I managed to punch out the middle of the plug. The ring didn’t give, they never do☹️. An old school mechanic once told me he’d pound a plug on top of the old one. I’m thinking of putting the rubber plug over the old ring. What do you think? My sone drives this truck and if I get a couple of years is all I’m hoping.

 

No on the leave the ring in place.

I have done quite a few of these in the past and you can usually get a prybar or huge screwdriver or even a 24" 3/8 drive extension to just catch the inside opposite edge of the ring and pop it out but you have to be very careful to not scratch the sealing surface (you have to just barely catch the edge of the ring and not the sealing surface). You can screw things up if you gouge too deep. Wish I was there to show you how easy it might be.

A safer way if you have the room to pound and tap a bit........ Find the right size socket with slightly smaller OD than the plug and drive the ring into the block. Then turn the ring sideways so you can get a big screwdriver through it and pry it out. Been there done that too.

Good luck.

 

Got it finally done a couple of weekends ago. I'm a bit embarrassed about how long it took me . I'm no mechanic but I have enough tools to find the correct, wrench ratchet, extension and swivel to reach the bolts. Each of these bolts where a pain, probably took an hour to get the starter on.

The good news is no more coolant leeks and new engine mount. I'll take that as a win, thanks @LesMyer for your guidance. I'd probably still be scratching my head if you hadn't jumped in.