Square pipe plug in 2F cylinder head (1 Viewer)

[cuencanolenny]

I am changing my 1983 FJ60 2F engine from my 1970 FJ40 to my 1979 FJ40. Not having the shop, space, equipment, this type of work is left to my mechanic here in Ecuador. One of the changes is that the '79 has a heater. So I need to run a hose from the heater control valve to the engine. There is a 15mm square head pipe plug in the head. I asked my mechanic to change that out for the fitting in the '79 engine. He said it was hard, he didn't say he quit. Now it is at home and I do not have a socket to fit this thing. I have been looking online and cannot find such an animal anywhere. The location next to this plug is where my coolant temperature fitting is installed. Anybody have any ideas on where to buy the socket, options for getting a heater hose connection? Thanks, Lenny.

 

[georgia fj40]

Here in the states Snap-On sells metric pipe plug sockets. About $40 for 15mm sq. plug. Or try lots of penetrating oil and a quality thumb wrench. Or some carefully calculated heat.

 

[cuencanolenny]

I checked Snap-On, Mac and Craftsman as well as a generic search and couldn't find the socket. I wonder if a crow foot would work, although the only ones I see are 3/8" drive, not sure that is stout enough. I think if I remove the water temperature sending unit fitting I could get in there with a Bernzomatic torch to heat it up and put some Liquid Wrench on it and try to work it back and forth to loosen.

 

[AlaskanWheeler]

An 8 point socket will work, a 12 point will work too, I wouldn't use it though... You could very easily slip the socket

 

[65swb45]

Take out the sender. It' part of the 90% of every job done well they call preparation!

 

[georgia fj40]

9/16" is 1/32" smaller than 15mm. You are right no metric 8point on snap on. Armstrong tools maby.

 

[Weber Sarge]

I believe the 8-point sockets I have are made by Williams . There are some oddball 4 point square sockets out there but really rare and none I've found in metric sizes .
Sarge

 

[cuencanolenny]

Take out the sender. It' part of the 90% of every job done well they call preparation!

Please clarify Mark. I planned on taking the sending unit fitting out before attempting a torch to heat up the fitting. In the picture you can see the square head plug sitting behind the fitting. Online I could not find an FJ60 to clarify the parts. Since it is a 1983 the system just shows me FJ40 for Land Cruiser. So I'm not sure if the fellow had the heater disconnected, if an FJ60 was available without a heater (wouldn't think so) or why this fitting is so tight the mechanic gave up on it. I understand difficult, I don't understand quit. I knew this morning when I double checked the ignition wiring that two of my wires needed to swap to match the schematic for the Toyota steering column switch, it turned over. However, I spent several hours sorting out the windshield wiper switch. Had the washer working fine but it took me awhile to figure out that I had an old wire that was broken. Never found the break but I replaced the harness. I groan at some of the stuff I have done with the wiring but I try to keep a philosophy where I can. As an example, the wires to the wiper motor are blue code, LW, LR, LB & L. So the new harness is made of wires in white, red, black and blue. Also took awhile to realize that the "black" wire in the switch gets power. The diagram doesn't show any power to the switch, only the motor and washer motor. But I fired it up with a dose of gasoline. Then the next shower came in pretty heavy so I stopped to see what was happening here.
Again Mark, I appreciate you knowledge, so if you could clarify what you mean about taking out the sender, I would appreciate it. I wonder if a person could use a "T" at that location. I have to do that for the power brake/PCV lines.

 

[Spike Strip]

Lenny, I think he means take out the sender/union so you have access to the plug.

That plug is a delete for the joint/union that would go there for coolant to the heater systems.

Do you want to re-connect your heater ?

Probably the only thing that'll work to remove that plug is some flame and whatever you can find to fit on that plug as it may be a PO install with uber-torque to keep it from leaking or half a tube of red loctite.

I have seen some fab up a 'T' or an 'L' with brass 1/2" NPT to make a union for the heater hose, if that's what you're asking.

 

[cuencanolenny]

Okay, that is what I was thinking, remove the sending unit fitting so as not to damage anything while working the other fitting. I think these fittings are BSPT as opposed to NPT. I know that when I bought the AutoMeter gauges I ordered some adaptor fittings from McMaster-Carr. I end up with a pretty tall affair as you can see in the picture. Also, since the sending unit is at the rear of the motor and the thermostat is up front there is a significant drop in gauge temperature vs actual temperature. AutoMeter advised that the closer you get the sending unit to the thermostat the more accurate will be the reading. However, relative is relative. If the motor isn't overheating then the "normal" operating temperature shouldn't vary much, and mine hasn't. In stop and go traffic it will rise a little but quickly returns to normal once the vehicle gets moving.

 

[73FJ40]

Another, concurrent thread regarding installing a heater system into an FJ40:

Need a little guidance on heater hoses- Denver Area

 

[73FJ40]

A picture from the "Unobtanium" thread which shows a 'Mud member's solution to plumbing up the heater supply hose:

 

[cuencanolenny]

Thanks guys, like the fellow with the hose issue I also replaced the lower radiator hose "T" as well as a new control valve. The "pipe" that attaches to the side cover bolts was pretty bad so I made a jig to capture the size and shape and had another one made. But these guys have been able to remove the offending plug.

 

[Weber Sarge]

If that plug is truly iron , there is a machinist' trick to removing them - use a very small pipe wrench and some paraffin (canning) wax . Heat the area immediately around that plug with a welding tip on a torch rig and apply paraffin liberally . Let it cool a bit and soak in - screw the plug out . I've watched my local engine builder remove small and large plugs from very old engines that people had half destroyed the heads in previous attempts and they screw out easily . Paraffin will soak into places under heat and not evaporate like penetrating oils do . I've used this trick on a lot of fittings including large diameter cast pipe fittings on steam valves - works excellent .

Sarge

 

[cuencanolenny]

Thanks Sarge, that is a tip I had not heard before. Kind of sort of along the lines of drilling and tapping a small hole "behind" a frozen dowel pin and using modeling clay, repeatedly, and screw in forcing it to hydraulic the stuck pin out. I wonder if a crow foot wrench would work. Limited access and it is not likely I will find anyone down here with a broaching machine to fabricate a good square drive socket. The only crow foot wrenches I have seen online in the USA are 3/8" drive, not a lot of confidence that is stout enough. Regardless, I took my new "T" fitting out of the lower radiator hose today so I can use the vehicle. The afternoon rains came in early today, just as I was installing a "T" in the vacuum line so I can connect my brake booster to the PCV hose and intake manifold. Then I was going to fill her up with coolant and fire it up.

 

[Spike Strip]

Lenny, of course I don't know what's available to you, or if you want to mail-order, but I have used a 'Gator' socket before on odd-shaped plugs and it has worked. Good up to 3/4".

Sears.com

 

[cuencanolenny]

Success! After four hours (!?!) at the muffler shop, which took me into Jose's lunch hour, I got over to Jose at AutoTech and with the motor warm he was able to tap a 5/8" twelve point socket down over the offending plug and with some work it came loose. I told him not to take it out, that would have sprayed hot coolant everywhere! So then he tackled the "old" fitting on the motor that came out of the red cruiser. It is a two piece affair, the plug that screws into the head and then the adaptor that screws into the plug. The adaptor was all rusted up, as was the warm valve and pipe that runs from front to rear, and it broke off immediately. And typical of Toyota, you have to remove the valve cover to remove the fitting screwed into the head! What is with that!?! I can't for the life of me understand why it isn't a fitting with a tube connection on the top of it. Oh well, I'll have to figure something out there.

On a side note, looking at what they did to make up an exhaust, which pretty much follows what was there before, there seems to be little point in running a header on the square bezel Cruiser. That ragged 90* left turn the pipe makes exiting the header collector to get outside the frame rail is efficiency defeating. The old Cruiser with the gas tank inside the vehicle allows for a pretty straight run down the inside of the left frame rail which also keeps the pipe above the lowest part of the frame rail, not so with the new setup. I guess there shouldn't be any question of back pressure.