'68 318 - Coolant left in heads when removed.

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I used to remove them then attempt to force the sludge out with a pressure tester . It didnt always work.,....
 
Exactly, and pulling the coolant plugs in the block rarely get you anywhere. There is usually a pile of foundry sand and sludge inside that is sometimes tough to get out. And watch out poking screwdrivers and the like in there. You could do some damage.
Damage? With a screw driver? Damage what? If'n you are tough enough to poke a hole in a cylinder wall or something with a screw driver you's a mean SOB. Kinda sorta the guy who pours Coors on his Wheaties in the morning!

Did see a guy try to drill out his freeze plugs. That action did lead to a whole in a cylinder wall.
 
Damage? With a screw driver? Damage what? If'n you are tough enough to poke a hole in a cylinder wall or something with a screw driver you's a mean SOB. Sorta be the guy who pours Coors on his Wheaties in the morning!

Did see a guy try to drill out his freeze plugs. That action did lead to a whole in a cylinder wall.

That to me seems a little over the top. It always amazes me what guys will do as far as tool selection for the job etc. I've seen guys disassemble and reassemble dash and interior with power tools. cracks in the plastic everywhere. A friend had speakers installed in his 95 Chevy Truck back in the day ,his interior panels were cracked, the tech said he didn't know how that happened :)

P.S. My preferred method of removing freeze plugs is, knock them through with a punch till they pivot, then yank them out with a pair of channel lock pliers.
 
Damage? With a screw driver? Damage what? If'n you are tough enough to poke a hole in a cylinder wall or something with a screw driver you's a mean SOB. Kinda sorta the guy who pours Coors on his Wheaties in the morning!

Did see a guy try to drill out his freeze plugs. That action did lead to a whole in a cylinder wall.
Where the damage normally occurs is the seal surface of the block where it meets the freeze plug. I've seen pry marks that were bad enough where a standard freeze plug wouldn't seal anymore and they had to use one of those rubber expanding types to seal it up.
 
Like said you dont have to run the chisel on the cast area of the block ( the freeze plug sealing surface) you punch through the plug it self then pull it with pliers.

But yes I agree its easy to mess up cast iron machined surfaces. it comes from not knowing. I'm sure when I was a kid i would have punched a screw driver through where it meets the freeze plug surface also . its what most would think to do...
 
Should any silicone or other sealer be put on the new freeze plug prior to installation to prevent leakage, or are they self sealing?
 
I like to use Copper Coat on those. Any good rubber cement type sealer will work fine.
 
Yep, Core wires. Like "WTF" when you find them for the first time.
Yes wireslike bits of coat hanger. They are used to position the casting cores. The iron forms around them and they stay when the casting sand is removed. Eventually they corrode at the ends and end up in the bottom of the block.
The crap in the bottom is generally rust, minerals from tap water and possibly silicates from antifreeze that has not been changed semi regularily. Highly recommend to get the pipe plugs out. You may have to use an acetylene torch to heat them and left them cool to get them out. If it is built up fairly deep when you get the plugs out and clear the hole, it may be adviseable to pull the core plugs out or at least one on each side to check for corrosion.
Years ago a guy dropped his car off for some work like tuneup and carb kit. He went to work up north and said he would be back in a month. Well he got back and came to get the car on a Saturday morning. He left the lot and got about a block down and steam came out under the hood. I just happened to be there to get some of my tools to work on my car at home. He came in mad as a hatter saying he left the car to be serviced so he did not have problems. I had not worked on it before but was there so got roped in to deal with it. What had happened was small core plugs on the lower outside edge of the head, just above the head gasket had corroded and just by coincidence decided to spray on the exhaust manifold. I got the offender out and went on the hunt for enough to replace all those in the heads. These were in I believe a 383 and were a bit of an oddball size. I went to 3 parts suppliers who did not have them. In Edmonton in those days most shops closed at noon on Saturdays. Finally found some at 5 to noon. By the time I got them all in, my car did not get its TLC.
Just saying, preventive maintenance even if it is a royal pain in the *** is better than needing Dr Hook to get home.
 
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