Freeze plug removal

[Royk]

I just bought a block heater for my New Holland tractor. It installs in a freeze plug. Any suggestions as to the best way to remove a freeze plug? A quick check of the web suggested whacking it on one side with a blunt object, then pulling it with pliers. Can anyone elaborate on this subject?



Roy

 

[moparguy]

If you can get to it, just put a big flat blade screw driver on one side of the plug, hit it with a hammer, hard, several times. That will either cause the plug to flip out of the block and you can grab it with pliers, or the screw driver will penetrate the plug and you can use it to lever the plug out.



Good luck, RJR



PS, don't forget to drain out a bit of anti-freeze first, this might be a good time to change it.



Cheers

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

I've used the big screw driver method. Suppose you could use a slide hammer too.



"drain out a bit of anti-freeze first" :-laf Taking nothing for granted? :-laf

 

[Royk]

Thanks guys. Sounds pretty straightforward. Gonna go outside now and start whackin' and pryin'.



Roy

 

[cap-n-cray]

I whacked a freeze plug that was leaking on my old S-10, it disapeared into the engine never to be seen again. Sold the S-10 when I got my real truck. Can you guess what I got?



Cary

 

[Ol'TrailDog]

Cary,



I noticed you have had both an S10 and a LandRover. Which of course reminds me of a story. I had a 65 LandRover 88. Undoubtably the sweetest mountain rig I've owned. It had a chevy iron duke four-banger in it. I put a Warn overdrive in that gave me a choice of 8 gears 2 wheel and 8 gears 4 wheel. Built a platform which spanned the interior (two piece - from the bulkhead forward and aft) so I could sleep inside.



Well, I met this girl, now my wife, and was doing a lot of commuting between Missoula and Bozeman. So I traded it in on a 85 S10 Blazer. BAD MOVE. After a month the crank snapped going over Homestake Pass. Since I was a poor college student (I know - redundant) I had to wait a bunch of months to afford putting a crank kit in. I have never worked on a worse rig in my life than the S10. You have to jack up the body to remove the engine-torque converter bolts. The room under and around that rig was so tight I would get so angry I'd have a fit (not wanting to cuss a blue streak and lose my salvation ) I swore as soon as I got that rig together I was trading it off, and did so on a 85 toyota SR5 pickup. But thats another story.



Thankfully after the toyota came my CTDs and thus far I've been living happily ever after

 

[Tim1]

I don't like beating the plug as if it falls inside, they may and do cause problems with circulation. I drill a small hole just in from the lip in case its a cup type and use a screw type slide hammer puller to pop it out, room permitting. Also if replacing a plug, I always buy brass cup type from marina. Just my . 02. Tim Also coat the lip of cup with blue locktite to seal it, don't worry if it freezes and expands, it will pop out.