using a long 12 inch screwdriver and a heavy mallet hammer tapping it but due to the angles, its not cutting into the outer plug ring.

Thanks
bizzs

ok guys,

I bought a 2 ft screwdriver and chisled out the freeze plug. This thing was jammed rotted in there.

Now my new question is the aftermath. I made two small indentations (not too deep) from the screwdriver head. Is this going to cause a leak? if so, should I put one of those rubber freeze plugs back in the block or should I put a sealant of some sort around the block before I install a regular freeze plug?

Thanks
Bizzs

my first tool of choice would have been a 3/8 extension rather than a screw driver

clean up the hole with some sand paper or emery cloth

Most garages will install a block heater to fill the hole

you can silicone the heck out of the new plug when you re install it. or if you really want to be paranoid and dont care much about the truck just jb weld it in there. ive done that at work when the hole was so rotted, anytime i ever do freeze plugs i just smash them into the block then pull them out

Not many garages put block heaters in motors around here. Its 72 deg today. Merry Christmas without that white stuff!

Thanks for the reply guys, but I cannot figure out how I am going to get the freeze plug back into the block. There is no room between the block and the frame for me to get a straight hit with a socket and hammer. Any suggestion? I have the motor jacked up under the pan as far as it will go up and the hole is angled on a downward slope. This is turning out to be a real fiasco! Any input or advice?

Thanks
bizzs

I wish I could ban you... LOL :icon_pala::icon_smallest:

Holy Crap, what a project!! I tried everything to get that freeze plug in with no luck. Just as I was about to give up, I was staring at my tool box and seen a cheep breaker bar with a swivel staring at me. I purchased this tool from Harbor freight a few years ago and completely forgot about it. I placed a 1-1/4 socket on it and positioned it on a tilt, and with anger I whacked it with a hammer. Bingo! It went in flush. ( I pissed with this thing for almost 4 days and just about fell off the stole from the shock when it went into place. (lol)

I really went over board with this project and should have just junked the blazer, but I did too much work on it in the last few fays and would have lost a few hundered dollars. ( I am aware of the rubber freeze plug fix, but others had posted that these things can last for a few months to years before it blows out of the motor block. I didn't want to chance it because my 16 year old daughter drives this vehicle daily.)

This is how I accomplished the install. I know it was a lot of work, but there was no room to manuever tools to work on this thing. Mind you that this was only one freeze plug and it was next to the motor mount on the driver side. My recommendation to others is to pull the motor because it would be much easier and you could replace them all.

1. Secure vehicle with jack stands
2. Remove front fender and inner fender
3. Remove ABS unit
4. Remove power steering pump,bracket and altenator
5. Remove motor mount bolt
6. Disconnect steering shaft (mark positions of shaft and gearbox where the join)
7. Disconnect Y-pipe on driver side. (expect bolts to strip or break because of heat and rust. One of mine did and I had to drill it out)
8. Remove driver side exhaust manifold.
9. Jack up motor and secure the frame with extra jack stands for safety reasons. (Make sure you use a small piece of 2x4 under the jack and position correctly so the pan does not get damaged.)
10. Poke small whole in rotted freeze plug and gently tap lower edge to off set it and pull out with pliers to remove. (Mine was completely rotted and I had to chisel it out with a long screwdriver as I explained in my previous post,)
11. Clean freeze plug hole good with emery cloth
12. I used permatex aviation sealant to coat hole because I groved the hole from chiseling. (I had read a post from a member here recommending permatex to avoid a leak because of the grove.)
13. Coat the freeze plug with the permatex. (The permatex is not a silicone base and is very sticky and messy. Do not get it on your clothing. I had to use gasoline to get it off my hands.)
14. Place a 1-1/4 socket on a long handled swivel breaker bar and whack it in. Use the frame for leverage while tilting the bar in different positions and tap with hammer. Use caution and make sure you do not damage the freeze plug or it will leak.
15. Done! Reverse procedure to reassemble.

These procedures is what worked for me and if anyone has an easier way of doing this, please feel free to chime in. I would love to hear input from others explaining an easier method that could be used so no one would have to have the pleasure of this experience. This project was a little too much work for a $2.00 piece and GM should be castrated for a design like this. (lol)

Merry Xmas,
Bizzs

like I said "block heater"
they seal with a o ring and tighten up with a screwdriver or small socket

If you replace with steel plug , apply Permatex #2 to the plug

I looked into your advice and the block heater was not available at my local auto parts store and the local dealership would rake me for one. The only option I had was the rubber freeze plug, or order a block heater on line. Besides, there would be no way I would have been able to tighten the blocker header unless I followed the same procedure as I posted. There is absolutely no room to crank a ratchet or wrench to tighten up the nut.

peace,
bizzs